This summer we decided to take a side trip from our annual visit to Chandler, Arizona. Tucson, two hours south of Chandler, was the perfect choice.
We started our trip with a stop at Casa Grande Ruins National Monument. It’s only 30 minutes south of Chandler. It was worth a quick visit.
The ruins, one of the largest prehistoric structures ever built in North America, have stood for more than 650 years. The ruins are surrounded by a compound wall constructed by Sonoran Desert people who farmed the area. These people hand dug miles of trenches so water from the Gila River could irrigate their acres of crops. Casa Grande refers to the “big house” you see in the pictures below, the only structure still standard from this compound. The ruins were abandoned around 1450 AD and their purpose remains a mystery to this day.
From Casa Grande we continued south to Tucson. Our first stop was the Old Town Artisans shops in El Presidio Historic district. The shops located in a 150 year-old adobe building feature art from local artists.
After exploring the shops we headed to El Charro, the oldest Mexican restaurant in continuous operation by the same family in the United States. El Charro has been serving delicious Mexican food since 1922 and is known as the home of the chimichanga. They are also known for their carne seca which is shredded beef marinated in garlic and lemon that is dried in wire cages on the restaurant’s roof.
I, of course, had to try the carne seca and Trey, again of course, had to try the chimichanga. Both were delicious. The carne seca was reminiscent of shredded beef jerky, grilled with green chile, tomato, and onions. The service at El Charro was lacking, but the food was great.
Chimichanga to the left.
Carne seca and chile relleno below.
After lunch we headed to our hotel, the JW Marriott Starr Pass. Trey had stayed here at a conference for work last year and was excited to bring me. It was lovely. Customer service was great. Our check-in was smooth. We had booked using our annual free night from a Marriott credit card. We were automatically upgraded due to having gold status. Our upgrade was a fantastic 1780 square foot suite with two bathrooms, a dining room, living room and double balcony. We hoped to enjoy the swimming pools and lazy river, but a storm rolled in so we had to skip the pools. Trey caught an amazing photo of the main pool, with lightning, from our balcony.
The dining room.
One of the bathrooms.
The next morning we headed to do a little shopping at La Encantada, a charming outdoor mall in a pretty setting. We did not purchase a single item, but happily browsed the stores including an AJ’s Fine Foods (fancy grocery store) and Tiffany : ).
We had a delicious lunch at Firebirds Wood Fired Grill before heading to the Westin La Paloma for our second night in Tucson. This hotel was in another beautiful location. The customer service and the room were a definite let down after our luxurious suite the night before. This was another free night for us and we again qualified for an automatic upgrade but were told there were none available. When we got to our room, we checked on the website and upgraded suites were available for that night. We decided not to complain but I am still bitter ; )
View from the pool at the Westin La Paloma.
This time we were able to enjoy some pool time. The pools were fantastic. They had several pools including an adults only mineral pool with a waterfall. A sign said the mineral salts came from the Dead Sea. The water in this pool was quite chilly and refreshing on the 110 degree day. We also indulged in a couple of poolside cocktails. After the pool we cleaned up and headed to dinner at Contigo Latin Kitchen. It was very good for a hotel restaurant. We shared a couple of appetizers and some delicious paella. The service was fantastic and we had a great time.
