ARTICA

Sorry no post yesterday. I was at the mighty Washington University Medical Center getting my back worked on. They gave me an IV that doesn't put you to sleep but just makes you . . .smooth while they burn nerve roots in your lower back. It really helps but after Mrs C took me home I fell hard asleep. She had to wake me for dinner. Then a frantic day at work.

Anyway, last weekend brought us the annual Artica festival. You might call it alternative art, or just way out there. I missed most of it while I was in Texas but got by late Sunday afternoon. One piece involved  playing croquet on some rough land. The metal arch contained black light spotlights. All the equipment was painted in day-glo colors and looked wild at night. Unfortunately, it was too dark to photograph that action.            

Artica: A Game Of Croquet

Everyone knows you don't play croquet using a flamingo for a mallet and a hedgehog for a ball, except Alice and the Queen of Hearts. There was only one fake flamingo hanging around the Artica site. Had there been more they would have been put to good use.

There was a second day of activities planned for last Sunday but it was chilly and drizzly and not many people showed up. Those who attended contributed to a pot-luck brunch. I brought a case of White Castles, which was very well received. The afternoon's main activity was a bizarre game of croquet, played on several physical and probably metaphysical levels. There may have been a winner but it did not go down in the record book.

               

The Arizona Inn

We've been to Tucson once or twice over the years but really don't know the area. We asked our colleague Dave of Tamarindo DP, who lives in the Phoenix area, for advice about where to stay. He recommended the gorgeous Arizona Inn, a landmark since 1930. It oozes charm and style.

You can play croquet in a pink seersucker suit and bare feet after breakfast. Wander the gardens. Dine on the patio. Watch the moonrise. It was heavenly, and fairly priced for all the beauty. It's a place we would like to return to one day.