...sit back and relax...grab a cup of tea...this is a long photo heavy post...
...I met The Airman's Wife and Baby at the airport at 4:30 AM...for a 6:30 flight...we took off right at dawn...
...The Airman's Baby had been awake for a couple of hours at the airport...playing and then eating...and then like the little angel that she is...she went to sleep and slept for the entire flight...
...and then we did exactly the same thing again in Houston...and she woke up and played and ate during our layover...and then slept the rest of the way to Albuquerque...it was awesome...
...we were amazed to see so much snow on our approach to Albuquerque...
...but when you get to the rim around the city...no more snow...The Airman says that the weather patterns for the two areas are very different...
...but then the Airman picked us up at the Airport and took us to their adorable little apartment...
...but they don't have any furniture...yet...so he sat on the floor to feed the baby...
...then we went for a little tour around base...
...this is the hanger where our Airman studies...
...the cute Jolly Green over the door...
...his airframe...the M-60...
...I was actually just taking a photo of the mountains...but that's the parajumper's training field in front...
...more mountains...
...and still more...
...Albuquerque sits in a 'bowl' surrounded by mountains...
...we were up bright and early the next day...with a two hour time change you lose your bearings...and wake up at 5 AM...because it's really 7...haha...
...Our Airman wanted to show us the hike that he had taken with some of his friends...that originated here...the Embudito Canyon...
...he hiked to that pointy mountain in the distance...
...and climbed to the top...after the trail ended...it looks like an awesome hike...
...and then we decided to head up to the top of Sandia Crest to see the towers that we can barely see from down here...
...so we started on the 53 minute trip (5 miles as a crow flies...haha)...and the terrain looks pretty much like desert...
...but it wasn't long before we started to see snow...
...the Airman's Baby fell asleep on the long ride...toy in hand...
...we got to the turnoff for the Sandia Crest Drive...Scenic Byway...
...and we started to see some snow...
...the snow was patchy at first...
...but as we climbed there was more and more...it was so pretty in the trees...
...there were pretty rock formations...
...and beautiful views...
...and a lot more snow...
...piled up almost covering the signs...it reminded us of North Dakota...
...pretty soon...we were at 10,000 feet elevation...
...and then we were at the summit...and we could see the towers close up...
...the kiddos...and grand-kiddos...in the snow...
...spectacular views...
...the Airman and I in the snow...it was really windy and cold...
...elevation 10,678...
...in front of Sandia Crest House...
...at the overlook...the wind really takes your breath away...
...and so does the view...
...it's pretty spectacular...
...Our Airman taking a panoramic video...
...this is the video...
...the towers on the way back down...
...so then we drove back into town...and went to The Cheesecake Factory...I've been before...but The Airman's Wife never has...and she was pretty excited about it...and so was The Airman's Baby...
...here's video proof of how excited she was...haha...
...talking to Daddy...
....I had the vegan Cobb Salad...it was AMAZING...
...then Our Aiman proved his prowess at Baby-wearing...
...and we wandered around the Mall for a bit...
...then back to the apartment for this gorgeous sunset...
...this is the view from their apartment...
...the city at night...I was amazed at how flat everything was...there were not a lot of tall buildings...
...then I was up and back at the airport at 4:30 again...flying to Denver this time for some reason...over the Rockies...
...the flights were uneventful...the flight attendant asked what I wanted to drink before we took off...and I asked if she could mix orange and cranberry juice...and she happily obliged...and said that it looked like a tequila sunrise...(I've never had one of those)...but this was yummy...
...the book I brought to read...I almost finished it before I got back to Charlotte...
...and this was the breakfast I requested...it was delicious...and took a long time to eat...which is a good thing on a long flight as it keeps you occupied...the pink container in the middle is one of the little airport friendly bottles meant for toiletries...but it's full of soymilk...haha...
...and that's about it...it was a whirlwind for sure...and I had a wonderful time visiting Albuquerque and I can't wait to go back...
~Wishing you a lovely start to your week!
That was a whirlwind trip but glad you could escort the airman's wife and baby. I think they will enjoy living in Albuquerque. Though I've never been there I think I would like the vibe and scenery :-)
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful sojourn! Looks cold though. Glad they're finally getting together for the long term.
ReplyDeleteLove, K