Tucson Adventure - Day 2

[Composed: July 7, 2023, High in Tucson: 108°F]

This morning, we all rendezvoused at the Tampa airport for our Tucson adventure to fully begin. There were hugs and kisses as we waved goodbye to Shmuel, and we had no problem checking our luggage through to Tucson. Other than spending what felt like an eternity waiting for take-off, our flight from Tampa to DFW is painless. Once on the ground at Dallas Fort Worth, it took another eternity before we made it to our gate. Once finally in the terminal, we bolted to our second flight and made it with just minutes to spare. This was a dose of adrenaline I could lived without.

When we finally landed in Tucson we learned that while we made it onto the DFW flight, our bags didn't. They'd be arriving in town later that night. In the meantime, we stopped by Walmart to pick up some temporary essentials for the kids and made our way to the supermarket to stock our kitchen.

When we started up the car at the airport, the temperature gauge read 99°F. OK, I thought, 99°F is hot but we get temps like that back in Virginia. Of course, that was the temperature in a dimmly lit garage. After driving outside, the same gauge read 113°F. Gulp. The next level heat the forecast had promised was here. Oh well, we're committed now.

Arriving at our Airbnb, I was delighted to see that the scenery didn't disappoint. We wanted to show the kids the desert in all its glory, and this location delivered. It was cacti, including massive saguaro cacti, as far as the eye could see. The Airbnb itself was large, with a spacious bedroom for the boys to share and an even larger one for the girls to share. Our bedroom was relatively small, but knowing the kids had the space to spread out, made it a worthwhile choice.

Perhaps most importantly, the pool was as promised: large enough for us all to play in and in excellent condition. Everybody dipped their toes in and the water felt beyond perfect. The kids were ecstatic to have access to a pool for the week.

As we were treated to an epic sunset, I couldn't help but be optimistic about the days ahead of us. Sure, we'd have to figure out how to navigate the scorching heat, but that was a minor detail in the grand scheme of things. We were all safe in Tucson and the adventure was on!