Tucson - Days Inn Convention Center

We got up at 4:45am to leave for the airport. I think I only slept 4 hours. I was tired on the flight to Denver. I then had a 2 1/2 hour layover that was long.

I am so grateful to have had this oppurtunity to share my passion for donation. Hopefully, this will be a start to other bike trips to ...

... I had the strength to ride another 29 miles.

We finished together and were cheered like winners. The finish line was in the middle of Tucson. There was a big celebration afterwards. We met up with the Bells and took pictures with Lizzie. We even got medals for finishing. Lizzie signed our matching jerseys. It was a hoot!

We then went back to our beautiful condo to disassemble our bikes and rest a few minutes.


We were asked to come to ...

... Un Momento--a popular lunch place for locals.
Having been ignored and neglected by the city may have actually worked in it's favor, however. Too far from central Tucson for walk-bys, it's laid there deteriorating until folks started waking up to it's historical significance and simply cool possibilities. Okay, a chunk of it got bulldozed to make room for a civic center, but there's still a lot left to love.
It's ...

... which means she has an illness in which her body does not make red cells. So, she requires blood transfusions every 2-3 weeks. we are trying to make as many people aware that people have to donate blood so she can live. She now needs a bone marrow transplant- so we are informing others about how/why to sign up to be a marrow donor.

we left at noon to go to a little( I mean little) authentic Tucson Mexican restaurant. The owners ...

... colors of the mountains are incredible- purple, blue, red, orange. I have never been to Tucson, so I was glad it was warm and sunny here.

Cindy and Gary came two hours later - we then put our bikes together. Kathy rented a Ford van for us to use on our own. So, the four of us cruised around a bit and then we went to the Tucson Convention center to attend a sponsor dinner( a tradition for the Tour De Tucson bike race).
There were many ...

Only 9 miles south of Tuscon, the San Xavier mission commands the eye. This is not a blend-into-the-surroundings kind of building. It sits starkly white against the drab desert like nothing else. It's Baroque. It's Mexican Renaissance. It's Moorish. And it's Byzantine.
But seeing it THERE, with no water around, makes you really scratch your head. WHY HERE? Why build this gorgeous mission building ...

... noch mehr als nur Sechsbeiner. Auch wieder eine Collegestadt, mit tattoo parlours, organic food stores, putzigen coffeeshops, vintage shops, recyclenden Menschen und allem was dazugehoert. Ein angenehmer, freundlicher Ort. Nicht allzu aussergewoehnlich, aber die Wueste verleiht dem ganzen einen leicht surrealen Charakter, man hat das Gefuehl, die Welt steht irgendwie still. Es hat ganz gut gepasst, da von Michael Jacksons Tod zu erfahren. (Ja, ich sage ...

... with me or jealous. Balancing them out, are people who seem genuinely happy for me. It's a little overwhelming being asked to explain this very unexplainable thing over and over ("you're doing what?!"), and never knowing how people will react. So far, the most comforting things someone has told me is "it doesn't matter if you go to Mexico or not." -The slow stripping away of my identity. The prospect of walking out into ...

We finally got home at about 12:30am after some serious delays in the flight process. Thankfully this was the only snag in our entire trip, and it wasn't too bad. It's been a great time and it's all come to a close now, but I hope to cruise again ...

... a lovely ice cold limeade...mmmm and well needed! We had lunch in a nice air conditioned restaurant, Mandy had wraps, Dan had a steak sandwich and I had a veggie burger. We stopped off for the 12.15 pm reptile show where we saw a gila monster and rattle snakes. The talk lasted an hour and we got some useful information! We saw everything today including mountain lions, javelina, black bears, coyotes, bob cats (like the one in the garden!), ocelots, jaguarundi, all types of birds ...