Tucson One Day Itinerary: Lost During A Layover

Welcome back after a long break and a busy summer. Our family was trying to make up for the travel opportunities lost during the lockdown. We traveled to Bavaria, Hungary, the Netherlands, and most recently, to Arizona. The trip to Arizona involved as many programs as a family of four can do in two weeks. It also included an unexpected one-day trip to Tucson.

Documents for travel during COVID

After a two-week holiday in Arizona, we were ready to board our plane to Germany. We had checked the COVID-regulations, and it turned out that we could travel to Europe without a negative test. Our children, both under 6, did not need either a shot or a test.

At the checkout counter, we presented a bunch of documents. Passports, visas, shot records, tickets, whatnot. The kids and I were clear to go.

My husband, however, was not. He had lost the CDC COVID-19-vaccination card, so he only had a photocopy of it. Besides that, he had his full vaccination record from birth, including the coronavirus shot. He also had the EU Digital Covid Certificate. Three documents proved that he was among the first lab rats to get the shot, but they were not nearly enough. He was required to get an antibody test. It was 70 dollars.

We refused. The check-in counter clerk called her superior. She was also adamant that my husband needed a test. Everyone started googling for current terms and conditions. At one point, the employee read out a requirement that travelers needed a digital covid certificate. We pointed at the headline of one document that it says literally that.

We could not win. The check-in agents wanted a test from my husband. You know, because the Germans might ask for it. Fast forward two days: the German immigration officer asked for our passports, visas, and the EU Digital Covid Certificate. He never even mentioned a test.

So we unwillingly went to the lab. There are labs at airports, and they are free. But you have to be smarter than us, and you have to go to the lab 48-72 hours before travel.

Delayed flight

After getting the result (negative, what a surprise), it turned out that all this hurry was for nothing. Our flight to Dallas was delayed. The delay was so long that we could not have made the connecting flight to Frankfurt.

This is the story of how we stayed one extra day in Tucson.

Tucson airport hotel

The check-in agent booked us a hotel room and gave us dinner vouchers.

At the hotel, it turned out that their kitchen is closed on Mondays. It was a Monday. The receptionist was kind. She offered us to use the 48-dollar worth of vouchers on snacks. They had candy bars and nut mixes. My son has a severe peanut allergy, and I have diabetes.
I mumbled that “even prison inmates get food.” The receptionist heard it and found it funny, but I wanted to cry.

We were tired of traveling by now, and were ready to go home. I also dreaded the long flight ahead of us.

Our hotel was good enough for one night. The room was spotless and spacious enough. At breakfast, I could find healthy options, too, which is rare at a standard US motel. The pool and hot tube were also clean and fun.
However, it was an airport hotel next to Tucson airport, at it was the third of this kind during our trip.
As an airport hotel, it was far from downtown. We had already returned our rental car, and we were a bit lost without it.

Lost in Tucson

After having turned into prunes in the hot tub, we started aimlessly wandering around our hotel. We didn’t have our phones or an itinerary. Our sons were collecting rocks and lying in the dirt when a bus came. We hailed it, and it was going to the center of Tucson. (Lines 11 and 25 serve between the airport and downtown.) It was a big ol’ 45-minute drive to downtown.
However, the public transport system in Tucson, the Sun Tran, is well organized. It can get you almost anywhere in the larger Tucson area, and they are free. At the time of writing, as part of the COVID-19 safety precautions, Sun Tran, Sun Link, and Sun Express are currently fare-free.

The treasures we found in Tucson

Hub Ice Cream, Tucson, Arizona

When you travel with kids, the most important thing is always ice cream. Two- and five-year-old toddlers do not appreciate beautiful landscapes, famous sights but yell “ICE!!” every single time they notice an ice cream parlor, truck, or sign. It happens invariably each time, regardless of how many portions of ice cream they had had.
It also happened in Tucson, in front of the Hub Ice Cream, so we just had to enter.

You know: When life gives you lemon ice cream, just take it.

The ice cream place has the most decadent flavors, like lavender and goat cheese with walnut, but the kids could also find their favorites, such as mango and strawberries. As a diabetic, I hardly ever eat sweets, but my kids and husband liked their desserts. According to the Hub Ice Cream homepage, their ice creams are created onsite, with natural ingredients and their own pasteurizer, which helps them make the ice cream even more creamy and decadent.
The interior of the parlor is both hipster and lovely with vaulted ceilings and chandeliers.

The Hub Ice Cream Factory is at 245 E Congress Street, just outside the Downtown Ronstadt Center, where our bus stopped. After a short walk north, we found ourselves on 4th Avenue where all the trendy things happen.

Popcycle

The name is a play-on-words, as they sell upcycled items, such as unique clothing and home-deco. Think of thrift store items with a twist, like old shirts with quirky sewn-on patches, or fridge magnets made from newspaper cutouts. It is really cool.
According to their website: “Pop-cycle was founded with the goal of promoting local art made from recycled materials, re-used products and refurbished goods. Tucson is a desert community that has long shared an appreciation of makers and a dedication to sustainable causes. When you live in an environment of scarcity, you quickly learn to rethink usage. We believe in producing beautiful new things out of old.”

That is my own life philosophy therefore I love it.

Lindy’s on the 4th

You are lost in an unknown town. You are still hurting from jetlag. Your flight was delayed. You are in the desert.
You NEED a beer.
Your kid has to pee.
Look! A bar!

Lindy’s on the 4th, as the name suggests, is still on the 4th Avenue.
It’s a great burger place, so our kids had to have a “Cali Burger” because the second most important thing after the ice cream is a burger.
We just tried the craft beers, which Lindy’s has a great selection of.

El Charro

As we were roaming along, it was time to eat, and we stumbled upon El Charro Café. It looked inviting, and it was our last chance to sample some authentic Mexican food, so we decided to have lunch here.
And what a great decision it was!
For the first time in my life, I tasted tamales, and it was so good that tears of joy came to my eyes. By the time my husband started eating, I had finished. His food, the chimichanga, was perfect, too.
It was one of those spontaneous travel experiences that turned so good that it couldn’t have been better if we had planned it.
When I later checked their website, it turned out that according to Gourmet Magazine, it is “one of America’s 21 Most Legendary Restaurants.”

After El Charro, we headed back to our hotel on the bus. We had some melatonin-induced sleep in the aircraft noise, and in the morning, luckily, we could board our plane and head back to Germany.

The highlight of Tucson

During our stay, several people started conversations with us. It was just small talk that many people find annoying. For me, it was one of the highlights of our trip, more so than the sights on our Tucson itinerary. It also happened several times during our last day.
There were two ladies, on two different occasions, who started talking to us when they heard I was speaking an unfamiliar language. They were genuinely interested in the Hungarian language and culture.
How amazing is that? You would never find such friendly people in Europe.