Spring Break

About a month ago, the tell-tale signs of spring were visible all around the University of Arizona campus.  Like what?  Well, for one, sunshine was slowly being replaced with even more sunshine. Ok, maybe it wasn't obvious the seasons were changing except for the slew of midterms and papers. The weather in Tucson is rarely anything short of perfect, and that didn't change during my week off for spring break.

I debated long and hard whether or not to make the trek back to Wisconsin, back to the cold and the snow.  Ok, you caught me again.  While I missed spending time my family, I didn't miss the wintry weather, and stayed in Tucson for the week.  But I wasn't going to spend my spring break all alone, because my beautiful, sweet, hilarious girlfriend Aarika (who reads this) would be joining me in Tucson.  She was excited, to say the least, for the opportunity to get a tan. And see me. Mostly the tanning thing, though.

On Saturday, the day Aarika flew in, I met her at the airport and together we took the free shuttle the hotel offered back to where we'd be staying for the week.  The shuttle was awesome, taking us anywhere we wanted within about a five mile radius of the hotel. The weather on Saturday was crappy, with it being cloudy, some sporadic drizzles, and only about 55 degrees.  Not stereotypical spring break weather, and definitely not what Aarika was expecting.  She was shivering almost as soon as we stepped out of the airport.  

Hotel Tucson City Center was where we were staying, and in addition to the huge heated pool, the room wasn't too bad either.  We unpacked some of our things, and started planning out the upcoming week.  Before we could do that, there was homework to be done.  Aarika's official spring break was a week after mine, meaning she was missing a week of classes to be with me.  I have no clue why she seems to love me so much, but I hope she never stops.  Being the brilliant student she is, she had taken care of most of her school-related work and only had two quick online quizzes to do, which took all of 20 minutes to finish.  Then, the planning could start.

In our room, there was a refrigerator and a little two-burner stove, as well as a microwave, so on Sunday we took the shuttle to a nearby grocery store and picked up a few things for the week.  The hotel also offered a free breakfast buffet every morning, and had a small restaurant inside.  Both were convenient and, surprisingly tasty, too.  On Monday, Aarika went shopping at the Tucson Mall while I carried shopping bags around the Tucson Mall.  It really is a gorgeous and spacious mall, and we had a lot of fun.  We went to an In-N-Out Burger for lunch, and before we left for the day we stopped by the nearby Cheesecake Factory and grabbed a slice to take back with us.  Later that night, we ate our cheesecake while watching must-see television, The Bachelor finale. 

Tuesday was dedicated to hanging out on or around campus and enjoying the places I go to on a regular basis.  The day started out with a smoothie from Jamba Juice and some baked goods from Paradise Bakery.  Unfortunately, Aarika gave the smoothie only a so-so rating.  We walked around the campus, and like a true tour guide I dished out as many facts about the U of A as I could think of.  For lunch, we enjoyed the amazing chicken sandwiches and waffle fries from Chick-fil-A.  This time the meal was much better received.  I showed Aarika my dorm room after that.  Finally, we stopped at No Anchovies, an awesome pizza place just a few minutes walking from my dorm for a couple of slices.  The positive trend in food reviews continued, as this was Aarika's favorite meal of the entire day.

The weather had been slowly warming up since Aarika had arrived, and by Wednesday, the forecasts called for highs in the low 90s until the end of the week.  We spent most of the day soaking up the sun and lounging by the pool on Wednesday, ending the day by walking around downtown Tucson.  We stopped at The Hub, a place known for its ice cream.  We shared some macaroni and cheese and an order of fries.  The fries were some of the best I've ever had.  And, of course, we each had an ice cream cone.  

Thursday and Friday came and went much in the same, with the vast majority of our time spent by the pool enjoying the great weather.  On Friday night, we tried to make homemade spaghetti in our tiny hotel micro-kitchen.  Everything came together, and when we were finished we actually had something that looked and tasted like spaghetti.  Aarika was to fly home on Saturday afternoon, and the week we spent together went by so quickly. 

It was tough to say goodbye, like it always is, but in Aarika's case the heartache was twofold.  She was saying goodbye to a place with constant sunshine and no signs of winter.  I'm sure it was harder for her to say goodbye to me, though.

Probably. 

Hopefully. 

All in all, I had an amazing week with a truly amazing girl that I love to pieces.

Back at home, snow fell on Aarika's first day of her very own "spring break."