Discovering Tucson: Downtown

After our outdoor exploring, we were excited to see what downtown Tucson had to offer. Our only planned stop was at Laff's Comedy Cafe,' which did not disappoint! The food and drinks were great, and the comics had us slapping knees, buckled over, and crying!

After our laugh-fest, we pulled out our handy Arizona Craft Brewers Guild Beer Trail Map. Now THIS was the way to explore a new town! We found easy parking downtown, and our first stop was Thunder Canyon Brewery. It was a chill atmosphere, and our server helped us select a few favorites for our tasting "flight." Perhaps the most memorable part, however, was being serenaded by a local bagpipe clan as they rehearsed for the Gaelic Storm performance at the Rialto Theater across the street! We took it as a good sign that the gentlemen came to Thunder Canyon (kilts and all!) to get a drink after the show.

We enjoyed the comfortable walk up and down the main streets of Tucson, and even popped in to a small art gallery hosting a live jam session with a grand piano and a six-string guitar. What a way to get lost in the art! As the sidewalk started to get a bit more crowded, we decided to find the next brewery before the college kids really started hitting the streets.

After doubtfully following our antiquated GPS through back alleys and over train tracks, we were happy to actually find the Barrio Brewery. While we were skeptical of the dimly lit parking lot and warehouse appearance, the atmosphere inside was fun and welcoming. We confirmed that it was a great find when we saw the Mocha Java Stout on tap (we're suckers for the dark stuff) and award-winning beers all around.

We loved our short visit into downtown Tucson, and are hoping to visit again when we can enjoy it by day as well (and maybe take a few photos this time). We also decided to keep our Beer Trail Map in the car... for future exploring "emergencies."

What's in a name?

When we decided to get back into blogging, the toughest question was, of course, "But what will we call it?"

Over the course of roughly 24 hours, we tossed back and forth clever (and corny) alliterations, quotes, plays on words, and song lyrics. We scanned the thesaurus and checked for URLs already in use.

We knew that we wanted the title to have a sense of motion - We like to think of ourselves as always "on the move" - traveling, learning, and trying something new. We see life as full of opportunities for adventure, and we embrace the vagabonding explorer's spirit.

That being said, we've found ourselves rather stationary (at least physically) lately. We are in no hurry to pick up and take off on another big trip, but we want to do much more exploring in the place we call home. So what do we call our slower-moving little adventures that seem to take us this way and that, without moving toward any particular new location or goal?

We pulled out the thesaurus (okay, we went to thesaurus.com!), and under "meander" we found synonyms like:

drift
ramble 
roam
all over the map

BINGO!

Enter the song "A Lovely Meander" by Three Fish (thank you, iPod). The lyrics completed the picture for us... and isn't life just lovely anyway?

Perhaps the best part about our blog title is that it allows us to cover a wide variety of topics. We hope to cover our lovely meanders through everything from hikes and traveling, to experiments in the kitchen, garden, training our dog, and more! We hope to share some tidbits of wisdom and experience, and welcome your contributions, too.

Thanks for coming along on our lovely meander through life with us!