Flowers, Food, And Front Doors

Lucky me. I'm spending the weekend in warm and sunny Tucson under a flawless blue sky. Today I was on campus at the University of Arizona and decided to do some exploring.

Of course, every good adventure must either begin or end with food and I chose to kick things off with a steak salad at Chipotle. I ate half for lunch and carried all these leftovers with me on my journey.  Not only will they make a delicious breakfast for me in the morning, they were also a portent of things to come.

I started my wandering journey at the center of campus, which I have visited before. The grassy mall was looking festive, decked out in red and blue striped tents. As usual I came across a variety of benches, railings and garden scenes that were just begging to be photographed. I gladly obliged.

But my primary mission for this afternoon was the medical center. I've never been up to that area of campus, and since UA prides itself on its fine reputation as a medical school I was curious.

Maybe it was just me, but I was disappointed in what I found. The architecture was uninspiring, the landscape was a total snooze, and for a while, I was seriously regretting my destination decision. As I left the boundaries of campus and walked the last half hour toward home, I was thirsty, hot, and wishing I had worn a different pair of shoes.

Little did I know that my rewards were yet to come. In the last few blocks of my long walk, I came across three simple and lovely sights that lifted my spirits and brought me clarity.

A happy patch of yellow flowers, the magical abundance of homegrown lemons, and the welcoming sight of a purple front door.

Adventures are all well and good, but sometimes it's true that the best part of the journey is coming home to food, flowers, and our own cozy corner of the planet.