I could spend a week in Albuquerque. Sadly, I went for just a quick weekend instead, but took advantage of every minute there.
Arriving Friday evening, we headed to Kelly's on Route 66 for drinks and a bite to eat. Kelly's Brew Pub sits in the former Jones Motor Company Ford dealership built in 1939. The patio contains iconic old fashioned gas pumps and the building has had many of the original design elements restored. Kelly's is famous for its 'Award Winning Creamy Green Chile Chicken Soup'. I'd give it an award, yum!
We spent the next morning and afternoon exploring Old Town Albuquerque. Old Town is anchored by Iglesia San Felipe de Neri, a church built in 1706. It boasts many native art galleries and jewelry shops and spice shops. Shops are adorned with red chile wreaths. We picked up a number of spice mixtures and salsas. I confess, we already tried out the verde salsa, it was great. We hunkered in at Casa de Fiesta Mexican Restaurant, ordered a pitcher of margaritas (in my defense, there were four of us) and were served complimentary sopaipillas, a sweet pastry covered in honey. Be sure to stop by the Candy Lady for great treats, including frozen chocolate covered bananas!
For dinner that evening, we ventured up to the Sandias and took the Sandia Peak Tramway, the world's longest tramway. The tram climbs up 4,000 feet to a impressive viewpoint of the city of Albuquerque to the west and ski trails to the east. We dined at 'High Finance' on the summit, the food was fine, but I thought the view was better. I highly recommend taking the tram up to the Sandia Peak - amazing to be at 10,500' looking down on the world below.
We woke up early the next day for hot air ballooning. While not the actual festival as listed in the book, I'm going to count it anyway. We met our group and pilot from Rainbow Ryders around 6:45 in the morning, set up the balloon, and climbed in the basket. A first-time hot air balloon passenger, I wasn't sure what to expect, but our pilot, Randy Rogers explained what to expect, and most importantly, how to prepare for the landing. We soared up to 2,000 feet above the city and the Rio Grande river, looking out over the terrain, catching views of the Sandias, and surrounded by the more than a dozen hot air balloons dotting the sky. The flight itself is peaceful and quiet. The landing wasn't so peaceful.
Fully knowing the possibilities of what could happen based on the waiver signed, I still wasn't quite prepared for the hop, skip, jump, skid, and eventual flop of the basket when it finally landed. While scary for a split second, it had us all laughing and makes for a great story. The champagne afterwards made up for it as well.
Wanting to soak up a bit of sun prior to heading back home, we took a three mile hike through the Petraglyph National Monument to check out the petraglyphs, rock carvings created by native tribes around 500 years ago. It was a quick hike and we found a number of petraglyphs, here's one of my favorites.
Two breakfast recommendations: Frontier Restaurant (must order the cinnamon roll) and Flying Star (local and organic). I can't wait to make another trip to New Mexico, and hope to go back again, perhaps next time Santa Fe. The 1,000 places journey continues...
Date of Completion: April 2010
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