My Feet Make It In Print

A few weekends ago, I took part in a high school invitational meet (a meet where the varsity-level swimmers from many different schools compete all together) called The Speedo Classic. It took place at the U of A. Several of my close friends got to go and they all swam well despite the "rain out" that occurred later in the day. I only swam one event, the 500 free (20 laps), and my friend, Nick, counted for me. Counting is where you have a teammate stand at the end of your lane and help you keep track of how many laps you've done by using a board that they stick in the water when you do your turns. Although it was not my best race ever, a picture of Nick (and my feet) ended up the Arizona Daily Star. Now, before anyone asks, Nick IS the guy with the black hair in the speedo, lying on his side. I asked him what that was about, and it turns out that he likes to lie on his side while counting. Probably more comfortable than kneeling on the hard surface of the pool deck.

The Royal Palms

For Labor Day, my parents and I went to Phoenix for the weekend. We stayed at the Royal Palms Resort, which was this really big summer vacation home back in the 30's and 40's for this family from New York. In the 60's it was turned into a hotel and now its one of the nicest resorts in Phoenix. We also met up with our friends, Alex and Xiomara for dinner and desert, and did some shopping. Here are some of the pictures that I took of the resort.

This is the entrance to the main courtyard:

This is one of the Spanish-inspired towers in the main building:This is a small tile I found in one of the walls of the main courtyard. It depicts Don Quixote of La Mancha in his fight against the windmill "monsters".
This is us standing in front of the fountain in the main courtyard:
There were these little outdoor seating areas all over the place, tucked into shady corners, or near the many fountains. We found this one near the restaurant. It's actually build into the ground with a working fireplace and comfy pillows to sit on.

Schools In- But Not Forever

I started school this week, which was a LOT of fun. It's strange being a junior, an upper-class man, though. I'm still not used to saying I'm in 11th grade. However, I have great teachers this year. I'm the Assistant for my Spanish I teacher from last year, Senora Everist, and I'm going to design a class website for her. My AP (Advanced Placement) English teacher, Mr. Sudak, is funny and entertaining, as is my AP European History teacher, Mr. Lambert. I also have Spanish II, Algebra II (which involved getting a $79 graphing calculator), a semester of Ceramics, a semester of Weight Lifting, Graphic Arts II, and Marine Science. The funny thing with my Marine Science teacher, Ms. Kiki, is that she got her Bachelors Degree at UW-Madison, so she's a HUGE Packer and Badgers fan. She also is the teacher for the Science Olympiad team, coach for JV and Varsity soccer, and plays ice hockey and soccer in her free time. Also, she reminds me of Mags, my Latin teacher from West, and my friend Shoshana, combined.

With school, swim team has also started again. Most of my friends from last year are on the team, including Ryan and Nick, the music geeks, David, our resident movie-director-in-the-making, Sunny, the girly-girl of us all, Kat, my fellow classmate from history last year, and Ellie, the Sonoran Desert Museum junior docent and girl scout (who just returned from a six-month sabbatical in Japan). I'm still the shortest on the team by a good inch, but it gives my friends and coach, RJ, a good thing to tease me about. GO CFHS FALCONS, SWIMMING STATE CHAMPS FOR TEN YEARS RUNNING!

Terra the Tarantula

A few days ago, we had a surprise guest in our house. It had rained the night before so Dad put towels down by the bases of the doors in case any water came in. The next morning, we lifted up one of the towels and found a little, light brown tarantula. After we released it outside, we found that it loved the woven mat that sits on the patio just off my parents' room. It sat there for a good few minutes and we managed to snap a few pictures of it.

Puggy Dreams

Last week, my mum went to Salt Lake for a Stampin' Up convention and my dad flew to Madison for the annual Woodrow Golf Tournament (which consists of only him and fifteen of his closest friends). Meanwhile, I stayed here, in Tucson, with a friend of mine who just returned from Japan. She'd been living there the past six months so this was a great time to reconnect. Before I left the house however, I took a video of our dog, Isabel, to remember her by. Now, for those of you who know Izzy, you may have realized that she is a VERY hard sleeper. You can walk over her several times, slam doors, and such, but she won't wake up. This video proves it. Also, Mozart, our tabby cat, makes an appearance and my dad can be heard in the background, talking to the man who was fixing our security system (that's what all the beeping is). Enjoy this funny little video courtesy of my new 5th Generation, RED-Bono's-new-clothing/accessory-line version iPod.

Flowers, Flowers, Flowers

Summer is going to end soon in Arizona and that means MONSOON SEASON! We've already had one major storm and a few smaller ones. The mountains have turned green and the flowers have started to bloom. In our backyard, we have a sage bush, which happens to flower this time of year and gives off a wonderful smell. Also, our Mexican Birds of Paradise have come back and are radiant in all their red and gold glory.

As well, the prickly pear cacti that line Paseo de los Altos, our street, have formed fruit. It is essentially what used to be the base for the flowers that grew there this past spring. Over time, they grow purple and drop off, feeding the animals as well as providing us with fresh prickly pear cactus jelly (though we have not tried to make any yet).

Photo Show

This last week, CFHS (Catalina Foothills High School) had our annual photo show. Every photography student had to submit five photographs. If you were voted on for "best overall portfolio" or "best photograph" you got a special place to show two photos at the U of A in a Tucson High School Show that includes judging and prizes. I'm one of those students who got picked! Next Thursday, I'm gonna miss school, spending the whole day at the U of A for the show. I'm SUPER excited! I'll post some of the photos after school on Monday 'cause I have to get the computer versions off my school account.

Dogs, Dogs, Dogs

We have pictures from our latest "play date"! So exciting! It was partly in celebration of Tito's birthday (he's three years old now) and we had a great time. His parents even found a vodka label that we consider "his" now because it shares the same name.

We even have a few pictures of the "parents" thrown in this time! Tito lives in an area called La Paloma, which is gated. However, it's pretty gorgeous. Its basically build around this mini canyon (or at least the neighborhood part is) and there's lots of BIG houses in there. Tito's dad used to work for the Boston Globe (though I'm not sure what exactly he did) and he helps to organize the Tucson Book Fair every year. Although I missed it this year, I'm very excited for next year. Maybe Barbara Kingsolver will come back next year!

Here are the pictures... there are a few close ups of Izzy's very cute face.

Bloomin' Arizona

Even more things have started blooming since I last posted. Another cactus has gone wild with yellow flowers that have red lining inside while our oleander has bloomed. The flowers look like mini white hibiscus. Our rose bushes have also bloomed too, which is exciting for me personally. Roses are one of my favorites.

Although I don't have a picture of it, we have a hummingbird nesting on top of our hanging outdoor lights. Dad is going to take the bulbs out so when we turn on the lights, she doesn't get electrocuted. Its quite cute really. I can't wait to show Aunt Susie when she comes out to stay with me next weekend! So exciting!

Doggie Play

This morning, we went to something called "Dog Play" which is where we, our neighbors, and a few friends get together with our dogs to hang out and talk. We do it once a month and this week, we went to Tito's. Tito is a Havanese that lives in a neighborhood called La Paloma, a gated community near my school. His parents hosted our little 'get together' since it was his birthday.

Last month, we were at Butzie's (a dog who lives two blocks away from us). She and Izzy are very good friends. Her parents, Barbie and John, are friends of the family and are fun to be around. One of the other human companions took a bunch of pictures and set them on a SmileBox slideshow. The pictures are absolutly adorable! All of the dogs are Butzie (a curly-haired Havanese), Tito (a straight-haired Havanese), Chico (a gray "old man" as we like to call him. He really has a face like an old man and he's very calm), Chili (a curly haired white dog), Chloe (a miniature female who is the smallest of the group,) Piper (Butzie's giant half-brother), and Oliver (a gray and white mutt that is the newest addtion to the group).

THIS is the link to the pictures from last month.

We will hopefully have more pictures later this week from the latest playdate.

New Beginnings

Many new things have appeared in our yard, and not just in the trees or on the ground. In out front planter, we found a surprising little treat from a local quail: 12 quail eggs. Mum is going to try to plant new flowers around them. I remember the baby quails from last year before very cute. They look like little fuzz balls following the rest of the group.

We also have flowers blooming all over the place. Our cacti in the front yard are starting to bloom, their flowers a bright pink. As well, our orange tree has bloomed, which Mum and I absolutely love. In the early morning, the smell is overpowering and you can't help but stop to sniff the air. The bougainvillea at the front of the house are starting to climb up the trellis that we have and a bunch of other plants are sporting flowers.

The weather has been spectacular this week. Seventies and eighties in the early afternoon, dropping to the forties at night. Every day is sunny with almost no clouds in the sky. We've been enjoying it almost as much as the new episodes of American Idol, Project Runway, and Shear Genius.

Sonoita: the "Tuscany" of AZ

What are two things that you never think would go together that do so perfectly in AZ? The answer: desert and vino.

Yes, Arizona has a wine country, mostly the south-eastern corner of the state. Patagonia is the wine capital of the state, but the area with the most wineries is a small town a few miles north, Sonoita. Boasting over nine wineries in its vicinity, Sonoita is the kind of place where there are only two great restaurants (one being a saloon joint called the Stake Out, the other Italian) and two gas stations, one at each end of the main road. The entire area is made up of nine streets (two of which are major highways), but the rolling hills and snow-capped mountains offer one of the most scenic drives in the entire state.



The center of Sonoita is only an hour and fifteen minutes south of Tucson and makes a wonderful day trip. Our first stop was the fairly new winery, Kief-Joshua. It is a small, family owned vineyard set on 20 acres of land. Their tasting room and shop are set in the first floor of their house, making it the perfect setting for a family buisness. The owner, Kief Manning, has a degree from the University of Melbourne in Viticulture and Enology (yes, that is an actual degree). He personally runs the tasting room, which is open every day except for Christmas. However, it is not just people who love this vineyard retreat set in the middle of nowhere. Petey, a local roadrunner, is a daily guest, followed Kief around the property as he does his work. This little friend has even made a point of greeting guests and he is a charming bird to be sure.

Our second vineyard that we stopped at was The Village of Elgin (named for the local area, which is Elgin). It is also called Four Monkeys Winery, but it goes by either name, if not both. Although the interior setting of the tasting room is not as romantic, it shows all of the different kinds of wine that Four Monkeys offers. Each wine is divided into three catagories: White, Rose, and Red. The names differ based on where the grapes could be from, the names of saints, or even the niece of the owner. Online ordering is possible for they sell their wines in local liquor stores across Arizona.

However, one of the greatest parts about our day trip was not just the wine, but the food. At Kief-Joshua, we picked up a jar of their Chardonay Artichoke Salsa. One bite leaves a burn in your mouth that won't even go away with a glass of milk. Viaggio Italiano, the local Italian restaurant, has views of mountains to dazzle anyone and the food is as authentic as it is delicious. On the walls hang retro Italian posters from various operas such as La Boheme, mixed in with a signed photo of Pavarotti and framed copies of the recipies that the owner's grandmother used for her Italian cuisine (which are now offered as meals on the menu).

If one is spending a week in Arizona and doesn't want a traditional touristy look at the state, the Sonoita-Elgin Wine Country is the place to be.