We all recognized it at the same time: there was a lot more traffic.
It happened all at once; a 15 minute trip suddenly took half again as much time. Those of us who are never late were surprised to find our lunch companions even later than we were. Normally, we'd be embarrassed; last week we just shook our head and murmured, They're back.
The weather is still dark and dreary up north, so our friends drive back or fly down or come for a week or so to an air b&b on this side of town and that makes us happy. It's the presence of everyone else that annoys us.
Restaurant patios are full of diners wearing jackets, sitting beneath heat lamps, but outside, looking at the sunshine through semi-transparent plastic curtains. Inside, please, we live here and we're cold! is our going out to lunch mantra.... although out of town guests have been known to influence the outcome.
There are lots of things going on this month - the Gem and Mineral Shows; UofA basketball home games; the Rodeo; and a variety of political fundraisers for all the worthy causes. Even this week's rainy prediction won't get in our way; we're going to see Little Women and the exhibit at the Center for Creative Photography and maybe Scarlet will join us, now that she's healthy.
I like it when two pieces of my life intersect, the past and the present doing something new together. It's just too bad that it takes so long to get there these days.
Yes, well, as an ex-snowbird, I feel I must reiterate the financial good done for Tucson by the influx of the elderly. Those people come here and spend money. When going across Tucson on surface streets we use 22nd, which is currently gridlocked at I10 by the gem and mineral show. So I do feel your pain about increased traffic volumes.
ReplyDeleteI know that the restaurants stay open all summer because they make good money during the winter. I know the tourists and snowbirds spend money and keep our economy humming. I just wish they had their own special lanes on the roads :-)
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