"This Was a Terrible Place"

We next decided to drive south to Tombstone, Arizona -- site of the infamous gunfight at the OK Corral.

We road a stagecoach.

Had a drink at the historic Big Nose Kate's Saloon.

And we went to a gunfight at the OK Corral.

As Abby learned more and more about the town's history, she kept saying, "This was a terrible place!!"

As we drove out of town, we stopped at the beautiful Boothill Graveyard where many of those killed in the 1800s are buried.

Abby fusses at me for laughing every time I recite this epitaph, but I can't help it! It is funny! She thinks I'm being disrespectful to the dead.

This one makes me laugh too, but it is pretty sad! George Johnson bought a horse, but did not know it was a stolen horse!

I did find an epitaph in the graveyard that I could live with (or die with is, as it were)...

Pima Air and Space Museum

Our next stop was planned mainly for Daniel, but we all really loved our visit to the Pima Air and Space Museum -- one of the largest air and space museums in the world.

We decided to take the docent led tour and ended up staying with him for two full hours! He was a volunteer at the museum and a former Navy pilot in Vietnam and later a pilot for Delta. We saw some fascinating, historic aircraft and learned a great deal about World War II, in particular.

Will channeled his inner Tom Cruise right into the danger zone.

And I was so excited to see a Super Guppy! How cool is this plane!?!? There are only four others in the world -- NASA still uses one and the other three are mothballed.

Mission San Xavier del Bac

On Sunday, the non-tennis part of our vacation began. We started out south of Tucson on the Tohono O'odham Indian Reservation at Mission San Xavier del Bac. This mission was so beautiful and so different from the missions we have seen in California.

Abby captured Daniel's first photo bomb!

We watched women making Indian fry bread and bought one to sample. Daniel wasn't interested in it, but Abby LOVED it!

Riding in the Desert

Abby and I went on a BEAUTIFUL two-hour ride in the desert below the Santa Catalina Mountains. We road Rocky Mountain Horses. We saw so many different kinds of cactus and we even spotted a gorgeous red-tailed hawk perched in a tree.

Abby rode Preston and I rode Smoke.

Will's teammate Sarah also joined us for the ride.

Daniel Visits an Athletic Trainer

Daniel took a spill as we were walking to the tennis courts one morning. He scraped his wrist, but bravely visited the athletic trainer who was on hand to tend to the tennis players. 

Daniel was very brave and was rewarded with a special band aid that the trainer had in his wallet for his own children!

Abby's Super Powers

We've long known that Abby is immune to cold weather when water is involved. (We first learned this in Carmel as Abby played in the cold Pacific Ocean.) She proved this super power again in Arizona by refusing to stay out of the pool despite the cool weather.

A super power that we were unaware of, but learned about while at a traditional Tucson Mexican restaurant with Will's teammates, is that Abby seems impervious to the heat of jalepeno peppers. These peppers actually brought two of Will's teammates to tears, but Abby insisted on trying one. We all warned her, but she INSISTED. So, we all watched in awe as she took not one, but TWO bites. She chewed thoughtfully and then said nonchalantly, "I like them. They're not that hot!"

What did Abby and Daniel do at Will's Tennis Tournament?

Abby logged lots of time playing games on my iPhone.

Daniel pretended to be a line judge.

Abby taught Daniel some mean tree climbing skills!

Daniel talked Dangerous Steve (Daniel's name for one of Will's teammates) into drawing Jack and the Beanstalk.

They read.

Daniel ran around pretending to be the Amazing Spider Man.

And, yes, they actually did watch some of the tennis!

Tennis in the Desert

Will's USTA mixed-doubles tennis team made it to Nationals this year. The tournament was held at a beautiful resort in Tucson.

Do You Remember These Faces?

Well, that was quite a blog hiatus! My apologies to those of you who kept checking in over the last several months.

Much has happened since my last post in July, but most recently we've just returned from a great vacation (November 8 - 15) in Arizona! The picture below is of Daniel and Abby outside our hotel room in Tucson.