It’s not a grand secret that baby boomers love to travel together as couples.

One of our favorite destinations, when guests are visiting from out of town, is the town of Tubac, Arizona.

The small town is just above the Mexican border and is a well known artists’ colony.  For four days in February each year, the town’s population increases ten-fold as artisans display their art in the Annual Tubac Arts Festival which has been running strong for 53 years.

And, even when the town isn’t buzzing with 10,000 people, there are plenty of events to enjoy, and scores of artist studios to visit.

When visiting Tubac, our favorite place to stay is the Tubac Golf Resort & Spa.  This property is registered in the Historic Hotels of America and was built by Bing Crosby.

Here’s a short video from a previous boomers’ trip to the Tubac Golf Resort & Spa:

Note:  If you can’t see the video, click here.

Here are a few things that we’ve enjoyed in Tubac:

• Tumacacori National Historical Park.  Located just a couple miles outside of town, you will want to visit this historic Jesuit mission which began in 1691.
• We enjoyed a wonderful lunch at Shelby’s Bistro in Tubac.
• While strolling about the town, we really enjoyed the artwork in the Cobalt Gallery.  Although, there are art galleries and unique boutiques at every turn of the head.
• And guys, if you don’t feel like strolling through art galleries with your wife, there’s even a “daddy day care” where you can sit on a porch, rock in a rocking chair, and enjoy a fine cigar from the cool guys at Grumpy Gringo Cigars!
• For dinner, we enjoyed a fabulous meal at Elvira’s Restaurant.  Authentic Mexican cuisine in a setting where the ceiling is absolutely covered in colorful blown-glass.

Just now returned from our third visit to Tubac, Arizona, we look back on fond memories.

There was much laughter on the drive down as our friend Karen gleefully sang along to her beloved 60s music, and Bob kept us in stitches with his quick wit and humor.  We again enjoyed great dining, lots of shopping in the art galleries, and a little pampering from our friends at the Tubac Golf Resort & Spa.

Have you ever been to Tubac?  Tell us about your experience.  If not, you really should visit.  We promise that you’ll have a fun time!

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We have noticed this trend in our travels, and when the Tubac Golf Resort and Spa invited us to come spend a few nights and enjoy their upcoming five-course, tequila-pairing dinner, we decided to invite four of our boomer friends to join along in the fun.

What is now the town of Tubac first began in 1691 when Jesuit missionaries entered the Santa Cruz Valley and began to build missions, ranches, and farms.

In coming years, the area was engulfed in Apache Indian attacks, went from Spanish rule to Mexican rule, became a ghost town, became an Arizona territory, endured the civil war, became a  US state , and today is a well known artist commune set in a fertile valley which enjoys one of the largest stands of cottonwoods in the southwest.

Also interesting, the Tubac Golf Resort and Spa was started by Bing Crosby on what was once one of the largest cattle ranches in all of the southwest.

However, we were six baby boomers descending upon Tubac for a little luxury, pampering, shopping, and a spectacular five-course dinner with tequila paired from a fifth-generation Mexican tequila maker.

Here’s a short video highlighting our experience…

Note:  if you can’t see the video, click here.

When visiting the Tubac Golf Resort and Spa, you will certainly want to explore the town of Tubac. Here are a few things that we enjoyed:

• Tumacacori National Historical Park.  Located just a couple miles outside of town, you will want to visit this historic Jesuit mission which began in 1691.
• We enjoyed a wonderful lunch at Shelby’s Bistro in Tubac.
• While strolling about the town, we really enjoyed the artwork in the Cobalt Gallery.  Although, there are art galleries and unique boutiques at every turn of the head.
• And guys, if you don’t feel like strolling through art galleries with your wife, there’s even a “daddy day care” where you can sit on a porch, rock in a rocking chair, and enjoy a fine cigar from the cool guys at Grumpy Gringo Cigars!
• For dinner, we enjoyed a fabulous meal at Elvira’s Restaurant.  Authentic Mexican cuisine in a setting where the ceiling is absolutely covered in colorful blown-glass.  We highly recommend this dining experience!  Mr. Roaming Boomer, being ever the adventurous eater, enjoyed beef tongue in a very tasty mole sauce.  Don’t worry, if you aren’t adventurous with your cuisine, there are other fabulous, more traditional Mexican items to enjoy.  The restaurant is well known for their mole sauces.
• You should also know that each February, tens of thousands of people flock to Tubac for the Annual Tubac Festival of the Arts.  They’ve been doing this for 53 years, and we can highly recommend it from personal experience.

The Tubac Golf Resort and Spa is just 45-minutes south of Tucson, Arizona, and together with the delightful town of Tubac, makes for a perfect baby boomer friends’ getaway.

There were big thumbs up from all involved!

If we have one regret, it is that the Fortaleza Tequila is not yet available in Arizona.  We are greatly looking forward to it being available as we really did enjoy the Fortaleza Anejo.  Who dreamed we would become tequila aficionados?

Disclosure:  our wonderful experience was provided by the really nice folks at the Tubac Golf Resort & Spa.  Further, being the great people they are, they gave a fantastic getaway deal to our friends.  Thanks!  We had a great, great time!

Tubac is 45 minutes south of Tucson, sits on a beautiful valley floor that peers onto 10,000 ft peaks, and also boasts a healthy, and growing artist colony.

We left for Tubac at 7:00, on a Saturday morning, and arrived at our destination at 10:00.  The drive is a fairly flat drive, with quite a number of majestic mountain to gaze upon.  We made the trip in February, and were rewarded with beautiful snow covered peaks in Tucson, and again as we approached Tubac.

We made our journey during Tubac’s 51st Annual Festival of the Arts, but you will be rewarded with a great many artist boutiques regardless of what time of the year you venture Tubac’s way.

If you are a lover of art, and desire to find a collection of artists in one location, Tubac just might be your ticket.  We greatly enjoyed our visit, and we are sure you will too.

Tubac is a popular Arizona destination because of its quaint, beautiful setting with 10,000 foot mountain views in the background, and its reputation for having a large collection of unique artist boutiques.  But that is for another story.

The Tumacacori Mission was founded by the Jesuits in 1691, and over the course of the next 100 years became the regions most powerful social and economic force.  In 1848 the mission was abandoned as a result of political problems between Spain, Mexico, and the United States.

Tumacacori is a short 10-minute drive from Tubac, and is a worthy diversion from shopping in the art boutiques.

Here are a few of my photographs from Tumacacori National Historical Park: