Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Awesome Arizona

On our way to Tucson, We spent a few days in Phoenix staying at the super fun and great value Clarendon Hotel. We spent time checking out the abundant antique shops and viewing the marvelous midcentury modern architecture. We also found awesome vegan dining. Our favorite for lunch and dinner is Green Restaurant, full of amazing vegan comfort food. Next door is the awesome Nami, with vegan soft serve, bakery items, breakfast bagels and weekend brunch. From the Nami website; "The idea for Nami was born from our infamous organic ice cream treat- The tSoynami. A tSoynami starts with our homemade tsoft tserve, then we stir in all sorts of goodies like cakes, cookies, chocolate, peanut butter and just about anything you can think of, we’ve dozens to choose from. Then we thought, why not bake all of our favorite vegan treats here too. Then, yet another light bulb pops up – who doesn’t enjoy an organic, shade grown cup of coffee with their sweet treat- so voila. NAMI was born, your one stop shop for the good stuff in life." Delightful!

Next we headed down to Tucson for our four week bicycle frame buying course via Bohemian Bicycles. We had great accommodations which included a sweet menagerie of nearby critters. Two kitties, two doggies and a sweet tortoise added extra joy to our trip. I can't wait to adopt a cat when we return! When we weren't building bicycles we had a bit of time to check out the local sites. We ate regularly at the vegan Lovin Spoonfuls Restaurant, which has a great menu of vegan comfort foods and bakery items. We had our weekend breakfast at the vegetarian Sparkroot Cafe. Terrific coffee! We also had great vegan sushi from Yoshimatsuaz.



Besides great food we checked out the many antique stores and our favorite was Copper Country Antique Mall. We also took a trip to Biosphere2. "Biosphere 2 is an Earth systems science research facility currently owned by the University of Arizona since 2011. Its mission is to serve as a center for research, outreach, teaching and lifelong learning about Earth, its living systems, and its place in the universe. It is a 3.14-acre (12,700 m2)[1] structure originally built to be an artificial, materially closed ecological system in Oracle, Arizona (US) by Space Biosphere Ventures, a joint venture whose principal officers were John P. Allen, inventor and Executive Director, and Margret Augustine, CEO. Constructed between 1987 and 1991, it was used to explore the complex web of interactions within life systems in a structure that included five areas based on biomes and an agricultural area and human living/working space to study the interactions between humans, farming and technology with the rest of nature.[2] It also explored the possible use of closed biospheres in space colonization, and allowed the study and manipulation of a biosphere without harming Earth's." (source; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biosphere_2) It was vey interesting to see and to contemplate 8 scientists living inside for two years! If these glass walls could talk...


We took a trip out to the Titan Missile Museum. From their website; "The Titan Missile Museum is the only remaining Titan II site open to the public, allowing you to relive a time when the threat of nuclear war between the U.S. and the former Soviet Union was a reality. The Titan II was capable of launching from its underground silo in 58 seconds and could deliver a nine megaton thermonuclear warhead to its target more than 5,500 miles away in less than thirty minutes. For more than two decades, 54 Titan II missile complexes across the United States stood "on alert" 24 hours a day, seven days a week, heightening the threat of nuclear war or preventing Armageddon, depending upon your point of view." It was surreal experience to be so close to something that could have wiped out part of the planet. We learned that the missile was a tool for MAD: Mutual Assured Destruction. The premise of MAD is to act as a deterrent via a catastrophic counter attack should the enemy attack. The vintage machines were very interesting. Peering down on the 110 foot Titan from the viewing area was eerie.



"If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other." - Mother Teresa

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1 comment:

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