It is hard to believe we have been in Sierra Vista for over four weeks. It has gone really fast. We have had a lot of fun getting to know Sierra Vista and the area.

One of the first things we did, was to continue our house search. If I did not mention it before, we started looking a houses while we were in Bisbee and then took a break while we were in other cities. Our first house shopping trip in Sierra Vista did not produce much, but on our second trip we saw something we really like. More on that later.

The other thing we did almost right away was to play some trivia. The first place we went to was the Horned Toad. The usual trivia master was not there, so there were substitutes for the night. It was a little more intense than other trivia nights and there was rowdy crowd that booed if you did not bet enough points. We did ok and were in the running, but we lost everything (a lot other other teams did too) when we bet it all on the last question.
We went back to the Horned Toad for another trivia night. The usual trivia master was back and it was even rowdier than the first time. On top of that, the trivia master filled the space between questions with some raunchy story. We have not been back.

March 20 through 23 was the Tour de Zona. We did not bike, but part of the event was a festival in Veteran’s Park. We went to the park a couple times to check out the live music, have a couple beers, and some food from the food trucks.

The same weekend, we checked out another place for trivia. We went to the High Heat Sports Bar and it was a little more traditional trivia. The first night was a difficult night, but we had enough fun to go back every Friday. The best we have done so far is a tie for third place. We will win it all someday.

We went to Kartchner Cavern to tour the big room before it closed for the season. Very cool tour, nice facilities and lots of interesting formations. We had a good, energetic tour guide and had a lot of fun.

In addition to the places mentioned above, we have checked out a few of the restaurants and bars in the area.

• We went back to Tombstone Brewing. It is probably my favorite place in Sierra Vista. They have fantastic beer and excellent burgers.
• We went to Taco Giro Mexican Grill for lunch. Karla and I split the chicken fajitas and it was pretty good.
• We also ate at the High Heat Sports Bar on one of the trivia nights. Karla had a club sandwich and I had the Cuban. Both were just ok.
• After our Kartchner Cavern tour, we went to the Horseshoe in Benson. I thought it would be more bar, but it was mostly restaurant. We got the bacon wrapped jalapeno poppers and we split the Nashville hot chicken sandwich. Everything was homemade and pretty good.
• We went to Filberto’s for lunch. We both got burritos and asked for chips and guacamole. The chips were more like nachos with guacamole sauce and not that great. The burritos, however, were big and really good.
• Inside Manny’s Mercado and Farmers Market is a tamale bar. We got a chicken tamale plate and a couple Barria tacos. They were pretty good, but our favorite part was the side of chorizo beans.
• We stopped in Doc’s Watering Hole for a bump. We had some drinks and a tasty Mexican corn dip.
• We went to Tell Mama for vinyl night. They have some good cocktails and we brought some records that we had picked up on our travels.
• We went to the Bone Dry Tap House for music bingo night. They have a great tap list and we enjoyed some pizza. We had fun with the music bingo, but the Southern rock round had a few artists from Canada.
• We went to Rodolfo’s Tacos for lunch. Similar to Filberto’s and just as good.
• Julie & Sammy’s Ice Cream. It was ice cream. It was good.

As part of our house hunting, we have been looking at furniture stores, thrift store and antique shops. Some of the places we have been to include Goodwill, Mattress Firm, Walmart, D’s Furniture Consignment, Target, Lowe’s, The Rocking Horse Antique Mall, City Creek Furniture, The Hidden Treasure Mall (we bought a Son Volt record for $3), AZ Trading, Super Sale Bin Store, and several yard and garage sales.

Last weekend we went to West Fest. Sierra Vista closed off part of Fry Boulevard and had live music, vendors and food trucks. It was pretty small and we did not stay long. But we got some food and had a couple Tombstone IPAs.

Part of the reason we are in Sierra Vista is the proximity to Bisbee. On Saturday, March 29, we took a little trip. We took the long way and started at the Palominas Farmers Market. It is just a few stands off the side of the highway. But it was interesting and we looked around. We tried some homemade wine and bought a bottle of blackberry wine. Just down the road in town is the Bargain Barn. It is a big barn full of junk, a lot of glasses and a lots of dust. Then we drove to Warren and checked out a few shops including Sorted Past and BZB Consignment. For lunch we went to Dot’s Diner. Dot’s is a very small diner that had been moved from California. It is so small, all the seating is outside. It was busy and there were only a couple people working so it took a little bit to get our food. But it was worth the wait. I got the smoked brisket breakfast tacos and Karla got the sausage breakfast sandwich. Both were really good. After brunch we went to Old Bisbee. It was a busy Saturday so I drove up the hill to the parking lot near where we rented in November. Lots of parking there. We walked around and looked in a few shops.
Then we went to Earl’s Cafe to meet Frankie. We sat and talked about buying the house and a lot of other stuff. When we were done, we said goodbye to Frankie, and Karla and I went to the Bisbee Grand. One Ghost was playing an acoustic set. We got some drinks and hung out for a bit. When we finished our drinks, we walked to the Copper Queen. We got some drinks there and listened to Los Amigos. When they were on a break, we took off and made one more stop at Old Bisbee Brewing. It was a little busy and we had to wait to get a couple beers. We took a table in the back and had some popcorn. That was it. We walked back to the truck and went back to Sierra Vista. A nice little day trip.

Frankie is our Realtor, and the reason we went to talk with him is because we made an offer on a house. Everything moved fast, and everything worked out, and yesterday, April 14, we signed all the paperwork. Depending on when you are reading this, we have a new home in Sierra Vista!