Tucson, AZ

Wow, is it warm down here in Tucson!  Hit 75 today and it is supposed to be in the 80's later in the week.  Guess who didn't bring any shorts and not very many short sleeve shirts?  Somehow I think my wardrobe is going to grow a little larger down here.  No complaints, just didn't think it was going to be this warm.

We left Glendale this morning and took a back road down to I-8 because we didn't want to take I-10 through Phoenix with all the attendant traffic.  Passed through the town of Goodyear - interesting story there which I'll relate later.  The airport in Goodyear was where the Met Life blimp was tethered. You may have seen it doing the photo shoots at the Waste Management Open in Phoenix.  The airport was also home to a lot of old commercial planes which had been put out to bake in the sun.  Because of the low humidity (read that as no humidity) and warm temperatures, this area is well-known as a "bone-yard" for aircraft.  Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson is where the Air Force stores its' old planes.  They keep well and they can salvage parts from them as they need them.  Everything is there from 707's to 747's with all kinds of airline identification, both US and foreign.  Interesting to see them lined up on the taxi-ways.  They have a similar commercial bone-yard in Pinal Air Park just north of Tucson.

According to my handy-dandy AAA Arizona guide, Goodyear got its' name from the Goodyear Tire Company.  Farmers grew cotton in the area early in the 1900's (and still do) which Goodyear used for the cotton fibers in its' tires, so they had large manufacturing plants around the town.  Amazing what you can learn as you travel around the country!

We're staying at Davis-Monthan AFB and it is conveniently located to sights we want to see, as well as shopping and restaurants.  We'll check out the base golf course as well as others in the area.  With these temperatures, it is going to be great.  There was one other advantage we noticed in Arizona - when we filled up at Costco this afternoon, gas was $1.35.  Hooray!!

I think the Sports Books made a killing on the Super Bowl.  They had the Panthers at -3 and the over at 45 - nowhere near what the outcome was.  So now it's on to baseball since football won't be around for a while.  Maybe we'll get a chance to go to some spring training sessions down here.

Take care and stay in touch.