New Year's in Tucson with the Hamilton Family - Nick

12/30/17

Yesterday I played with my friends until about 10:00. Then we said goodbye and left the site. I had a great time playing with them and I am going to miss them. Then we dropped our camper off at our next site. Then we drove to the airport to pick Aunt Lisa up. She is staying with us for 9 days. It was so good to see her again! When we got back to the site I showed Aunt Lisa my motor bike and I popped a tire. Then we played a game of organ attack and had salmon for dinner. Then we watched a movie and went to bed.

12/31/17

Yesterday we had breakfast a little late and then started driving to Walmart. When we got there we all went shopping for everything we are eating in Tucson. We are meeting up with Nana, Granddad, Uncle Ryan, and Chelsea (in addition to Aunt Lisa) for 9 days in Tucson. We are renting a house in Tucson.  When we were done shopping we went to the rental house to get settled. Then we went for a walk with Aunt Lisa. When we got back, Nana, Granddad, Uncle Ryan, and Chelsea all got here. We said hi and then gave them the tour of the house. It was so good to see all of them again. Then we went swimming in the hot tub for a while. Next we had chow mein for dinner and watched Tombstone. Then we went to bed.

Hangin' out in the desert

1/1/18

Yesterday we went to an old west town called Tombstone. There were lots of old shops and restaurants. We saw a gun fight show where a bunch of townspeople were fighting cowboys. Then we ate lunch at a restaurant called Big Nose Kate’s. It was really good. When we got back we had nachos for dinner and stayed up until 12:00 for New Year’s Eve. We went in the hot tub for a while and then just hung out and talked until 12:00. Then we all did a toast and went to bed.

New Year's Day 5K race

1/2/18

Yesterday was New Year’s Day! In the morning we drove to a 5K race we were doing. A 5K is 3.12 miles. It was called a hot cocoa race because they had hot cocoa you could drink even though it was 80°F. The race started at 11:18 for 1/1/18. The race was on a bike path. It was really hot and dry. When I got back I waited for everyone else and cheered them on. When everyone was back they announced the winners. I won my age group! (10-12) my finishing time was 25:08.4. I got 36^th place out of 528.

Then we came home and had lunch. Next we did a really long drive up to the top of a mountain called Mt. Lemmon. The view was really nice. The temperature went from 80 to 30. Then we came home and had leftovers for dinner.

ATV fun

1/3/18

Yesterday we had a lazy morning. Granddad made bacon and eggs in the morning which was really good. Then we drove 2 hours to a razor rental place. We got two 4-seaters and one 2-seater. We went on a really rugged trail. I went with Dad in the 2-seater first and then with Granddad in a 4-seater. Next Chelsea drove me in the 4-seater for most of the time. I also drove with Nana for a little bit. My favorite driver was Chelsea. She went really fast and she fish-tailed and did donuts. When we got back we thanked Nana because this was a Christmas present from her. It was really fun. Then we drove back and had beef stroganoff for dinner.

1/4/18

Yesterday we did a short hike in Saguaro National Park. We saw lots of cacti. We hiked about 2 ½ miles. We also looked at the Visitor Center. Then we came back to the house. Then we went to a Mexican place for dinner. I got chicken enchiladas which were really good. Then we came home and swam in the hot tub before bed.

Chico and I had a great time

1/5/18

Yesterday we went horseback riding in the morning. My horse was a 20 year old male named Chico. He was brown with a small white patch on his forehead. We were riding on a dry river bed. It was really fun. You held the reins with one hand and pulled them one way or the other to turn. To go, you nudge with your heel a little. To stop, you pull the reins to your bellybutton for 3 seconds. When we were done with our ride we came back to the house for a while. Then a couple of us (including me) went on a 4 mile hike. We saw a lot of cool cacti. Next we came home and had dinner and watched a movie.

Kitt Observatory

1/6/18

Yesterday we went to the Sonoran Desert Museum. It was more like a zoo. There were a lot of animals. My favorite was a mountain lion. It came right to the glass and walked around in front of us. Then we drove really far to an observatory. Then we did an observatory program. We got to look at stars through a telescope, which was really cool. My favorite part was when a guide named Chuck pointed out constellations and told us how they got their names. Then we came home and went to bed.

1/7/18

Sabino Canyon

Yesterday we did a tram ride through Sabino Canyon. It was a lot like everything else we have seen in the west. It was still cool. There were lots of cool rock formations. We got off the tram at one of the stops. We walked to the next stop and picked up the tram there. Then we took it back to the parking lot. Then we got lunch at a Mexican place. It was good. Then Uncle Ryan took a couple of us (including me) to see Star Wars the Last Jedi. We saw it in 3D. It was a really good movie. Then we came home and Anid, Nana and I had a snowball fight with fake snowballs. Then we went in the hot tub with Aunt Lisa and went to bed.

1/8/18

Yesterday we got all of our stuff out of the rental house in the morning. Then we went to the Pima Air and Space Museum.  They had all sorts of planes on display. My favorite was the F-14 Tomcat. That is a fighter jet. We also saw the SR-71 Blackbird. That is the fastest plane in the world. It could go over 2,000 mph. Then Mom and Dad picked up Aunt Lisa to go to the airport. We said goodbye. I am going to miss her and I had a good time hanging out with her. Then we did a tram tour where we got to look at the planes. There was supposed to be a person talking about the planes but we couldn’t hear him. Then we said goodbye to Nana and Granddad and Uncle Ryan and Chelsea. Then we drove back to our camper and watched a movie, had dinner, and went to bed.