ABQ Visit

At the end of July, I got to make a trip back home to ABQ! This plan came together a bit earlier in the summer when Mark and I realized that we'd need to figure out how to make the rounds to visit both our families now that Mark's parents no longer live in ABQ. This year will be the Cook family's first Christmas in their new place in Missouri, so we decided to plan on heading there in December. That meant we wanted to try to find another time to visit my family, and after talking to my Mom, it turned out that the end of July was our best shot. Unfortunately, Mark was already committed to teaching a band camp at that time, so he had to stay behind in Ohio while I made the trip. We sure missed having him around, but it was also good that I was able to work something out for a visit, and I had a great time!

I haven't been back at that time of year for at least 6 years, so I was looking forward to having some summer fun, particularly at Grandma's pool. Clearly, I'm not used to the desert heat and sun anymore! (I got a major sunburn the first day despite wearing sunscreen). I was pleased to discover, though, that I can still do some fun dives off the diving board. We spent a few afternoons there, and I couldn't get enough of the spectacular views.

Of course, Grandma's isn't the only scenic place in town! Mom and Dad's backyard is amazing, and it was such a treat to have tea and breakfast with Mom on the patio. On my last morning, my best friend Becca came over to join us, and it was really good to see her.

Another top priority was making the rounds to my favorite places to eat. Mom and Grandma took me to Dion's on my first night. We also went to El Pinto, where we had a nice time out on the patio. And there were two visits to Weck's. I have to admit, it seemed strange to be there without Mark's parents! After church on Sunday, Grandma treated us to burgers at a place I hadn't been to before--the green chile burger was excellent.

Since my birthday was in June, my sister had planned an outing for the two of us to celebrate while I was in town. She took me to a place called Art Attack where we each glazed a piece of pre-made ceramic. After, we treated ourselves to milkshakes at Sonic. It was so nice to have some one-on-one time to catch up.

I also talked Mom into taking me down to Old Town to window shop for a while. I don't remember the last time I did that, and we had fun (despite the heat, even in the morning). She ended up buying a sombrero she wanted for her kindergarten class (for when they do the Mexican hat dance), and she also got me some really cute earrings from the Weems Gallery (they were a bargain!). Oh, and we found some nice goat's milk soap, too. And, since we were in the neighborhood, we stopped at the NM Tea Company, where we got a bag of their Sandia Spice tea to share--it's become my new favorite.

Our biggest family adventure, though, was a day trip out to the Jemez mountains on Saturday. The last time I was out that way was in May 2013 with the Cook family. Before that, I'm not sure...it had been a while. But I have such wonderful memories of picnics and hiking out there, and it was great to visit those same places: the Gilman Tunnels, Soda Dam, and Battleship Rock. We finished the day with a stop at a cabin my parents' friends Chuck and Donna own. I haven't pushed myself physically that hard since before all my arthritis trouble started about a year ago, so it was satisfying to know I am strong enough to hike around again!

At Gilman Tunnels:

Soda Dam:

Battleship Rock and waterfall:

Chuck and Donna's cabin and river spot:

Of course, the best part was just having quality time with everyone. Grandpa Mike joined us for a few dinners and gave me some beautiful woodworking projects as an early Christmas gift. Julie's boyfriend Ben also spent a lot of time with us, and it was nice to get to know him a bit. I was glad to run into some old friends at church, including Nadya and Misha who let me chat with them in the kitchen for a few minutes. I suppose it'll be Christmas of 2017 when I next return to ABQ; that seems like a long time! In the meantime, I'll have these pics to enjoy as well as weekly phone calls to stay in touch. Thanks again to Mom, Dad, Grandma, Julie, and Grandpa Mike for making this visit so special!