how to travel with a smile

2 son drive

Once in a while we head down to Tucson to visit good friends, Rachel and Robin. Rachel and I were in college together in Chicago and since discovered several parallels in our lives. We both live in Arizona now and ThePilot and I enjoy a drive down to Tucson to see them. Rachel is a photographer (Urban Abstrakt Photography) and always takes amazing pictures of us.

Last month we planned a drive down on a weekend that happened to coincide Tucson’s Pride weekend. I have never been to a Pride event in Arizona before this one. Arizona is too hot in June, the typical Pride month, to hold an outdoor event. They are smartly held in cooler months so no one dies of excitement.

One of the best things about any Pride event is the diversity within the LGBTQ population. We’re not all the same. Some of us stand out. Some of us look like you. We all have families and dreams and are deserving of love and dignity. I also love seeing all the colors and smiles!

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nose job at the boneyard

The sprawling wasteland of decommissioned million-dollar military planes at the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, AZ known as “The Boneyard” became home to the art show The Boneyard Project: Return Trip. This group show originally seen at the Eric Firestone Gallery in Easthamptons, New York featured the nose cones of planes painted by various artists. The original exhibit was called Nose Job. Added in Tucson were several complete planes painted by the artists. This project may not have been realized without the open space and dry heat of the Tucson desert. These massive planes would have been much too claustrophobic in a gallery. Also, very few New York galleries would have been able to contain even one.

apocalyptic looking “Warning Shot” by RETNA

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