My original plan was to drive to Tucson in the morning and get my education certification renewed. The Tucson office of the ADOE is only open Thursdays from noon to 4pm, and on Fridays from 8am to noon. I packed my Honda full of alu cans to recycle and took Gretchen with me. It was her turn for a solo walk and away from the bullies who attack her. This way I knew she was safe and she seems comfortable with just me around.
But...I never made it to the office on time and the recycling yard was closed until Monday. So now I had a car full of rattling cans and a restless dog that needed to get walked. I had to make my drive to Tucson worth it with some Yelp reviews.
I was driving north through the Barrio Viejo neighborhood on Stone Avenue when I saw a pictoresque new pizzeria "with beer garden" and a dog-friendly patio. I had to try this Ugly but Honest Pizza out! I lucked out with a parking spot right up front. This location used to be a gas station.
The prices were a tad high. A small veggie pizza and an hibiscus ale and tip came to $40. Yikes. But the pizza was good.
Gretchen behaved until she saw dogs passing by our corner table. Luckily her leash was tied to an iron wrought pike. Her lunging toward the dogs worried a table of diners nearby but they soon relaxed. I, however, was once again reminded of why she is not my favorite road tripping buddy. She has no decorum and poor recall.
She did better once we left the pizzeria. It took some driving, but I settled on a short walk on the Loop off the Flowing Wells park on the city's north end. From there I got on a connector trail leading off the Canada del Oro trail. This is not a scenic section and too close to I-10. With no water, I only managed to get 4.6 miles in r/t as I didn't want to get Gretchen too thirsty. She had her water bowl in the car. Had I known that the Thorneydale parking area was only another half mile away from Orange Grove Road, I could have pushed it. That will be for another day now.
Gretchen did well on the walk except when she spotted rabbits nearby. She looked tired so when my next stop ended up being an unplanned stop at Amelia's Mexican restaurant off Oracle Road, I let her rest in the car under a shade tree. It was 4:45pm by then and it was going to be dark soon anyway.
Amelia's Mexican restaurant has two locations and both are rated in the top ten Mexican restaurant in Tucson. When I walked in, I soon learned why. Everything was top-notch! From service, to decor to food and value. I was glad I managed a seat at the bar as the tables around me all filled up within 20 minutes. Now I must try out the other location on Grant Avenue, on the east side of Tucson. I can do that over my Christmas break.
My last stop in Tucson was a stop at the Mosaic Brewing, the former Dillinger Brewing on Oracle Road. Dillinger sold its site to Mosaic two years ago and today was my first stop at the new business. Only one man was at the bar so I brought Gretchen in and we sat at the other side of the long bar. I also got to charge my phone off a wall outlet. On Fridays all flights are $8 so I had a flight of four very tasty beers: Mange Milkshake IPA, Coffee Stout, Vanilla Porter and a Pineapple American Wheat Ale..
Gretchen lay down during the entire visit. We left after an hour and had an uneventful drive all the way home. This time no traffic slow down, either.
I must admit, while my original mission in Tucson was not accomplished, I got to try two very good restaurants and drink some tasty beer.
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