Home Base Sierra Vista

     If you’ve lived in Sierra Vista long enough, you know our housing market doesn’t move in straight lines. It’s more like the desert we live in, long dry spells, sudden storms, and stretches of slow, steady growth. Over the past 50 years, we’ve had some droughts that tested patience and some recoveries that reminded us why owning here is such a solid long-term play. Why Our Market Doesn’t Behave Like Phoenix or Tucson Most people think “ Arizona real estate ” and picture Phoenix’s rollercoaster: massive booms, brutal busts, then repeat. Sierra Vista is a different animal. Why? Fort Huachuca anchors the economy.  When the post grows, so does the housing market. When budgets tighten or missions shift, it cools demand. Water rules shape our growth.  Unlike Phoenix, we can’t just sprawl forever. The San Pedro River , conservation efforts, and recharge projects all factor into whether new neighborhoods break ground. We lag the big metros.  When Phoenix surge...

Every year the Best of Sierra Vista Awards give us the perfect excuse to brag on the incredible local businesses and organizations that make our community shine. And this year, a whole bunch of veteran-owned and community-focused favorites cleaned up big time. Doc’s Watering Hole: A Local Legend Let’s start with Doc’s Watering Hole , because they basically stacked up a whole trophy case worth of honors. They snagged  second place  for: Best Wings Best Bar Best Locally Owned Restaurant Best Live Music Venue Best Catering Best Place to Propose Best Place to Break Up And if that wasn’t enough, they also grabbed third place for: Best Burger Best Breakfast Best Takeout/Delivery Best Live Performance Best Wedding Venue Doc’s isn’t just a honky-tonk — it’s where memories get made, whether you’re grabbing a burger, catching a band, or, apparently, proposing or breaking up. More Local Winners Worth Cheering The fun didn’t stop there: Barbershop 223 : snagged  second pla...

Dad Trip Adventure 3: Our LEGOLAND Castle Quest So, here we go—day three kicked off with us checking into the LEGOLAND Castle Hotel . The kids had finally pieced together that we were heading to LEGOLAND, mostly because they started spotting those giant LEGO characters along the road doing their thing. So much for keeping secrets, right? Once we rolled up, we got all our luggage into the Castle Hotel and dove straight into the park. First stop: making our own LEGO characters. Now, if you haven’t been to LEGOLAND, here’s the scoop: it’s not just about rides. Trading LEGO minifigures is a whole thing. You bring your little minifigs, and you can swap them with staff or other collectors. The kids loved it. They each built their own little LEGO people and then got down to some serious trading. After that, it was ride time. Bash was all in for the bigger rides this year, which was a big shift from last time. Maggie went straight for the Flying Couch again, though Thea was a little hesitant...

  Dad Trip Adventure 2: Day Two at SeaWorld – Surprise Edition Day two of our spontaneous San Diego trip kicked off with one big surprise after another. The kids still had no clue why we were even in town. That’s when my brother, aka “Juice Boy” rolled up from Apple Valley and knocked on our hotel door. The kids opened it and he hit them with, “Let’s go to SeaWorld!” Maggie’s first question was, “Where’s Andy?” (his girlfriend, who couldn’t make it because she was on call as an ER nurse, shoutout to her for being a real-life hero). Still, the surprise was a hit. The kids lit up. Military Freebies, Dolphins, and Dodging Splash Zones We loaded up and rolled out to  SeaWorld , and that’s when the lightbulbs started going off— so that’s why we’ve been hearing fireworks every night! Big PSA for military families: SeaWorld’s  Waves of Honor   program gives you up to  five free tickets  with a military or veteran ID. Yup—B, the kids, and I got in for free. Only ha...

 If you’ve followed me for a bit, you know I’m all about family time, fun memories, and making the most out of military discounts. So when our 18th wedding anniversary rolled around, instead of planning a fancy getaway for just B and me, we decided to pack up the whole crew,including our nephew, and take off on a surprise family road trip to San Diego. The kids thought we were just going out for lunch. We kept throwing out wild guesses like “we’re going to the moon,” “Jupiter,” or “just going crazy,” which honestly wasn’t too far from the truth with how fast we had to pack. Pro tip: If you’re road-tripping with kids, grab one of those big rooftop cargo bags. Total game-changer. It freed up so much space inside the car, especially with all the chaos of beach towels, snacks, and Minecraft toys (aka bribes for potty training). Potty Training Victory Lap Special shoutout to our youngest, who’s deep in potty training. No sticker charts here, just M&Ms and Minecraft magnet blocks for...