Yuma Favorites: Part 1

Since we arrived after dark, our first glimpse of the view out our window at Candlewood Suites Yuma was the sunrise lighting up puffy clouds and vibrant green farm fields. It was downright gorgeous.

Phillip needed to be at the Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Yuma base at 0700, I got the coffeemaker going, and we got ready to head out.

On Base

Phillip, who is nearing the end of his seminary master’s program, had arranged to shadow a military chaplain in Yuma for a day. I’d meet back up with him, the chaplains, and a couple of their wives for lunch and a quick tour of the base.

The rest of the day, my mission would be to learn about this desert city in the southwesternmost corner of Arizona.

MCAS Yuma is typically closed to civilians, but they do hold an open house event once a year. It alternates between an air show and something called the Patriot Festival that features local bands, an obstacle course, singing competitions, and bouncy castles.

Art

Pottery

I found a couple pottery shops in the Brinley Avenue Historic District on the North End of town.

I visited Tomkins Pottery, which was filled with fabulous work by artist-owners Neely and George Tomkins. Their dog Joe helps them run the shop, and they also work out of the studio in back. A green honey/sugar bowl followed us home, but, really, I’d love one of everything there.

Across the street is Colorado River Pottery, the shop and studio of Jan Bentley.

Yuma Art Center

The Yuma Art Center has galleries to exhibit local art and is also an event space.

Historic Yuma Theatre

The Theatre next door has been a performance venue since 1912. It currently features plays, concerts, film screenings, workshops, and choir concerts – with two Art Deco mermaid murals always in the audience.

Artist Co-op

On the other side of the Theatre is the United Building, home of the North End Artist Co-op.

We met artists Larry Yanez, who was installing his art in one of the big storefront windows, and Judy Phillips, who graciously stopped what she was doing to answer questions and give us a full tour of the space, all the way back to the metal trash cans used for making raku pottery.

The co-op itself has 13 members, who are all local artists (many of them art educators) but they offer classes open to anyone. On Saturdays, members without their own studio space can come and work, share information and materials, and use the kilns and other tools.

Jazz

The Yuma Jazz Company quintet performs regularly around Yuma:

The Village Area at Yuma Palms Regional Center – free open-air concerts on a grassy area in the middle of the mall on winter/spring Thursday nights
Patio at Julieanna’s – Friday nights November to April (reservations recommended)
Lutes Summer Jazz Series (inside) – Friday nights in summer

Yuma Suite-y

I was super relieved when Phillip called to say one of the chaplains would give him a ride back to the hotel, because I was already there – kicked back in the recliner with a glass of wine – and not ready to move.

Candlewood Suites

The deal with Candlewood Suites is they’re an extended stay hotel designed for the type of do-it-yourselfers who probably clean up before housekeeping comes and would rather make breakfast exactly the way they want it than take their chances at a buffet.

So Candlewood Suites offers weekly housekeeping, a free laundromat, and full kitchens stocked with cooking/serving essentials. They have a bunch of stuff you can borrow if you’re looking for something beyond what’s in your room – crockpots, blenders, board games, wine glasses, movies, and barbecue tools for the grills on the patio. You can even purchase food onsite in the “Candlewood Cupboard.” It’s always open and operates on a self-pay/honor system.

Anyway, all that to say, we definitely could’ve just holed up in our room for the evening. But we had heard great things about a restaurant called Julieanna’s, so I pried myself out of the recliner, and we went to check it out.

It was worth it.

Julieanna’s

The locals we talked to raved about Julieanna’s Patio Cafe. It has a romantic yet relaxed atmosphere and a tropical motif. There are cozy booths inside and an expansive patio outside with mosaic tabletops, a macaw perch area, and a peacock strolling around.

The menu includes a selection of seafood entrees and appetizers, tasty-looking salads, as well as sandwiches and burgers. I ordered salmon served with sautéed spinach and heirloom tomatoes. In.sane.ly. good. Phillip opted for a classic French dip, which I can confirm was also delicious.

The servers were friendly, helpful, and accommodating without being overbearing.

Music

By the time we arrived, the macaws had already gone home for the day, and the Yuma Jazz Company was getting ready for their set on the patio. The peacock would randomly chime in while they played – so funny!

A video posted by stephanieliebold (@stephanieliebold) on May 6, 2016 at 1:45pm PDT

We enjoyed the quintet’s performance. They played several of their own compositions and gave a little background about what inspired each one, which made you feel more acquainted with new songs. It was all great except for a few too many reminders about the tip jar. After about the fifth one, I was rooting for more peacock cries.

Sunshine

Earlier in the day, I had made a wrong turn and ended up at a place called Catherine’s Cupcakery. So a chocolate strawberry cupcake was waiting for us in our room. Maybe it wasn’t really a wrong turn.

Back in the hotel lobby, we flipped through a couple of the fat binders of DVD selections and chose Little Miss Sunshine. (Why have I not seen that before?! So good.)

Settling in with our movie and cupcake was a great way to wind down from of our first day exploring Yuma.

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Part 2 is coming up in 2 weeks! In our next installment, we look for a museum gift shop without a museum, accidentally go to California, visit a date farm, and drive home through the Kofa wilderness. And, yes, there will be more Yuma puns! Yuma-ght as well get used to them!

Our stay was courtesy of IHG/Candlewood Suites Yuma. Opinions are my own and so are the puns. Pretty sure they don’t endorse those.

Edited: References to “Candlewood” changed to “Candlewood Suites” for clarity and per the request of IHG Corporate Communications.

May 2, 2016April 27, 2019

Free Outdoor Movies

I love the feel of free community events where anyone can be in the audience, like outdoor concerts or Ballet Under the Stars.

Outdoor movies are particularly interesting because they turn the whole movie viewing experience on its head. In the theater, it’s all about blocking out the surrounding environment – controlling light and sound so that nothing distracts from what’s on screen. Outdoors, the environment becomes part of the experience.

As a teenager, I saw the movie Twister at a drive-in while a monsoon storm was moving in, the wind gusting hard and the sky turning a surreal shade of orange. I’m pretty sure I thought it was a better movie than it actually was because of the natural drama around me. On the other hand, sometimes the sound isn’t good or something blocks your view or the people from the Portlandia sketch show up.

Do you ever go to free or outdoor movie events?

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Some places for free movies (inside or outside) here in Arizona…

May 2016:

Tempe Kiwanis Park
Sun City West Beardsley Park
Chandler CinePark

Summer:

Tucson Movies in the Park

Ongoing:

2nd Friday Nights Out – monthly in Downtown Mesa
Phoenix libraries – Weekly Wednesday Afternoon Movies at Burton Barr and Classic Movie Thursdays at Agave.
City Lights Movie Night – monthly at Cityscape (Double feature of Back to the Future I & II May 13)

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April 25, 2016April 25, 2016

Coffee Sleeve Flower Press

I didn’t expect to be pressing flowers during this winter’s trip to Virginia, so I didn’t pack anything for that. But I ended up with a few rose petals from my cousin’s wedding I wanted to preserve.

I’d been wondering if a cardboard coffee sleeve could work as an on-the-go flower press, so I grabbed one from the hotel. Since the inside had ridges, I tore it at the seam and basically turned it inside out, sandwiching the petals between flat sides. It may not have been necessary, but I slipped another sleeve over the top just to help everything stay put. Then I clipped it all together with a hair clip.

It actually worked pretty well! I imagine you could also use binder clips or wedge the sleeve under something heavy in your suitcase to keep it flat. Another way to repurpose coffee sleeves for crafting!

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April 21, 2016June 2, 2021

A Strategically Located Embassy

You’ve got some pretty impressive neighbors when you’re staying at the Embassy Suites Washington DC Convention Center. The President, for example, lives just down the street. The first night we were in town, we were wandering around after dinner and ended up strolling by the White House.

We actually stayed there twice (at the hotel, not the White House), since we were flying in and out of Washington DC with the Charlottesville portion of the trip sandwiched in the middle.

As the name would suggest, all of the rooms at the Embassy Suites are suites with 2 or 3 rooms. So the living room and kitchenette/wet bar is separate from the bedroom(s).

For our second stay, our room was a large corner suite with its own conference table. It felt like I should call a meeting. Or at least spread out a craft project.

While there is a microwave, coffeemaker, and mini fridge in all rooms, a hot, made-to-order breakfast in the adjoining Finn & Porter restaurant is included in your stay.

You pick out your ingredients, and they whip you up an omelet right there in front of you. They’ll also serve diced potatoes, bacon, etc. on the side, and you can help yourself to fruit and pastries. It was really good, and the restaurant has a nice warm atmosphere.

One morning, I finished breakfast and just sat next to the fireplace with my coffee for a bit, while outside the windows DC dwellers were rushing off to work.

Meanwhile, I didn’t even have to bus my own table. They take care of that. In fact, I was looking for a trash can to toss something on my way out and instead a server just held out his hand to take it for me.

In the evenings, there is a reception with snacks and beverages (alcohol is available with ID).

Really, the only thing that was a hassle was parking. And that’s a DC-wide issue. While there was only valet parking at the hotel, stopping to drop the car off or check in when you arrive had the triple-parked confusion of a busy airport’s arrivals curb.

Another strategy is to skip renting a car altogether, especially if you’ll be in DC during a peak season (like summer or National Cherry Blossom Festival). And especially if you stay somewhere centrally located enough for walking and transit access.

The Embassy Suites where we stayed is near the Metro and bus lines, the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, and the majority of Washington DC’s main sights.

A few of the places we walked to from our hotel:

See what I mean about great neighbors?

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We received a media discount from Embassy Suites.

April 18, 2016May 23, 2023

March Photo: Blossoms

I took this photo of a tree covered in white blossoms against a brilliant blue sky during our recent camping trip at Chiricahua National Monument.

It was outside the old Faraway Ranch house. I’m not sure what kind of tree it is, but the bees sure loved it! The blossoms make me so happy that I’ve made this the wallpaper for my phone’s lock screen.

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