Friday, March 14, 2008
Today was our last full day in New Mexico...and we decided we would make it count!
We woke up bright and early and headed out to find a beautiful day in Albuquerque. Our first stop was Target to get rid of a gift card that was burning a hole in our pocket. After that stop, we drove to our next destination - an aquarium called, "Albuquerque Aquarium" (wow, someone really used some brain cells to come up with that name). Coming from the Bay Area (and originally being from San Diego), zoos and aquariums are usually a big let down for me. But this one was nicely done - not so big that you can't see everything and not so small that you feel cheated. Just right, really...
We got to see a very large variety of fish, sting rays, sharks, jelly fish and even 3 birds that were part of the ray exhibit (which I initially thought were fake until one of them took a jump into the water!) Speaking of stingrays, we got to watch one of the workers there feed the small sharks that were in the ray exhibit...
There was a model boat exhibit as well - also, an outdoor exhibit that included a real shrimpin' boat (I of course was not impressed with this since I saw tons of these almost every summer visiting in Louisiana). They had a nice theater that continuously ran documentaries. We happened to catch the one about Rio Grande - it was quite fascinating!
After exhausting ourselves at the aquarium, we headed over to the Rio Grande Botanic Garden. This was a really, really cool place - made especially cool because the weather was incredible! As you walk in the park, you are immediately drawn to a pathway that led to "Children's Fantasy Garden". This is a well put together exhibit where you, the visitor are made to feel the size of an ant! There is a fun maze, little nooks to explore, beautiful landscaping and even a fun slide. Lots of photo opportunities in this little mini wonderland (by the way, that's a shameless plug to encourage you to click here to see the pictures! ) Here's one of Abby hiding in the carrot patch (notice the ant off in the background):
The exit of the Children's Fantasy Garden dumps you right off at the Rio Grande Garden Railway. This is a really cool model train railroad (actually, several) nestled in the lovely landscaping of the garden grounds. We sat and watched the trains awhile and chatted with a docent - a sweet old man who had a huge wealth of knowledge. I should have asked him what happens to the setup when it rains and snows...
After the railroad, a nice little trail takes you over to the botanical building - a glasshouse filled with botanical goodies. The building was divided into two parts: the Mediterranean and the Desert. We started off in the Mediterranean. My nose was immediately bombarded with scents of honeysuckle - it was intoxicating! The flowers were beautiful - a large assortment and all different colors. It was awesome.
The desert side was equally impressive, although it didn't smell near as nice. In fact, it smelled kind of nasty! There were dried chili peppers hanging everywhere...lots of cactus and blooming cactus flowers. There were cactus growing out of the
rock wall too! I really just decided that I love taking pictures of flowers! I almost started crying when I realized that my digital camera card had reached its limit before we hit the building! I sat for a few minutes and deleted some pictures from the aquarium so I could have some room...otherwise, there probably would have been WAY more flower pics.
After the botanical garden - our tanks needed a fill up. We hit a diner on Route 66 called, "Route 66 Malt Shop and Grill". This is one of those places where you first drive up and ask yourself, "do I really want to eat here?" It's a tad shabby on the outside - and small! We decided to take a chance on it and we are SO glad that we did. We sat at the soda fountain counter and chatted up the owner, Eric, most of the time. Mike and I each had a hamburger - and my opinion is that it's probably the best burger ever. Everything in the cafe is old school - they even sell phosphates, which are the original sodas (you mix a little syrup w/ plain soda water). They also make their own root beer which has won awards on a national level. We had quite a lengthy discussion with Eric about politics, cheeseburgers and music. The place was a definite gem - I would highly recommend it.
After lunch, we headed to base camp for some much needed resting and indoor activities.
For dinner - we opted for another local eatery called, "Rudy's 'Country Store' & BBQ". The food was incredible - only this time, we didn't quite have the warm, friendly atmosphere that we did at Route 66. Actually, I would compare it more to Seinfeld's soup nazi. You ever go to a place where you've never been before and have this weird feeling like you're supposed to do some odd ritual to get your grub? Well, that's kind of how we felt. I had to go to the counter and ask the gal what we were supposed to do to order. She seemed all spun out about my query - clearly they were not in need of my business because the place was packed with lots of people who knew what they were supposed to do! Anyway - it wasn't that big of a production after all, but the fact that I had to ask meant that now everyone behind the counter knew we were "not local". So - we wait in line and, as luck would have it, the register we wind up at is the same gal from before. NOW I had to ask her how I should order for my peeps because the menu is basically just a list of meat and prices. Again with the spinning out. Well, ok - she wasn't that bad...but she broke it down kind of fast, which made me all flustered. I just picked a few things and she rang it up. Can you believe that this family of 3 walked out of the place fairly full for $16?
Anyway - the whole serving process is kind of different. First, she put down this crate looking thing (they are the plastic holders that soda delivery guys bring cases of soda in). Then, she lines it with butcher paper. Then, she turns and gets the meat from the meat cutting guy and throws it on some more butcher paper. They give you more butcher paper to use as plates. And, the gal throws a bunch of wonder bread on top of everything and sends you on your way. The tables are set up family style and they are covered in red checked table clothes. Once we got settled on the table, started putting all the pieces together and actually ate the food, we decided it was WELL worth the cost of humiliation.
So - that's our day in a nutshell...
A few prayer items:
PRAISE: I can't believe the weather we've experienced....it's been truly beautiful everywhere we've gone, this has been a huge answer to prayer for us!
Please pray for our upcoming travels - tomorrow (Friday) is a long travel day (500 miles) and the routes that are available to take all have high wind (50mph) advisories. Traveling mercies are requested as well as some kind of time warping to make the trip go by fast :) We are headed off to Midland for a few days, then on to Fort Worth for an extended stay.
kisses, hugs, trout and pancakes,
k
We woke up bright and early and headed out to find a beautiful day in Albuquerque. Our first stop was Target to get rid of a gift card that was burning a hole in our pocket. After that stop, we drove to our next destination - an aquarium called, "Albuquerque Aquarium" (wow, someone really used some brain cells to come up with that name). Coming from the Bay Area (and originally being from San Diego), zoos and aquariums are usually a big let down for me. But this one was nicely done - not so big that you can't see everything and not so small that you feel cheated. Just right, really...We got to see a very large variety of fish, sting rays, sharks, jelly fish and even 3 birds that were part of the ray exhibit (which I initially thought were fake until one of them took a jump into the water!) Speaking of stingrays, we got to watch one of the workers there feed the small sharks that were in the ray exhibit...There was a model boat exhibit as well - also, an outdoor exhibit that included a real shrimpin' boat (I of course was not impressed with this since I saw tons of these almost every summer visiting in Louisiana). They had a nice theater that continuously ran documentaries. We happened to catch the one about Rio Grande - it was quite fascinating!
After exhausting ourselves at the aquarium, we headed over to the Rio Grande Botanic Garden. This was a really, really cool place - made especially cool because the weather was incredible! As you walk in the park, you are immediately drawn to a pathway that led to "Children's Fantasy Garden". This is a well put together exhibit where you, the visitor are made to feel the size of an ant! There is a fun maze, little nooks to explore, beautiful landscaping and even a fun slide. Lots of photo opportunities in this little mini wonderland (by the way, that's a shameless plug to encourage you to click here to see the pictures! ) Here's one of Abby hiding in the carrot patch (notice the ant off in the background):
The exit of the Children's Fantasy Garden dumps you right off at the Rio Grande Garden Railway. This is a really cool model train railroad (actually, several) nestled in the lovely landscaping of the garden grounds. We sat and watched the trains awhile and chatted with a docent - a sweet old man who had a huge wealth of knowledge. I should have asked him what happens to the setup when it rains and snows...After the railroad, a nice little trail takes you over to the botanical building - a glasshouse filled with botanical goodies. The building was divided into two parts: the Mediterranean and the Desert. We started off in the Mediterranean. My nose was immediately bombarded with scents of honeysuckle - it was intoxicating! The flowers were beautiful - a large assortment and all different colors. It was awesome.The desert side was equally impressive, although it didn't smell near as nice. In fact, it smelled kind of nasty! There were dried chili peppers hanging everywhere...lots of cactus and blooming cactus flowers. There were cactus growing out of the
rock wall too! I really just decided that I love taking pictures of flowers! I almost started crying when I realized that my digital camera card had reached its limit before we hit the building! I sat for a few minutes and deleted some pictures from the aquarium so I could have some room...otherwise, there probably would have been WAY more flower pics.After lunch, we headed to base camp for some much needed resting and indoor activities.
For dinner - we opted for another local eatery called, "Rudy's 'Country Store' & BBQ". The food was incredible - only this time, we didn't quite have the warm, friendly atmosphere that we did at Route 66. Actually, I would compare it more to Seinfeld's soup nazi. You ever go to a place where you've never been before and have this weird feeling like you're supposed to do some odd ritual to get your grub? Well, that's kind of how we felt. I had to go to the counter and ask the gal what we were supposed to do to order. She seemed all spun out about my query - clearly they were not in need of my business because the place was packed with lots of people who knew what they were supposed to do! Anyway - it wasn't that big of a production after all, but the fact that I had to ask meant that now everyone behind the counter knew we were "not local". So - we wait in line and, as luck would have it, the register we wind up at is the same gal from before. NOW I had to ask her how I should order for my peeps because the menu is basically just a list of meat and prices. Again with the spinning out. Well, ok - she wasn't that bad...but she broke it down kind of fast, which made me all flustered. I just picked a few things and she rang it up. Can you believe that this family of 3 walked out of the place fairly full for $16?
Anyway - the whole serving process is kind of different. First, she put down this crate looking thing (they are the plastic holders that soda delivery guys bring cases of soda in). Then, she lines it with butcher paper. Then, she turns and gets the meat from the meat cutting guy and throws it on some more butcher paper. They give you more butcher paper to use as plates. And, the gal throws a bunch of wonder bread on top of everything and sends you on your way. The tables are set up family style and they are covered in red checked table clothes. Once we got settled on the table, started putting all the pieces together and actually ate the food, we decided it was WELL worth the cost of humiliation.So - that's our day in a nutshell...
A few prayer items:
PRAISE: I can't believe the weather we've experienced....it's been truly beautiful everywhere we've gone, this has been a huge answer to prayer for us!
Please pray for our upcoming travels - tomorrow (Friday) is a long travel day (500 miles) and the routes that are available to take all have high wind (50mph) advisories. Traveling mercies are requested as well as some kind of time warping to make the trip go by fast :) We are headed off to Midland for a few days, then on to Fort Worth for an extended stay.
kisses, hugs, trout and pancakes,
k
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