Road Trip '08: Tucson

Tucson is a short drive from Phoenix, about two hours. We drove to Sally's house, who was the organizer of last years rafting trip through the Grand Canyon. She is dating Susanne's 2nd cousin from England, and they spend six months in Tucson and six months in England. Guess I don't need to mention which six months are in England, though Andrew is already over there try to sell a house.

The next day, we all drove down to Tubac, a artist colony south along the Nogales Highway. While browsing in one gallery, we ran across some familar art. Bronze Indian themed on natural stone. Yes, they were Mike's from Phoenix (Goodyear) area. We had lunch at the Longhorn Cafe (see pic).

Next day was a high light of the trip. While in the navy, part of my time was as a flight simulator instructor for basic jet training in Meridian, MS. About a year ago, I was talking with a neighbor's son who is an air force pilot stationed in Tucson and suggested taking a ride in a new simulator for comparison. He said sure, so I contacted him before the trip. Turns out he is a major and fantastic guy. He ran Sally (former Alaskan bush pilot) and myself through a F-16 simulator. What a trip. Flying VFR (visual) all the time instead of IFR (instrument flight rules) as in my past. The images are on all sides, and you could even turn around and see the tail. Though the cockpit is stationery, the sensation with the graphics gives one a feeling of motion. Shot down a tanker (it was one of ours, but when your simulating, who cares) and did a very good landing. In the old days, banking was usually 30 to 45 degrees; the f-16 is 90 degrees. Very fast and manuverable jet. We also went out to the tarmac to check out an actual F-16. Small when compared to the older planes, like an F-14, or even an F-8 from my era.

Later that night, we had dinner with an old friend of mine, Angela. Angela used to live in San Diego and is a friend of mine and my ex-wife's family. That is her with Susanne and me in the picture above.

The next day, we headed home, spending the night back in Vegas. Road Trip "08 was over.