Leaving for AlbuquerqueHello!! Today I start my journey out west to New Mexico! Me and the girls have a mid-morning flight out of LaGuardia and are we ever excited!  We will meet up with Tanya and the kids late this afternoon at our hotel, which has Gianna and Kelsey totally stoked! I expect to do some writing on the flight, and I've given my daughters strict instructions to read on the plane so they will be able to hand in a few book reviews to school, when they return.  Now being that it's Foodie Friday I have some good news and some bad news. The good news is that I wrote an article about my dinner at Wild Fig Mediterranean Grill in Garden City. The bad news is that I forgot to upload my pictures to the article before leaving this morning :-( So, I will have to add these photos when I return from our road trip and re-post this article in my daily at that time. Well folks this will be a short one - but here's a reminder of what our road trip itinerary looks like over the next week: Albuquerque Day 1: Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta Albuquerque Old Town Day 2: Albuquerque Sandia Peak & Tram Botanical Gardens Balloon Fiesta Evening Session Day 3: Drive from Albuquerque to Taos Stop along the way to see Giant Red Arrow Petroglyph National Monument Bandelier Monument Kasha Katuwe Tent Rock National Monument Day 4: Taos Taos Pueblo Kit Carson Home & Museum Taos Downtown Historic District Rio Grande Gorge Bridge at Sunset Day 5: Taos to Santa Fe Drive to Santa Fe Chimayo Lunch near Chimayo Saints and Sinners Sign Arrive Rental House Dinner at home Day 6: Santa Fe Nambe Falls & Bison Old Town (Lunch, Shopping, Relax) Day 7: Santa Fe to Albuquerque Loretto Chapel Brontosaurus Family (photo op) Drive to Albuquerque Day 8: Albuquerque Elisa Leaves for NY  Talk to you from Albuquerque tomorrow!!! -E  | Heading to Albuquerque!Hi everyone! The kids and I are still in Sedona, and just about all packed up and ready to hit the road again! This time heading to Albuquerque, stopping at the Painted Desert / Petrified Forest National Parks along the way!  We followed yesterday's plans to a T, headed out to visit and learn about Tuzigoot National Mounument, hiked and explored Bell Rock, even squeezed in tea time with a slice of homemade (vegan) cheesecake...Is it still homemade if you make it on vacation?  At Tuzigoot NM  At Tuzigoot NM  Hiking Bell Rock  On Bell Rock Later on in the evening, I took the kids to the pool last night and had a bit of excitement. Still not quite sure what to make of it... After a while of the kids playing around, Cosette popped up from under the water and asked us who was screaming. There was no one screaming. But as she and Dominic continued to swim they heard the terrified screams of a child under the water. We heard and saw nothing above the water. There were also no other people anywhere around. The kids got extremely freaked out and requested that we leave right away!!! I attempted to look up what this could possibly be...an ancient burial site...the site of a past drowning... I found nothing. I called the front desk and inquired; I also called the Sheriff to let them know what we had just experienced. The police came out and investigated - came up with nothing. But I'm sure that they did not listen under the water! Whatever it was, I hope this "child" that was heard is safe and well. The kids were certainly not well for a while last night. Completely freaked out and even questioning if they'll ever want to go into another swimming pool ever again! So aside from the odd experience at the pool last night, we are all having a great time so far! And the fun only continues later this afternoon/evening, as Elisa and the girls arrive into Albuquerque, New Mexico. And then Dave B arrives even later tonight! As you probably already know, we are all meeting in Albuquerque to see the famed International Balloon Fiesta! Condé Nast Traveler recently did a slideshow on heading to Albuquerque during this festive time of the year! CLICK HERE to see it. This event draws people from around the world and is the largest event of its type! We're definitely expecting it to be quite spectacular!! While I travel I tend to forget what day it is! Does that happen to you too? Well, today is Friday and you know what that means!! FOODIE FRIDAY! YUM!!! Time to continue our road trip. You read, I'll drive! Catch you all back here tomorrow from New Mexico! -T  |
