On Tuesday morning, the skies were sunny and blue as we arrived at Sabino Canyon Recreation Area. We took the shuttle up the canyon and normally it makes nine stops but recent flash floods had wiped out a portion of the road in the upper canyon, so Station #4 was as far as the shuttle could go. We got off and explored the area for a half hour or so. Saguaros peppered the steep canyon walls and bright green Cottonwoods lined the canyon stream.We boarded another shuttle that took us to the Sabino Dam area. After completing our shuttle trip, we visited the gift shop, and bought some sunscreen for the game.
We returned to Tucson Electric Park for another spring training game, this time against the Chicago White Sox. Our seats were in the third row, near home plate and the Sox dugout.
A much more interesting game than Monday's, and the weather was a sunny 70° under bright blue skies and puffy white clouds. The Padres shut out the White Sox 5-0. Adrian Gonzales and Kevin Kousmanoff, as well as Trevor Hoffman, Jake Peavy and Chris Young were in China playing two exhibition games against the Dodgers. Adrian's brother, Edgar, drove in a run with a deep shot to right center. Khalil Greene also had a RBI. The infield consisted of Edgar at third, Khalil at shortstop, Tad Iguchi at second and Tony Clark at first--they turned an unbelievable five double plays (and barely missed a sixth), to thwart several White Sox rallies. Starter Will Ledesma pitched a fine four innings before giving way to a series of Padre relievers.
We sat next to a group of Chicago fans that were enthusiastic if not informed, with the exception of a white-haired woman who constantly corrected them with stats and expert commentary. Chicago Mgr. Ozzie Guillen and bench coach Joey Cora (both former Padre second basemen) sat directly in front of us (we were in the third row, to the left of the White Sox dugout). Ozzie is very interested in being the center of attention, and spent as much time looking into the stands as he did watching his layers on the field. A fine, fun day.
After the game it was time for a relaxing treatment at Lotus Massage. We arrived early and met with Flora and Steff, our masseuses, who took our information and then discussed the therapeutic techniques they would employ. Pennie and I had selected the "Hot Stone Couples Massage" so we could share the experience in the same room. We spent a quiet hour enjoying the warmth of the smooth stones and their firm, caring touch. The most difficult moment was getting off our tables when they were done--we wanted to nap for another day or two. We thanked them for their outstanding service and headed off to dinner at nearby Pastiche.
A nice quiet meal in the hip, upscale restaurant--Pastiche. Pennie had a glass of Sangiovese and I enjoyed my Gewürztraminer. We split the house salad, and I had the Cajun pasta with shrimp, chicken and andouille sausage, while Pennie had the rosemary-crusted pork tenderloin. Both were well prepared and nicely presented.
Since we would be returning to San Diego in the morning, Pennie wrote the following in the Alta Vista Guest Book:
Dear Gaila, Peter and Emma too,
Needless to say our stay in Tucson will never be forgotten! Our wedding was just the way we wanted it, lovely and intimate. And the "home" you provided for us here at Alta Vista has far exceeded our expectations.
So many ways to comfort and pamper! Others in this book have listed them, so we don't need to do that, but you've gone way beyond…the chilled Champagne when we came back at the end of our wedding day, the lovely card, the rose bouquet (from Mondo & Debbie), etc. We loved the little "wildlife" stuffed critters on our bed; each night our "zoo" grew. And thanks so much for the "Something Blue"! And I'm glad we could share our wedding cake with you.
So, we return to San Diego and our "real" life. But we will never forget the happy experience of being with you at Alta Vista.
Tom and Pennie
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