Great Minds Drink Alike!

Arizona Beer Week is in ninety-four days (February 18-25, 2012). Events are being held all over the state, and a loooong list of restaurants are featuring a variety of specials. Here is just a quick sample:

- The whole thing kicks off on Saturday the 18th at the 12th Annual Arizona Strong Beer Festival, held at Steele Indian School Park in Phoenix on February 18th. “Strong Beer” is just what you might think – the festival is all about high-alcohol content craft beers. General admission is $30 in advance, $40 at the gate, and gains you a commemorative tasting “mug” (it’s 4 ounces) and 15 drink tickets which, TRUST ME, is PLENTY.

- The Lumberyard Brewery in Flagstaff is having a beach party on the 18th as well. This amuses me, as Flagstaff in February = SNOW. But imagine hanging out on the patio on a bright winter day, bundled up and chilling (har) around the fire pit, sipping on local brews and batting around a beach ball. My idea of heaven!

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The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum is a living museum located in the saguaro-filled outskirts of Tucson, Arizona.

The mission of the museum “is to inspire people to live in harmony with the natural world by fostering love, appreciation, and understanding of the Sonoran Desert.”

There is something for everyone, be it educational, inspirational or interactive. They also offer a number of events each month like plant sales, pancake breakfasts and a festival of flight. There is quality dining on the premises.

The Desert Museum is just a few minutes from another Tucson treasure, Old Tucson Studios. If you make the drive via Gates Pass (roughly 30 minutes from downtown Tucson), make sure to allow for a sunset viewing along one of the many designated parking areas in the hills between the museum and the city — that will put everything in perspective.

This post is part of the UpTake Monday Museums & Monuments Series.

Photos: DrStarbuck (quail) and contemplicity (bobcat) via Flickr

Where the magic happened.

It was 10 years ago today that my wife and I were married. You owe me twenty bucks, Sam.

We were wed in the middle of a very public area, a cobblestone and grass square surrounded by friends, family and hundreds of people I would never see again.

The venue was Trail Dust Town, a mock old west community nestled into the heart of Tucson, an actual old west community. The ceremony was held in front of the Savoy Opera House, in which we proceeded to stomp once the wedding ended.

Trail Dust Town offers the very tasty Pinnacle Peak Steakhouse, a fun gunslinger shootout and a lot of memories. There’s also a place for putt-putt golf (and stuff) right around the corner. What’s not to love?

Ten years is a long time and it is the blink of the eye. Our travels since then have led us from city to city, and our nomadic journey continues still — we’re moving back to L.A. (from Seattle) next month. There is no rest for the wicked. Or us.

Ten good years. And counting.

This post was supposed to be a Wordless Wednesday entry, but I got carried away.

Photo: Someone at my wedding.

Under a Tucson sky.

This past weekend saw a terrible tragedy befall the beautiful city of Tucson, Arizona.

This is a Wordless Wednesday post. A moment of silence seems appropriate.

Photo by toga via Flickr.