Strange hike to Tucson’s Apple retail store

The afternoon was sunny, breezy, and not too warm. Barbara and I drove to the far northern end of Campbell Avenue, in the Catalina Foothills area of Tucson, Arizona.

Barbie pointed out the snazzy Cobblestone gated upscale development to our east, and a couple of overbuilt mansions to the west. I was more interested in the unobstructed vista of the Santa Catalina mountain range straight ahead, and a weatherbeaten sign pointing toward them, with only one word: “TRAIL.”

Neither of us knew of any such trail, but we headed north between the high cyclone fence with barbed wire that marked the Cobblestone boundary and an older, partially decayed barbed wire fence parallel to it. Our four-foot-wide hilly pathway was strewn with cacti and rock scree. We walked briskly, and carefully.

Views changed every few steps, from ugly “more money than taste” residences to striking desert mountain scenes. Overall, it was a pleasurable hour of hiking, being a mere ten minutes from home and just up the street from our local Apple retail store.

After walking on trail and street, we arrived at the Apple store in upscale Plaza La Encantada, just down the hill from the funky trail (that led to nowhere, by the way). I wanted Barbara to decide between iBook and PowerBook — she’s getting her first new Macintosh ever!

Flourescent lighting in Apple stores is dreadful, and neither iBook nor PowerBook monitors impressed her. “Hey, John, what’s that big thing over there?” It was a 23″ Cinema Display, and THAT impressed her! But she’s not a candidate for any free-standing CPU + monitor (no, not even a Mac Mini, Roger), for several reasons that will have to wait for another posting.

“Okay,” she asked, “now it’s time to look at iMacs, I guess?” The 17″ iMac combo drive model turned out to be her favorite, which was a pleasant surprise to me. It has power, speed, software, style, good value, and a splendid display.

By this time we were getting tired, so we decided to sleep on our decision for several days. Her previous computers, from oldest to newest, have been: PowerBook 1400 CS, iMac G3 233, iBook G3 266, and PowerBook G3 333, all several years out of production. I’m sure you agree with me: now that I have my mighty G5 dual 1.8 PowerMac and 20″ Cinema Display, Barbara deserves something newer than a Lombard, or whatever it’s called.

To be continued, once we have more to report.

[Nemo]