This is one of the places that sticks in my mind from the past. We went there at least twice, once with the whole family, and the last time, it was just me and the grandparents on my last visit to see them out (t)here back in early 1993.
The facade may be different. I mean, cacti and trees do grow and change, but it definitely did feel familiar, but at the same time, all new.
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This place is deceptively GIGANTIC on the inside. Everywhere you looked, there was a new room. The building is ANCIENT. I think something like over 100 years old, and you can feel it, and see it in the way the rooms are constructed. It was a ranch house way way back before the Foothills became "THE" living destination that it is now. I doubt much of that existed even back in '93.
The west end of the Catalinas, as seen from the El Corral parking lot ... (I learned today that using the ellipses is some form of wrong, according to the younger folk. If ellipses-ing is wrong, I don't care if I'm right, so there's that.)
Just two of the seemingly hundreds of rooms inside this former ranch house. The floor, though? My god, it was gorgeous!
We both had steaks (him a T-Bone, me a bone-in Ribeye), side salads, and tamale pie, which for you Easterners, would be sort of like corn casserole, but slightly different :), roasted mushrooms, and some format of butter concoction with cream cheese and garlic to top the steaks. The steak and salad were keto; the tamale pie, probably not. Life continues forth.
We went early, probably 4:45, because we still don't know when the "busy" time is. It was the perfect time. There was SO MUCH food, though ... I probably have lefto'er meals for the next two days.
After we departed, we took a drive down by the university. He wanted to see the U of A stadium, but didn't know where it was; however, we ended up driving right by it anyway, so bonus. The university area is somewhat cleaner and safer LOOKING than the area closer to us, which is good for the kids going there. I don't know if it IS any safer or cleaner, but from outward appearances, it looks like it would be.
Speaking of skewered memories, ever since going to El Corral, and then later in life discovering Cork n' Cleaver in Fort Wayne, it always reminded me of El Corral. Then, when we moved here, we discovered that there's a restaurant called The Cork, or something like that ... but the inside and outside of Cork n' Cleaver reminds me A LOT of El Corral with the tile floors, and the many, many twists and turns to different rooms.
The exterior is not at all the same, and it appears they have remodeled maybe, but it used to remind me a lot of El Corral on the exterior, sans the Saguaros and other desert flora, of course.
So, as the curious mind often does, I consulted the Google Machine for the history of Cork n' Cleaver to see if it was related somehow to El Corral.
Indeed, it was NOT. HOWEVER, Cork n' Cleaver was a chain restaurant started in the '60s, where? Scottsdale. Furthermore, there was a Tucson location, which is now what? The Cork.
We have not been there yet, but we will be going just to see if it resembles the Fort Wayne branch at all.
Small world.
In other news, we haven't decided if we have bobcats living in the wash behind the fence, or if our turf just decided to start smelling like cat piss. Hard to tell, given that he did see the bobcat in the alley, but also, we have zero experience with turf, and whether or not the dog pee would start smelling like the cat pee over time, with lots of sun exposure or rain. We shall find out. I don't smell it this morning yet, so I am not certain of either.
Just wanted to share this image again (It's somewhere in the archives) because it's fucking hilarious.
This lil critter was seen very slowly skeedaddling up the fence yesterday. And by slow, viewing it from the patio across the yard, I thought perhaps it twas a bebe snek of some format. It was not. This is known as the black death-feigning beetle. I guess it plays dead when it feels threatened? We pondered how that would be an effective form of defense, given that you're then just a sitting snack for whatever is threatening you. Who knows?
In other news, I didn't do too much damage with the shitty eating of the past two days, but getting back in the saddle again today. The food choices have not been kind to my gut at all!!! Let's just say there are rumblies in my tumblies!!
Going to the market this morning to stock back up on things I can or want to eat, things for him, and probably other things.
For him, it's Feetball Day. For me, it's do whatever I want to day, which will probably include a nap because I woke up at the ungodly hour of 3:24am.
I think that's all I got.
Happy Sunday!
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