Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Song Requests

We are in the midst of trying to pick some good songs to dance to during the reception. We really, really don't want to inflict the YMCA, Electric Slide, or Chicken Dance on our beloved friends and families.

If you have a song request, please respond to this post and let us know what you will dance to, and we will do our best to have it on the playlist. No guarantees about the YMCA, though.

Registry

The wedding gift we want most is the presence of our friends and families at our wedding. We know that with the economy in the cesspool it's hard enough for everybody to fly to Arizona. Long-distance flying was going to occur no matter where we had the wedding, so we tried to pick someplace with great weather.

We have been fielding requests about whether we're registering, and when and with whom, so here's the scoop.

We are going to register at Crate and Barrel, but not until early February. They are having a registry party, and when we heard the words "free food" our hearts started pounding with excitement (okay, maybe just Kristen's heart...we know how grad students feel about free food). When we have our registry details sorted out, we'll post them here.

Fun things to do in Tucson (besides watching Chris and Kristen get married)

For those of you planning a long weekend in Tucson, we thought we'd share some fun things to do while you're there. The Radisson Suites where we blocked rooms has an outdoor heated pool, and the weather should be good for swimming/sunbathing.

La Encantada (www.laencantadashoppingcenter.com) is a new, outdoor mall full of fabulous stores (or fabulous window shopping) and great restaurants. This is a good place to enjoy views of the mountains and Tucson.

The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (www.desertmuseum.org) is a great place to learn about native plants and wildlife. The museum features large animals such as mountain lions, coyotes and javelinas, as well as smaller animals like birds and reptiles (under glass). The museum is mostly outdoors, with paved trails winding through the desert, though some exhibits (reptiles, minerals, etc.) are indoors.

Bike rental: Tucson is very bike-friendly; there are wide bike lanes all over town. Bikes can be rented from Broadway Bicycles (520-296-7819), Tucson Bicycles (520-577-7374) or Fair Wheel Bikes (520-884-9018).

Biosphere 2: For those of you science nerds out there (you know who you are), the Biosphere 2 (www.b2science.org) is worth a visit. Located about 20 minutes north of Tucson on AZ Highway 87, the biosphere 2 was built in the late '80s/early '90s as an experimental research station and space exploration prototype. Now it's a site of ongoing research, and contains an ocean complete with coral reef, rainforest, savannah, and marsh. The Biosphere 2 is currently studying environmental change, and half the admission from guided tours funds ongoing research.

Tubac (www.tubacaz.com) is a great place to go browsing for art, if you don't mind a bit of a drive. This small community is now an artist's haven and is full of art galleries and boutiques, as well as restaurants and lodging. Tubac is located 45 miles south of Tucson, off I-19.

Of course, there is tons more to do than we could put on this list. If you're outdoors-y, there are all sorts of national and state parks with great hiking. Beware the native flora and fauna; things tend to be pointy or poisonous (or both). And NEVER go hiking alone; mountain lions love that. No really, they eat people.

Foodies will be in heaven. We've enjoyed great French, Italian, Asian, fusion, American and of course Mexican cuisine on our Tucson visits.

We found a lot of great ideas in the 2008-2009 Tucson Guide (www.tusconguidemagazine.org).