Visiting Family in New Mexico

Our trip started at about 3:00am on a Saturday morning. Nathan’s dad picked us up and dropped us off at the airport. We learned a couple things on the trip. First, I learned that some people start drinking really early. The woman next to me reeked of alcohol. Then when we were in Denver on our layover we discovered that there was no Starbucks in the airport. This was a big surprise and we knew we weren’t in Seattle.

New Mexico was hot, so hot that we stopped for Slurpees on the way to the home. Once we got through the security gate onto the Air Force base we entered a whole new world. The first clue was the gas price $3.61. Lucky. All the houses looked the same. They didn’t have much of a yard, mostly rock landscaping. I quickly asked if this was where the Stepfords live. All the houses were in one giant loop and if it weren’t for the house numbers and cars out front I don’t think that anyone would every find their home. We exchanged hugs and gave Teddy his Slurpee. He is only allowed to eat them outside. One of my favorite reactions came after his first sip: “Mmmm tasty… mmmm tasty.” So cute.

Activities
We were welcomed with a barbeque dinner: corn, kabobs, and ribs. Who could ask for more? Nathan and Chris were tending the grill and Christie and I prepared the corn and kabobs. Chris was generous enough to fire up the grill a couple more times for us, once for s’mores and another barbeque. We went swimming to cut the heat. We watched several lightning storms. We spent all day Tuesday at the Zoo/Aquarium (the combo ticket for both was reasonably priced at $12). On our way back from the zoo we caught a picture of the Route 66 sign. We also stopped for Slurpees (of course we did). Our total was $7.11 and the cashier was not one bit excited about it. (She’s not worthy!)

Home Again
Our flight out of Albuquerque was delayed because there was a ground stop in Denver. We were delayed by almost three hours. When we picked up our luggage one of the bags (Nathan’s) was soaking wet, smashed, and covered in grease. After we dealt with that we met up with Jen, who graciously agreed to pick us up, even with the delay. Here we are at the airport. This is at the beginning of our delay.

PHOTO LOG

Chris, Teddy, Christie, and Nathan watching the lightning

Teddy and I were playing on the stairs. I would pretend to snore and he would say 'gin (again)