Mary's Birthday, which happens to be 05-05-05 this year. We pack our belongings, and head over to Del's for a breakfast of you guessed it- sopapillas.  On the way in from the parking lot, we met an older cowboy, who greets us, and tells us he saw us taking photos around town yesterday.  In a small town like this you can't remain anonymous long when you're walking around with cameras.  He even comments that Mary was wearing black the previous day, and he thought she was trying to blend in.  If that was the intention, it certainly didn't work.

Once we're seated, Mary receives a birthday call from her sister Judy, and Caryn takes this opportunity to up the breakfast order from five to six sopapillas (for a grand total of $4.74).  They are very good, but it is a bit much, and we're looking forward to Albuquerque, where we plan to eat some health food. 

We're on the road by 10:30 am, for the drive to Albuquerque. Upon arrival, we cruise down Central, which is the main drag, as well as old Route 66.  We pull into the El Vado Motel, an Adobe style motor court, which Mary has located on the Internet.  Caryn goes in, and gets a room for $35, which includes a garage.  We unpack a few things, and then head off to find a healthy lunch.  We settle on 20 CARROTS, a vegetarian place on Central, across from the University.  Caryn gets a stir-fry, and Mary orders a healthy veggie burrito.  Fabulous!  Just what we needed.  Feeling good, with the sun shining, we jump back in the van and head to Starbucks for coffee and Wi-Fi.  This is the safest Starbucks I've ever seen. There is a group of four policemen having coffee on the patio.  As soon as they leave, another group of four arrives, and they have their coffee inside.  The Wi-Fi signal is weak, so after coffee we settle on a stroll thru town. 

We visit KURT'S CAMERA CORAL, which has a really great sign, and Caryn gets a neoprene filter holder, and Mary gets an old Kodak movie film reel and case.  Then it's back to the car, for the drive to the motel, and a brief rest, before deciding on our dinner spot.  Mary chooses La Siringitu, a vegetarian cafe, which is nearby.  We get there around 7 pm, and we are the only customers, and since they're only open for dinner, we figure we must be the only customers of the day.  We order the green chili humus with pita appetizer, which was pictured on their website.  It is a disappointment, but we press on.  Mary orders tofu stir-fry, and Caryn chooses the lentil and corn burrito.  Mary is prepared for the worst, and mentions that food poisoning is a distinct possibility, but is quite pleasantly surprised when the food arrives.  It is very good, and very filling.  We finish up and get back to the motel in time to take some photos of the neon sign at dusk, and then settle in to watch The Apprentice.

Friday, May 6

We're packed up and ready to go, without a shower.  The shower at El Vado looks a little creepy, and Caryn discovers a grape stem, complete with hairball, in there, so we decide we'll wait until arriving at the Extended Stay America to shower.  After staying in a "quaint " spot like this, Mary seems to be over the "lets buy the Blue Swallow" bug.  We start the drive north to Rio Rancho, but make a u-turn for some old signs, and breakfast at Mac's La Sierra, who's giant steer sign advertises $1.99 breakfast specials.  Mary orders the Huevos Rancheros, and Caryn decides to try to eggs over medium, with steak fingers, both $1.99 specials.  Great stuff, and the coffee is good too.

We arrive at the Extended Stay hotel around 11:30am, and we're able to check in.  Since we're  staying for a week, and the room has a kitchen, we unload most of our stuff from the van.  Mary is quite happy to be settled in for a week, and can't stop commenting on how happy she is to be here.  That's one of the benefits of a road trip, it helps to put things in perspective, and make you appreciate certain things, like a clean room, and not being on the move constantly.  We have determined that we certainly are not cut out for the fugitive life.

The afternoon's activity is laundry, and as a testament to the cleanliness of the hotel, we walk down to the laundry room barefoot. 

With the laundry complete, Caryn heads off to run errands and take the van for a much-needed car wash, while Mary stays back to work on her digital photos. After Caryn returns, Mary is ready to get out for a bit, so we consult the Honda GPS, and discover that there is a Saigon Cafe not far away. When we get there, we find that the name has been changed to Cafe Da Lat, but it still serves up some fine Vietnamese Bun.
 

After dinner, we're ready for some dusk photos, and head to old Route 66 and The Dog House drive-in, complete with a neon sign of a dacshund with a string of hot dogs in his mouth, and a wagging tale. As we sit it the car waiting for the sign to be turned on, a girl comes over to take our order. Mary tells here that we haven't decided yet. She returns in 10 minutes, and we tell her that we're just waiting to take a photo of the sign. She tells us that she will turn it on for us. It's beautiful, but we find the photographing of it to be a challenge, due to the white menu board sign, and the two guys parked right in front, who are trying to break into their car, since they locked the keys in it. When the last light has disappeared from the sky, we decide we've done all we can, and head back to the luxurious Extended Stay.

Saturday, May 7

We take a ride to REI, and are delighted to discover that it is their Anniversary Sale. We spend a good amount of time wandering the store, and we're tempted by the fact that roof racks and boxes are 20% off, but we decide it's something we can live without. Mary finds a great, thin pair of gloves and a white REI brand long sleeve shirt, and Caryn gets the same shirt in red. After shopping we decide to head back to the hotel to await dusk, but when we pull out of the parking lot, we spy a store called Sportsman's Warehouse. A few quick U-Turns and we're there. What a find! Lots of camping, and hunting stuff, and with our newfound interest in skeet shooting, we're happy to browse the firearm section. On the way out of the store is a photo display of "bragging shots". Some of our favorites are the guys with the California mountain lions, and the 6-year-old boy, with his first kill, a prairie dog.

Sunday May 8

We spend a relaxing day hanging out at the hotel, and then head back down to Albuquerque to have dinner at Mac's La Sierra. What a disappointment. The food was not very good, and neither were the sopapillas. It's one thing to consume the calories of a Mexican meal when it good, but when it's this lame, it's quite a disappointment. After dinner, we hang around and wait for the sky to darken, and take some photos of the giant neon sign that spans the road, with a big "66" in the center. It's an enjoyable evening, the weather is warm, the new tripod works great, and the passersby are friendly.

Monday, May 9

We're ready for some healthy food, so we head back to 20 Carrots for lunch, were we both order the same meals we had on Thursday. With our bellies full, we're ready for some physical activity, so we head to Petroglyphs National Monument. When we arrive at the entrance, Mary asks if the National Parks Passport is valid for admission. The ranger at the gate asks if it's a pass we purchased, or is it "the free one?" Mary, a bit taken aback replies "Do I look 65?" The ranger laughs, appoligizes, and allows us to enter. Mary isn't sure if the insult was worth saving the $1 entrance fee.

We park the van, and head up the trail to see some petroglyphs. The first one Caryn spots is a lizard playing tennis. We take the short trail to the top, where we have a great view overlooking the city to the east, and old volcano cones to the west.
Back at the hotel, we ask the girl at the desk where we can find some good Mexican food. She asks if we want Mexican, or New Mexican. Not sure, Caryn says she wants sopapillas. "New Mexican" the girl replies, and begins to tell us about a great local spot in the neighboring town of Bernalillo, but unfortunately, we'll have to wait a day, because it's closed on Monday. We decide to have a look at a place down the street, called Little Anita's. Even thought this is part of a chain, it is some of the best food we've had yet; excellent chips, hot salsa, and great chile.

After dinner we go across the street to Satellite Coffee, because we've heard they have free Wi-Fi, and we've had rather spotty service at the Extended Stay. Mary is able to access the web from the parking lot, while Caryn goes inside to have a look around. She says it's nice, so we decide to hang out for a while. The Wi-Fi is very fast, so Caryn decides to go back to the hotel and get her laptop, which she has left there transmitting photos. The transmission failed, so it's good that she went back for it, and is able to complete the transfer with no trouble from the coffee shop. We enjoy the atmosphere so much that we stay until almost closing time.
 

Tuesday, May 10

One of the pluses of staying in one place for a week is that we can receive mail and packages, especially since Mary's birthday has just passed. Today she received a box of gifts from Amy, and also a gift from Barbara and Don.

We take the drive up to Bernalillo, for lunch at La Casita. It's worth the drive, and we have a very nice lunch, with great chips, and hot, fresh salsa. Caryn has the adovada stuffed sopapilla, and of course sopapillas with honey for desert.

After lunch it's back to Rio Rancho, where we spend a good part of the afternoon at Barnes and Noble, followed by afternoon coffee at Satellite Coffee. For dinner, we take a drive to Wild Oats Market, and get some grub from the deli department and salad bar.

 
Wednesday May 11

Caryn heads out this morning to take the van for a tire rotation at Sam's Club, and while it's being done she "power walks" to Wal-Mart. Mary walks down to meet her for a quick Sam's Club shopping, then walks back to the hotel to get some exercise. We have lunch at the hotel, and then head down to Albuquerque to visit The Atomic Museum, which ends up being quite facinating. We stay until almost closing, then have a quick bite at May Cafe, a Vietnamese restaurant that has a "muffler man" statue. Unfortunately, he's backlit, so we only get a shot of his back side. Before dinner, we take a quick spin thru Talin Market, which we assume is a health food store, but are delighted to find is a new, Asian supermarket, absent of the smell which one usually encounters in an Asian market. Unfortunately, there is a "no photography" sticker on the door. Each aisle of the store is a different international city, stocked with the appropriate items. At the meat counter, we see such unusual items as pig liver (which is quite large) and "chicken paws". We pass on both.

After dinner, it's off to REI, to attend the slide show of "Expedition America", the story of a couple who, in 1996 visited all the American National parks in their Eurovan camper. There were certain parks that were inaccessible by van, such as Dry Tortugas off the Florida coast, and another park in American Samoa, which they flew to. It was an interesting evening, attended by about 20 people. When the show and subsequent chatting was over, we made a stop at the watch counter, where Caryn bought Mary another birthday gift of a Timex Heart Rate monitor, which was part of the anniversary sale. Back at the hotel, Mary was dismayed to find that she needed her reading glasses to read the instruction book, and get the watch set. Other than that, she loves it.

Thursday, May 12

With our week in Albuquerque coming to a close, we take today to pay bills, and catch up on things. Caryn heads out to the bank and post office. After lunch, we prepare coffees and drive over to Little Anita's (this time the take out section) and order some sopapillas. They're great with coffee, but opening the little honey packets is a bummer.

Mary puts on the heart rate monitor, and we walk thru the mall, in search of The Body Shop, and some hand cream. For dinner we decide to visit La Casita in Bernalillo again, because our friend at the front desk said we should have tried the red chile, instead of the green that we had. She was right - it was good, and hot. In New Mexico when they say hot, they mean it, as opposed to Florida, where I usually have to up the heat of what I'm served. This place has some awesome sopapillas, which emit steam when we break into them. Yum!

After dinner, we head to downtown Albuquerque, in search of the Jennifer Wilbanks aka - "The Runaway Bride" phone booth. This was a big story a few weeks ago - the woman from Duluth GA who went missing, only to make a phone call from Albuquerque, saying she had been abducted.  Later change her story.

We found the phone booth, and did a quick reenactment, with Caryn, and a beach towel. Then it was off to the El Don hotel, to photograph the neon sign of a cowboy with a lariat. Those tasks done, we motored back to the hotel, to catch the second half of The Apprentice.

After TV, Mary discovers that she has made a big error in the captioning and renaming of photos she did earlier, and they must all be done again. Caryn very generously begins the big job of packing up our belongings, including lots of kitchen ware, while Mary works on the digital photos.