Tucson, AZ

Is it Tuscon or Tucson? I never seem to know which is the correct spelling. Just for the record, it is TUCSON. But funnily enough, Tuscon gets 1,530,000 hits when you Google it.

Last week I enjoyed the balmy weather of Tucson, Arizona for work. We stayed at the Starr Pass Marriott, which is a super nice resort that I would recommend to anyone. In fact, Bill Clinton also stayed there for one night. He was the keynote speaker for some convention that was taking place there. Hey, if it's good enough for Bill, it's good enough for me :) Several of the folks from our group even got to shake his hand!

This was my first trip to Arizona. I have to say, the landscape was stunning. It was crazy to see those huge cactuses everywhere. And while I love the all the trees we have in New England, I was actually surprised at how much I liked the look of Arizona.

The balcony off my room overlooked a 27-hole golf course that had lush green grass. And not the Bermuda grass or the bluegrass that they grow on courses in warmer climates, but 'real' grass like we have back home. The juxtaposition of the green fairways and the desert made the course look super impressive. And while it was impressive, I couldn't help but wonder in the back of my mind how much water they use to keep grass that green in the middle of the desert.

While we were enjoying the wonderful warm weather, back home they were enduring highs of 0F - yikes! Naturally, this being a sales meeting, there was plenty of good food and drink to go round. One night at the restaurant they had set up a bunch of food tasting stations. And you just spent the entire evening running around to sample little appetizer-sized portions of dishes. They even had an oyster bar and it was here that I rediscovered my love of raw oysters!

The resort as a beautiful patio with chimineas, outdoor firepits, and gas heaters. It became the natural place for people to congregate after a long day of meetings to enjoy a few drinks under the clear night sky.