Well, it's almost that time of year...
Most of you are fed up with snow and ice, frigid temperatures, canceled school, and you’re ready to get outside and enjoy some nice weather. Down here in the desert, it’s the time of year when we will start to head into A/C-controlled hibernation. I’ve just been through probably the nicest year I’ll ever see in Arizona: spring stayed late last year; summer was mild compared to the two previous years; and, the heat didn’t stay for very long in the fall. We had a wonderful winter—cool, but not cold: perfect bonfire weather. This spring is the most beautiful example of what ideal desert weather can be. I feel sorry for people who liken Phoenix to the Sahara. I don’t live in a pile of dirt. We’ve had tons of rain and everything everywhere is green.
Our summer garden fizzled last year, with the plants flowering, but never producing. Our winter garden produced minimal amounts of spinach, green onion and broccoli. So, we gave the soil some TLC and crossed our fingers. We planted eggplant, squash, zucchini, cucumber, peas, tomatoes, red lettuce, and a lonely strawberry plant (our second try) that probably won’t make it. We’re hoping at least one of everything will actually produce veggies—at least that way we can have one really yummy homegrown salad!
With spring also comes spring training. Last year, it seemed we were at a ballgame every weekend. This year, we picked one game: Indians vs. Diamondbacks at Goodyear Ballpark. Matt had a Municipal Stadium game program from 1990 that featured a rookie Sandy Alomar, now the Indians’ first-base coach. We went to the game early and stayed late, but Sandy wasn’t in an autograph mood. I think the little boy inside of Matt was truly crushed. But, we did get to at least see him up close.
Also, the first-base coach for the Diamondbacks is now Matt Williams, who played for both the Indians and the D-Backs. Grady hit a solo home-run, and we also got to see the Indians stud pitcher Fausto Carmona, who only allowed something like one run in 20 spring innings. It was the quickest game of baseball I’ve ever seen, closing in a just under two hours. If baseball was always this fast and this fun to watch, then I might be a fan again. The Indians won—as they did most of their spring training games this year—and we didn’t get sunburned, which is great. I’m like a desert groundhog: if I burn before April, summer is right around the corner.
We’ve also been on two quick, weekend trips as of late: one wine tasting up north and one music listening down south-ish.
The first trip started as a Verde Valley wine-tasting odyssey inspired by
Blood Into Wine, a documentary about the Arizona winemaking exploits of one Maynard James Keenan. Maynard has teamed up with a guy named Eric Glomski. Between them, they own Caduceus Cellars and Merkin Vineyards (owned by Maynard; in Jerome), Page Springs Cellars (owner by Eric; in Cornville), and Arizona Stronghold (joint-venture; in Wilcox).
We left on a Saturday morning, armed with snacks and a map, and headed to an area just southeast of Jerome and a tiny-bit southeast of Cottonwood, called Cornville. We enjoyed wine at
Oak Creek Vineyards,
Page Springs Cellars (Maynard’s winemaking partner), and
Javelina Leap Vineyards & Winery, before grabbing some lunch and heading to Jerome.
Side note: If you’re EVER in Cottonwood, Arizona—and I’m not sure why you would be—you HAVE to go to Verde Lea Market Deli and Grill. It looks like a crappy little convenience store, which it sort of is, but has one of the best hamburgers I’ve ever had. I had the Frisco: a generous 1/2# patty, cheddar cheese, green chiles, mayo, mustard, ketchup, onion, lettuce, tomato, and pickles on grilled sourdough bread. Of course, it was complete with tasty hand-cut fries and a glass bottle of Coke, Hecho en Mexico. A big greasy burger was the only way Matt and I could get through a whole day of wine tasting!
We headed to Jerome, where we went for a tasting at the
Caduceus Cellars tasting room. I
bought a 2007 Nagual del Judith - the 100% cabernet made from grapes grown 100% in Arizona (a lot of Arizona wine is actually California grapes bottled here), courtesy of Merkin Vineyards. It’s also a special edition dedicated to Maynard’s mother, with only 90 cases bottled. I look forward to drinking it…in 10 years :)
We stayed at the Jerome Grand Hotel, which used to be a hospital. If you’re not used to radiators or have never been in an old-school elevator, you’d be one of those people who believed it’s haunted. Having said that, it is slightly creepy to sleep in what used to be a hospital room, with some of the original furniture, bathroom fixtures and artwork. We bummed around town for a bit, had a drink at the infamous Spirit Room bar, went to a circus-themed art opening at the Jerome Artists Cooperative Gallery, and then went back to the hotel, where we ate The Asylum. The garlic from their bruschetta stayed with us for the better part of three days; Matt actually called to let them know. Otherwise, it was a great meal.
We wrapped up our time in Jerome by eating the next morning at the Mile High Grill, where the huevos rancheros is authentic and the water glasses are proper big. I also found some time to buy a gorgeous, asymmetrical, greenish-brown, turquoise ring. We had planned on heading straight home, but detoured back through Cottonwood to taste at the recently opened Arizona Stronghold tasting room. So, we completed the Keenan-Glomski wine trifecta. Our last stop was at a cool, little hippie dippy shop, where I filled my coffers with tie-dye sundresses and tiny turquoise studs to match my ring.
In summary, Jerome is a sleepy little ghost town that burned down a half dozen times, produced ungodly amounts of copper, silver and gold, is filled with bikers, artists, and transients, and reminds me a little of San Francisco, tucked away in the hills and seemingly inaccessible by people with no imagination.
Our more recent trip was our “Easter” weekend trip to Tucson. We left on a Saturday morning, and headed straight to El Guero Canelo (featured on the Tucson episode of Man v. Food) to eat the Sonoran hot dog: a bun pocket filled with a bacon-wrapped hot dog, pinto beans, tomatoes, and jalapenos, and topped with mustard and cheese enchilada sauce. We checked in to the Arizona Hotel, and then spent the next three hours wandering around Tucson, following a green line painted on the ground.
We headed to the reason we went in the first place: Festival en el Barrio Viejo (Festival in the Old Quarter) and to see the band Calexico. (Their 2005 EP In the Reins, recorded with Iron & Wine, is goose bump material.) Their performance at the festival was sort of like the Sonoran hot dog: full of so many ingredients, you just have to stop trying to figure it out and just enjoy it.
We finished the night with dinner at El Charro Café, the oldest Mexican restaurant in the U.S. (est. 1922). We ate probably what will be the best tamales I’ve ever had. And, of course, no road trip is complete without breakfast at a greasy spoon—in this case, Chaffin's Family Restaurant, provided me with an outstanding specimen of eggs Benedict (rivaled San Fran’s Squat and Gobble) and Corner Grill-esque hash browns.
Tucson is like a weird Detroit-Albuquerque hybrid ghost town in the middle of the desert with lots of tattooed people and good food: real salt-of-the-earth folks, low skyline, life centered around “Main Street” (in this case, 4th Avenue), lots of panhandlers, college-dominated scene, etc. It’s the kind of place you go once or twice, but don’t feel the need to go back…although I would consider the 90 minute trek just to eat the Sonoran dog and El Charro tamales again!
So, that about wraps it up. Ahead of us, we have more Suns games and concerts on our dance card. We have plans to camp Memorial Day weekend. I turn the big 3-0 in July, and hope for some kind of legendary throwdown. I’m also doing tons of work travel this year, which I hope will translate into enough frequent flyer miles to buy tickets for somewhere fun. Maybe a quick weekend in San Fran for Matt’s birthday? Maybe Bellingham for Labor Day weekend?
Sorry it’s been so long since my last blog—suffice to say that 2010 kicked my ass. Work has been…trying. I’m not going to waste even more of my life taking time to complain about it here. I just have to keep reminding myself that, not only do I have a good job, but it’s doing something I love. Garden growing, coloring, used music shopping, cooking new recipes, weekend trips, wine drinking, and generally enjoying each other’s company is the only remedy for whatever life throws at us. And, of course, the kitten helps put a smile on our faces!
Who knows where you’ll find us next, but I’ll be sure keep you updated!
XOXO
Chelsea
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