To New Heights....5 year Anniversary

Will and I have been married five years.  In that time we have not traveled anywhere that did not involve our family, school, or work.  We haven't had a just the two of us, no obligations vacation since our honeymoon.  Being transparent I would tell you that adjusting to life as a family of three for the last year has been difficult, overwhelming, tiring, and has distanced us at times.  To celebrate five years of marriage we needed to get away.  We needed to be somewhere different and just be a couple for a few days. 

Thanks to cheap flights with Southwest Airlines, my wonderful, servant mother, and recognizing that we needed to foster our relationship we decided to take a real anniversary trip to Albuquerque, NM.  If you're like the vast majority of others that knew of our destination, then you have a burning question that must be answered.  Why Albuquerque?  I can answer in a few simple points:
1. Southwest was offering cheap airfare to Albuquerque from Dallas
2. It was the most "exotic" - read: not familiar, not in TX - location offered
3. Neither of us had been there before

and

They have hot air balloon rides!

As soon as I saw that Albuquerque is a ballooning town and you could go on a balloon flight at sunrise I was sold.  I am not a thrill seeker in any way, but I wanted a lasting memory of our milestone 5th anniversary and I knew this activity would provide. 
And wood is a traditional gift for 5 years...the balloon basket is made of wood - or has some wood on it...yeah, it's a stretch.  Never mind.

We set out on our adventure at 3 am Thursday morning (May 29).  Our flight left Dallas at 7:45 am.  We arrived in Albuquerque at 8:35 am MT.  After picking up our rental car, (thank goodness I dropped the notion that we would just walk/use public transportation for the couple day trip...what was I thinking??!!) we navigated our way to Old Town Albuquerque and began to peruse the shops in the square.  At some point we found ourselves at the local art museum.  Art museums are not typically our kind of entertainment, but they had some neat displays including an exhibit about Vivian Vance (Ethel Mertz), an Albuquerque native. 

At 11 am we began a free Old Town walking tour with a museum guide and another couple.  About 45 minutes in to the 1 hr tour I began to experience the lightheaded, hearing and vision closing in that comes with extreme fatigue and not having eaten in 7 hours (it was 12:45 to our body clocks).  Time to quickly make our escape.  We went to a local restaurant serving fresh, organic menu items - a very prevalent trend in the area.  I blame my very poor menu selection - a sausage breakfast burrito with green chile SPICY! - on bottomed out blood sugar and the notion that every meal needed to include the signature condiment of the state.  If I could have a do-over I would have gone with one of their beautiful salads.  I have to remind myself that I like salad.  I digress.

A nap was top of our priorities after the semi-failed lunch.  Normally I have difficulty taking naps.  2  hours later I awoke from my slumber, enjoyed the carrot cake cupcake I had taken to go from the restaurant and was ready for round 2.  We went directly across the street and took a quick tour of the Pueblo Indian Cultural Center.  It was interesting to read more about how the natives were treated through the years. I bought a pair of earrings from a lady of Indian heritage selling her wares in the plaza.
For dinner we decided to try the true specialty of the area - the Green Chile Burger aka the Laguna Burger at Pit Stop 66 - a gas station on I-25.  I think Will and I would both say that was one of the best burgers we had ever eaten.  Call it delirium if you will, but it really was good.  And it wasn't particularly a function of the green chile.  The meat was charred just right and the toppings were all balanced.  Very good.  We also had a red chile Frito Pie. 

We called it an early night because the next morning was our balloon ride and we had to be at the location at 5:30 - who was I kidding thinking this was a vacation with these early hours.  Not desiring to repeat the previous day and having to leave the hotel before breakfast was served we made a trip through Starbucks for sustenance.   Then the waiting began. 

The short of it is...a small line of showers was in the area and instead of pushing through as the sun came up, it just sat there spinning.  The balloon pilots were unsure enough about the conditions that they called the flights off...only after waiting at the location for over an hour.  While waiting we did get to see the sun rise over the Sandia Mountains and a beautiful, complete double rainbow.  The pilots told us that they generally get to fly 300 out of 365 days.  One poor girl in our group was on her third attempt - now that is some bad luck.

Disappointed, we went back to the hotel to change clothes and wait until an hour when things are actually open to drive to Sante Fe.  We took the scenic route north, Turquoise Trail.  Along the way we took the 16 mile jaunt up the switchbacks to Sandia Crest at 10,800ft above sea level.  It gave quite a view of the city of Albuquerque and surrounding areas.  The temperature from Crest to ground level was 20 degrees different.  We stopped in the old mine town of Golden for lunch - green chile enchiladas and another green chile burger.  Once in Sante Fe we browsed the goods being sold on street corners and sidewalks, along with the much more upscale stores than found in Old Town Albuquerque.  I chose a pair of oval turquoise studs.  We also toured a couple of churches and saw the miracle staircase.

Will recalled coming to Sante Fe on a youth choir tour as a youth.  For nostalgia we went in the 5 and dime store heralding the best Frito Pie around.  We passed this time.  I also have a vague memory of being in what I thought was Sante Fe on a stop of our two week family vacation to the Grand Canyon.  But being there again I couldn't place it.  So it's either significantly changed or that is not where we were.

Back in Albuquerque we got a little cutsie for our anniversary dinner- pizza!  It was fru-fru pizza at Farina and that is what we both wanted. We finished off the day with frozen custard and an early to bed.

I mourned the loss of a Saturday morning to sleep in, but I was hopeful we would get to go up in the hot air balloon...so away we went.  After a location change because of winds and some uncertain moments, we finally go the go ahead for take off!!!  Will got to help hold the balloon open while it was filled with cold air from large fans.  When it was inflated we had to quickly get passengers into the balloon to keep it on the ground until everyone could get in.  I was the first in in the back of the balloon by the pilot.  I had a few butterflies as the tie downs were released and the ground started getting further and further away. 

It was a really neat experience.  It is a very smooth, quiet ride (except for the burst of fuel from the burners).  The burners also made it pretty toasty.  We flew over natural landscape as well as commercial property.  We waved at some people enjoying the pretty morning on their patios.  The landing was smooth.  The pilot didn't get the full turn he was needing to land on the area of flat ground so we were on a bit of a hill, but the crew was very experienced and kept everyone safe.  Afterwards we went to a local park with a lookout over the city to enjoy in some breakfast treats and receive our flight certificates and pin.  We will definitely hold this memory for many years to come. 

After checking out of our hotel we did some final shopping in Old Town before heading to the airport.  We got a hot air balloon Christmas ornament with a Native American motif designed by a local artist as our souvenir. 

This trip had its literal and figurative ups and downs, but it was very enjoyable and we left with the commitment to make time for the two of us a priority.

I am so thankful for my Mom and sister watching Caroline so we could get away.  She was in wonderful hands and had a great few days at Lollie's summer camp.




Happy Anniversary, Will.  I love you and hope for many more years with you.