What a great week we had in Albuquerque! Tom and I left on the 4th of October and stopped at La Posta Resturant just outside of Las Cruces, NM for a great lunch. Our friend, Pat, had told us about this place so we took the long way to Albuquerque to stop here and have lunch. We were not disappointed. We then went on to Albuquerque to stay with Rob and Mary Floyd for the night. Mary is in the AF and her and Maryann worked together at Davis-Monthan. We had such a nice evening with them. They have a beautiful home about 30 minutes from town, that Rob has done so much work on. Their home has 100 windows..so a great view too. The next morning, we went to the airport and picked up Bill and Charlotte, Tom's sister and brother-in-law. We checked into our hotel and went to the Sandia Peak Tramway. Tom, Charlotte and Bill took the ride to the top of this engineering marvel, visitors come mainly for the spectacular view - 11,000 square miles of the Land of Enchantment. Passengers ascend 4,000 feet in about 15 minutes, gliding along the western face of the rugged Sandia Mountains. Maryann did not take the ride as she does not like heights.
Sunset at Sandia Peak in Albuquerque, NM
We spent the next morning in Old Town Albuquerque where they found some treasures to take home. Then we went to the La Pinta Resturant for a great lunch on the patio. Kelly, Molly, Samantha and Kirsten arrived about 5 PM. Bryan had plane delays so Kelly drove up with the girls and Bryan came with his parents. Her first long road trip with her girls went well! We had pizza in the hotel lobby and the girls got to spend some time with Charlotte and Bill. Kirsten ususally does not "like big boys" but Bill got a hug from her!!! Bryan, Pete and Linda arrived later in the evening.
We all got up and met in the lobby at about 3:30 AM and headed for the Balloon Festival Park. NO traffic! We were only about 10 miles from the park but were told to leave early...so we did. We had chairs, winter coats, blankets, hats, gloves, (Maryann of course had on her long johns) and snacks and drinks. The Mass Ascension was to be around 7-8 AM. We were able to find an open picnic table on the front row so settled in to wait. It was 41 degrees and the wind was definitely blowing. Only a few balloons were on the field. About 7 AM, they announced that the Mass Ascension would not happen due to the winds. SO...we packed up and headed back to the cars. It took us over an hour to get back to our hotel due to traffic. We had breakfast and some took short naps. Kelly, Bryan, The girls, Pete and Maryann went down to the pool area so the girls could swim. Kelly and I watched as Pete, Bryan and girls had so many laughs in the pool. Tom, Bill and Charlotte watched the Arkansas football game on TV. We all met about 2 PM and went to have lunch and then back to the Balloon Festival Park for the evening glow. The girls had such fun playing, rolling and dancing in the wonderful green grass, playing games with Grandpa Pete (rolling over each other, toss the filled water bottles etc...) and just entertaining us all. ( the weather had warmed to the high 69's) There were other activities happening so got to check out what else was happening and just watching the girls was the best entertainment. As the sun went down so did the temperatures so out came the blankets, coats etc...especiall for Linda and Maryann. The evening Balloon Glow was "awesome". Imagine nearly 300 Hot Air Balloons of all colors and shapes right in front of you glowing in the sunset. On Sunday, we slept in and headed for the park at 4:30 AM. Of course, we again took our chairs, winter coats, blankets etc....We were thrilled to hear that the winds were below 13 miles per hour so the Mass Ascension would happen and it did! The Albuquerque International Balloon Festival is one of the only balloon events where you are actually able to walk among the balloons and talk to the pilots. Imagine 54 football fields, all put together. That's the size of Balloon Fiesta Park's 78-acre launch field with sometimes over 500 balloons rising. We would be standing right next to a balloon as it ascended. There were several balloonists from other countries. Many shapes to name a few...clock, lion head, Darth Vader, astronaut, pigs, ice cream cone, stage coach, cow(with utters) Elvis, angel, peguin, elephant, ladybug, zebra head etc. What an amazing sight as they rise into the blue skies and you are just a few feet from them. It was a great family outting and the girls were great even though they did not have much sleep. Kelly and Bryan Family and Pete and Linda left us at the field about 11 AM as they were heading home in the afternoon. We walked them toward their car and got our hugs and good byes with the gift of once again having made some great family memories. Tom, Maryann, Charlotte and Bill stayed and watched the Chainsaw Carving Event and then walked about as they also had a car show on the field. When the sun came up the temperatures went from 40 to high 60"s. Then we headed to Kirkland AFB as we had billeting there for the next two nights and found ourselves having lunch at P. F. Changs. We even shared one of heir great desserts! We had been eating very good and tried a different taste every day!
Tuesday, we got up early again and took the "Roadrunner Train" to Santa Fe, NM for the day. Charlotte had never been on a train so it was fun we could all do together. We walked about Sante Fe all day. Our first stop was for breakfast and then we headed to the Loretto Chapel which is a former Roman Catholic church that is unusual for it's helix shaped spiral staircase. We had a look in lots of the shops...lots of beautiful art and crafts are made by the artist is Santa Fe. We walked many blocks looking for this unique candy maker....Tom was the map reader and took us through the woods etc.
When we finally arrived, found that the candy was $3 a piece....little too rich for our pockets..and they did not give samples.... but it was a memorial walk! We got back to Albuquerque about 5:30. We found a Firehouse Subs Reaturant and had a nice dinner there before we headed back to the base.
complaining of course!!
We slept in on Tuesday and then headed South to Ruidoso, NM to spend the day and night with friends of Charlotte and Bill's. On our way we found the Rio Grande Diner in Belen, NM..it was just a small old retro looking diner with only 7 tables done in 1950's style off I-25. AND the breakfast was great! On our way we came across the Valley of Fires off US 54. It is many square miles of buckled and twisted lava from between 1500 and 5000 years ago. We took time to stop and walk around. Then we headed off again to John and Karen's where we were treated to a nice lunch at the club house and then went to their home. Their home sits on a hill on one side of the valley ( what a view! ) in the Kokopelli Estates in Alto, just north of Ruidoso. They showed us around Ruidoso and then treated us to a fantastic dinner in their home. We sat around the fire pit eating homemade Baked Alaska for dessert. What a fun evening just sitting and talking........seemed so close to the stars. They certainly made us feel at home. Tom was envious of their community golf courses!!! We headed back to Albuquerque the next day after being served a delicious breakfast. We took a longer way back as thought would be more scenic....NOT---- but now we know! We checked back into billeting at Kirkland AFB and decided that we had not had italian food and Bill and Charlotte had told us about a family style resturant that they had been to..so we checked on TRIPADVISOR and found there was one in Albuquerque. So off we went to Buca Di Beppo and the food was great.
( what a great resource TRIPADVISOR is for us when we are traveling ).
We really did treat our palates to different but great foods on this trip...once again! Did I mention we also ate at Rudy's BBQ, one of our favorite places for BBQ. I guess that our trips are about family, friends and FOOD!
We were so glad that we got to spend this time with our family but especially blessed to be able to spend time with Bill and Charlotte again this year. We did miss our Carrie as she was not able to travel with us this time. We keep saying"we are blessed" and we are!
Tom took Bill and Charlotte to the airport the next morning so they could head home to Cocoa, Florida. Then we checked out of billeting and headed home to Tucson. We arrived home about 3:30 PM.
Now, it is time to start work on our yard..Tom is going to work on the landscaping, put new low level lights in and redo the water/drip system. Tom is also going to put a fire pit in the back patio area as after being able to use a few times, have decided that would be nice to have! We are now looking forward to going to soccer games, grand-girls functions, helping out at our church, already have volunteer stuff scheduled for the holidays and just spending time with our Tucson Family.
I will post a few pictures from our wonder-filled family trip. Below see The cow balloon, Molly singing and dancing for us, Balloon Glow, Molly, Samantha and Kirsten ready to go to the Balloon Glow, Lion, Clock, girls playing in the great green grass...all tied together by their jacket sleeves....hmm, Kelly and Bryan and family heading for home on Sunday and another pictures of just some of the balloons in the air....neat huh?
Sending you all our love, thoughts and prayers and once again, thank God and all the saints and angels we pray to for safe travels and our wonderful blessings of friends and family.
Quote for today----
Togetherness turns good ideas into good times ~Wes Fessler YES IT DOES!!!!
Love and hugs,
Tom and Maryann
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