I was looking forward to this day with Amanda for a long time!! One of my favorite things to do on weekends is just get in my car and explore. There is just so much to see in this state! On Saturday, Amanda and I took at little trip down to Tucson. Our first stop was Tucumcacori National Historic Site, a mission that was built in the early 1700's by the Spanish. It was fun to explore a site so old, and this was probably not somewhere I would have gone if it hadn't been in my Passport to the National Parks.
The highlight of this stop was definitely the flower making booth. This adorable elderly Mexican lady makes crepe paper flowers. She tried to teach us, but we failed miserably. She kept saying, "It's easy, it's easy," and we felt so stupid. We finally just purchased flowers she had made.
Amanda is on a mission to become fluent in Spanish, and this was great practice for her. She and this lady conversed quite a bit on a wide variety of topics. For example, Amanda learned that she likes Obama because "he is black... like the night." She even serenaded Amanda with a song she wrote!
Our next stop was the Titan Missile Museum in Green Valley, where we learned about peace through deterrence. An interesting concept that I'll have to give some thought to. Mennonites are pacifists, and I lean (pretty far) in that direction. But there was a good argument for this philosophy, too. The U.S. was making these weapons in hopes that they'd never have to use them.
I think this was actually my favorite part of the day because it was just so unexpectedly interesting. I was surprised by how much they show you; they take you down into the silo and everything has been kept exactly the way it was back during the Cold War. It definitely made me wonder about the secret weapon sites we have today...
We stopped for lunch at Two Sisters Pizza in Green Valley. Delicious.
Next up was San Xavier del Bac, another Spanish mission in Tucson. This one was much better preserved and is still in use. It was gorgeous! So much beautiful art to look at. Of course, I had trouble keeping my snarky comments to myself. Those old paintings of saints are SO funny. One guy looked like he was doing the robot. Another had a bunch of creepy little heads peaking out from underneath his robes. Amanda actually had to shush me.
We treated ourselves to turtle sundaes for dinner and headed home. It was so fun to spend a day exploring with one of my best friends!
The highlight of this stop was definitely the flower making booth. This adorable elderly Mexican lady makes crepe paper flowers. She tried to teach us, but we failed miserably. She kept saying, "It's easy, it's easy," and we felt so stupid. We finally just purchased flowers she had made.
Amanda is on a mission to become fluent in Spanish, and this was great practice for her. She and this lady conversed quite a bit on a wide variety of topics. For example, Amanda learned that she likes Obama because "he is black... like the night." She even serenaded Amanda with a song she wrote!
Our next stop was the Titan Missile Museum in Green Valley, where we learned about peace through deterrence. An interesting concept that I'll have to give some thought to. Mennonites are pacifists, and I lean (pretty far) in that direction. But there was a good argument for this philosophy, too. The U.S. was making these weapons in hopes that they'd never have to use them.
I think this was actually my favorite part of the day because it was just so unexpectedly interesting. I was surprised by how much they show you; they take you down into the silo and everything has been kept exactly the way it was back during the Cold War. It definitely made me wonder about the secret weapon sites we have today...
We stopped for lunch at Two Sisters Pizza in Green Valley. Delicious.
Next up was San Xavier del Bac, another Spanish mission in Tucson. This one was much better preserved and is still in use. It was gorgeous! So much beautiful art to look at. Of course, I had trouble keeping my snarky comments to myself. Those old paintings of saints are SO funny. One guy looked like he was doing the robot. Another had a bunch of creepy little heads peaking out from underneath his robes. Amanda actually had to shush me.
We treated ourselves to turtle sundaes for dinner and headed home. It was so fun to spend a day exploring with one of my best friends!
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