Historic Hotel Congress in downtown Tucson is one of my favorite places. Built in 1919, the building features the quaint details of turn-of-the-century architecture with a Southwestern twist that makes it quintessentially Tucson. I love the setting, plus the hotel offers a variety of distinct areas to enjoy a drink and grab a bite to eat--the Cup Café, Lobby Bar, and Tap Room. You can even catch up-and-coming bands play almost every night inside Club Congress.

Recently, I had the opportunity to join my coworkers for a little celebration at the Cup Café. We were treated to Sangria and a sneak peak of some items that will soon be appearing on the menu. We sampled duck tacos, a carrot salad with cumin and citrus dressing, and pork with a delicious demi-glace. The carrot salad was my favorite, but I have to admit that cumin is one of my favorite spices, and the salad had a robust cumin flavor. We also sampled some old favorites: quesadilla with spicy black beans; "Thompson automatics," which are shredded chicken and gorgonzola wrapped in an egg roll with a little bit of something that tastes like hot wing sauce; and "the heartbreaker," which is baguette slices with roasted garlic, brie, artichoke hearts, and apple slices.

If you haven't had the opportunity to dine at the Cup Café and enjoy the ambience of Hotel Congress, I would highly recommend it. The hotel is truly a part of Tucson's history, and is the location where the notorious gangster John Dillinger hid out before his arrest in Tucson in 1934. The recent Johnny Depp movie Public Enemy tells the story of Dillinger's capture, but if you take a tour down the hall located just off the lobby and adjacent to the Cup Café, you can see artifacts from the real incident. There are news clippings from 1934 that tell the story of his arrest, as well as photos of Dillinger and his gang, and a copy of Dillinger's very long rap sheet.

Next time you are in downtown Tucson, immerse yourself in the sweet nostalgia of a bygone era and enjoy a break at the Hotel Congress. There's a good chance that I will be doing the same.

Ah the holidays... Images of family, friends, food, and fun. What's not to love? Living in Tucson is like having the holidays all year round. Tucson is so friendly and festive because Tucsonans are giddy about the sheer beauty of the mountains, nature, and most importantly the weather.  It's not a secret, anytime you fly into Tucson, you can overhear a zealous native spewing what to do, what you can't miss, what restaurants to hit, etc. They can't help themselves, and their enthusiasm really is contagious!

I wonder if you changed the circumstance a bit, are they still as friendly? I am talking about the annual tradition of Black Friday--the day after Thanksgiving, the most extreme shopping day of the year.

With some coaxing from her, I decided to join my friend Gail, the ultimate shopper, on Black Friday this year. As I am not an early morning person, we negotiated a time to meet at 5:30am at Target (she originally wanted EARLIER- ugh!). I set my alarm in anticipation of all the deals, and headed out the door earlier than I ever thought was possible.  I get to the Target parking lot and WHOA! The entire city of Tucson must be there. It takes ten minutes to get into the parking lot and then another ten to find a spot.  I finally find a space by following some people already leaving the store with 3 and 4 shopping carts of stuff! They are starting to come out faster and I realize, yikes, I might have missed the boat! It almost looks like a bunch of looters heading out the door!

I make it into the store and I have never seen so many people shopping in my life! I immediately head to the Housewares section where a deluxe steam mop had my name on it, at 50% off, sadly at 5:30AM in the morning- the mop is GONE already. No rain checks Gail informs me, as a good friend she valiantly staked out the item I wanted - we are too late.  We find some other treasures and head into the line to check out that is now snaked around the entire store. It actually moves rather quickly and the chatty Tucsonans are having fun in line.  A smug looking Mom casually walks past me with her cart. She has the mop... sigh.  Jokingly, I tell Gail, "distract her and I will grab it out of her cart", she almost takes me seriously; I have to be careful... Once through the line, I am ready to go again. We decide to hit another store and then grab a bite to eat.

At breakfast, I realize that this adventure has been a lot of fun in a way that most people won't understand. We are nibbling on amazing coffee cake and espresso at The Village Bakery, sitting on the patio in the sunshine, trading our "war" stories of the morning. We have sunglasses on, and are people watching, as a lot of shopping is still happening. But we are done. Where else can you enjoy breakfast outside the day after Thanksgiving? I thought I would see an uglier side to Tucsonans, but they were just as friendly as ever, and I guess that I am not really surprised. There seemed to be a lot of camaraderie amongst those brave enough to be out shopping on Black Friday.

I get home before my husband has even left for work! I realize that getting up so early means you have the whole rest of the day to enjoy. I take the dogs to my favorite park, Catalina State Park, and we relish the sunshine and the bright blue skies.  I am not sure what others experience on Black Friday, but I would definitely do it again in Tucson! My only regret: not getting to Target EARLIER!

Held annually the Saturday before Thanksgiving, the El Tour de Tucson has been alive in Tucson for 27 years. I have mostly participated from a Sponsor's view. Placing advertising in the Tail Winds Newspaper and writing a Tucson related paragraph for monthly placement in the Perimeter Bicycling website.

This year however, I had a very different experience. My husband, Jay and son, Tyler both participated in the El Tour. Participants may cycle 109, 80, 66 or 35 miles. Since this was their first time, they chose the 35 mile ride.

I dropped them off at the start line. It was so exciting to see the other riders, all ages with so many different types of bicycles. Some looked very experienced; some riding in "memory of", others had decorated helmets and bikes. I quickly had a whole new appreciation of El Tour and its special meaning to each individual.

Jay and Tyler experienced the aid stations, full police support and morale-boosting spectators along the way. The organizational efforts that lead up to pulling off the El Tour are amazing to witness first hand.

Being at the finish line to cheer them on was a very proud moment for me.

The El Tour de Tucson is now so much more to our family than "one of the premier organized rides in the US".