First RV Adventure

My trips to NY got cancelled.  All of Stephen's racing trips got cancelled.  We never even planned an anniversary trip.  One day I said, "The only way I would feel comfortable traveling now is if we had an RV so we'd have our own bathroom and kitchen.  Hmmm... Stephen wondered if it was possible to rent an RV?  Turns out, you can rent one through an online service similar to Airbnb.  I asked Stephen to find us a camping spot with full hookups (electric, water, sewer) but as isolated as possible, and without any of the resort-style amenities I didn't want or need.  We discussed what we wanted in a camper (kitchen, outdoor kitchen for grilling, nice bathroom, comfy bed).  Stephen worked his magic and came through with everything on our list!  We left on a Friday morning, picked up the camper at the owner's house, got a tour and orientation, and headed out on our 4 day road trip.

All set up at our campsite!  It was on a winding road between Taos and Angel Fire.

On Saturday we went for a drive and saw the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.  We put on our masks and walked around it with but didn't go inside.

Later that afternoon we went for a beautiful hike. 

Stephen grilled every night.

On Sunday we drove out past Taos and went for another lovely hike.

The idea was to read, relax, eat, hike, drive around, ignore the news, and hang out together.  We did all of those things!  We had no wifi or cell service but we had books (we each read 3) and a very luxurious little home away from home.

  Although we can't have the vacation(s) we had planned for this summer, we had a really nice time.  It was a beautiful four days, and we would do it again!

New Albuquerque experiences with Marinos

After visiting Phoenix, the Grand Canyon, and Santa Fe, the Marinos were still willing to do some exploring in Albuquerque during their recent visit.
We started at the Albuquerque Museum with the delightful Jim Henson exhibit.

We also walked around Old Town and did a little shopping.

The next day we went to the Balloon Museum.  I'm not sure how I managed to live here for seven years without seeing it, but better late than never!

On Monday Stephen had to work, but the rest of us went to the Turquoise Museum and then made a stop at Mama's Minerals.   The Turquoise Museum is in a castle, of sorts. It's a modern house that was built to look old with many antiques and a collection of 132 crystal chandeliers.  I know that we went there to look at the turquoise, but I just happen to LOVE crystal chandeliers.  I was in chandelier heaven. 

 

 

 We also did this epic puzzle that Jackie and Ralph gave Stephen for Christmas.  The car was the easy part -- the background was a challenge!  As usual, we enjoyed our visitors and had a great time exploring new things in Albuquerque.