It’s my 69th birthday and a six-hour drive to Tucson from Desert Springs. I can’t ever remember spending an afternoon in 115-degree temperatures. At least the “heated” pool was open but the ice machine was out of order. We ran into lots of Marriott Vacation Club members – one guy appropriately referred to it as “Mother Marriott,” a place he could always call home. It’s definitely our home-away-from-home on this trip with Marriott stays in San Francisco, Palm Desert, Tucson, Austin, Mobile, Lake City, and Venice. Only in Cambria and Marfa will we have have stayed outside the family. 

This is a regular hotel suite, unlike the special, spacious accommodations we enjoyed in San Francisco at the Marriott-owned Ritz Carlton Club. There isn’t even a patio, as if anyone would like to step outside in this heat. It will, however, cool off in a few months. It’s too bad that Mayor Sonny Bono was no longer around to welcome us to the city. There are plenty of streets named after stars, but we’re afraid our tires might melt trying to explore. Instead, the air conditioning is cranked-up and we’ll open a cold bottle of wine for the evening. 

Day 5 was the first travel day in memory when we didn’t spend a cent.  Normally, it’s $1000 a day, but we brought wine, went shopping for food when we arrived, and stayed by the pool where most of the bar and snack services were COVID-shuttered. No pricey meals, souvenir shopping, gas, or lodging expenses thanks to Mother Marriott. This has to be a record day! I’m sure we’ll find a way to make up for it. We’ve already saved so much on travel this year after refunds on cancelled MVC excursions to Bali and Egypt.

Day 6 starts with a sweaty 95-degree run on #4,260 of The Streak. We’ll get to Tucson in time for a birthday dinner after circumventing the Joshua Tree National Park, passing into Arizona, crossing the Colorado River, and navigating through Phoenix on I-10. We’ll stay just outside the Saguaro National Park at the JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort and Spa. Thanks, Mother Marriott for a good start to my 70th year!