Batavia, IL to Sierra Vista, AZ

Kate and Jim's 2003 Vacation - Day 1 - Feb 22
DSC00420.JPG (34864 bytes) Here we are at O'Hare airport, playing with my new camera.  Kinda handy for taking shots like this.  And attracting stares from the rest of the passengers. 
DSC00433.jpg (25488 bytes) Kate enjoys her first class repast on the way to Tucson.  We burned a whole lot of frequent flyer miles to fly this way, but it was worth it.  In fact, I'm writing this as we fly home on Saturday morning, enjoying my generous dish of warm nuts and unlimited Diet Coke.  Yes, the diet was off for this week.
DSC00444a.jpg (24401 bytes) We got to Tucson on time and enjoyed a nice drive to our home for the next three nights in Sierra Vista, AZ.  When we got to the hotel (Best Western on Fry Boulevard), it was still light, and we noticed a lot of bird activity in the field next to the hotel.  So we quickly unloaded the car and wandered around this lot with camera and bin.  This picture is of a White-Crowned Sparrow.  This was a very common bird all week.
DSC00445a.jpg (65565 bytes) House Finch and White-Crowned Sparrow
DSC00447a.jpg (31693 bytes) Another White-Crowned Sparrow
DSC00450a.jpg (30318 bytes) A pretty cooperative House Finch.

As a tourism note, we had dinner that evening at the Mesquite Tree in Sierra Vista.  A very nice place.