Killing Time and/or Rain Delays

They are rolling out the tarps at the Cardinals-Cubs game in Chicago and I figured I'd take some time during this rain delay to give you an update.

After our adventures in Santa Fe and beyond, we came back to Albuquerque and relaxed on Friday. It had been a few days since my last shopping trip, and I had come up with a list of a few more things for the guest house. The purchase of ice cream necessitated an ice cream scoop. A clog in the bathroom sink required a little Drain-O. And my nasty brown carpet was screaming for a rug to cover it up.



I don't really mind the brown carpet so much. It goes nicely with the new brown and tan comforter and the brown and tan futon that was here when I showed up. It's just the fact that it kind of crunches when you walk on it that I don't like so much.

After our shopping excursion, we stopped and got Carrie a burrito for lunch, then returned home so that I could watch the Cardinals game.

That's right, folks! I said WATCH! Guess who shelled out $15 to sign up for MLB.TV? I don't know why I never thought of this before. Of course, in Saint Louis, most of the games would probably be blacked out. But it is perfect for me here. Look how happy I am! (This picture was taken before Jacque Jones 2-run game winning homer.)



After the game was over, we headed downtown to see a movie, then came back home and I made my first dinner in my new place. We spent the evening playing cards and watching an episode of The Office that I had on my computer.

I planned my day today around watching the second game of the Cards-Cubs series. We got up early and went to one of the ABQ farmer's markets. It was small but we were able to buy a few things including some honey and the biggest bag of plums ever. Here is a picture of Carrie with the plums. In the background you can see the super-cute cowboys that she bought them from.




Since we were nearby, we shot over to the Flea Market and had a look around. I was hoping it would be more like the covered flea markets I used to go to in Florida with my grandparents. Unfortunately, it was more like one of those deals where people just go and dump a truckload of clothes on a blanket and let you dig through them. There were the usual knock-off Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toys and leather belts and cheap shoes. The only things that piqued my interest were the cowboy hats and lucha libre masks. And I didn't really feel comfortable buying either.

One thing we did empty our pockets for was the Aguas Frescas stand. I had strawberry lemonade and Carrie had cantaloupe. Mmmmmm. So good!



I had also been wanting some plants for my new apartment and found a vendor with a nice variety of little succulent plants. Here's what I ended up with. (The colorful grafted cactus came from Home Depot.)



After the flea market we returned home and I excitedly went to my computer to turn on the Cardinals game, only to discover that there was a national blackout due to the fact that the game was televised on FOX. That would be perfect if I had a TV... but I don't, so I'm enjoying the bantering of John Rooney and Mike Shannon on internet radio instead.

My boy, Anthony Reyes, gave up a grand slam in the third inning and the Cardinals are trying to claw their way back to a win. I don't know if I can handle another Cardinals loss. With Carrie leaving tomorrow, I'm already in a fragile state. Losing to the Cubs may just be the straw that broke the camel's back.

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Escape to Santa Fe

Yesterday morning started out kind of like this:

Carrie: What are we doing today?
Amanda: I dunno... what do you want to do?
Carrie: I don't know... what do you want to do?

Carrie remembered that she wanted to go to the Golden Crown Panaderia to get some bread shaped like a turkey or something. It wasn't much of a plan, but the idea was enough to get us out of our pajamas and showered and on the road. Unfortunately, the trip didn't last too long. We drove to the Panaderia, got the things Carrie wanted, then were on our way home almost as quickly as we'd gotten out. We hadn't really thought much about what we'd do afterward. And with our nemesis, the sun, beating down on us, we figured we should retreat and take refuge in my little guest house.

For the next few hours, Carrie knitted and read and I stared at the computer. (Thank goodness for the free wifi from the University across the street!) But I began to sense something else in the room besides the two of us. Our friend Boredom was back and was threatening to suck all of the life out us. We had to get out of the house.

Within a span of fifteen minutes or so, I decided that we were going to Santa Fe, booked us a hotel room, we packed, and were on the road. Cheap hotel rooms in Santa Fe are hard to come by and I figured my best bet would be to go through Hotwire. I was forced to book blindly, without knowing the name or exact location of the hotel, but ended up with a good deal on a nice inn near the Plaza. The trip to Santa Fe only took about an hour, and before we knew it, we were in our cozy room and deciding on a place to eat.

We walked the few short blocks to the Plaza and were greeted by some sort of music festival. There were lots of people hanging out and the atmosphere was lively. We were worried that the event would cause our restaurant choice to be packed, but we were quickly seated at the Plaza Cafe and had our food before we knew it. I went with the Chicken Taqueria Tacos and Carrie got the Cashew Mole Enchilada. Both were good. My only complaint was that I didn't get a refill until I was nearly done with my meal. And you know how I am about my drink. Here's the inside of the restaurant:



We stayed up late watching TV, got up early to enjoy the complimentary breakfast at the Inn, checked out and headed back to the Plaza for museums and shopping. Our first stop was the Institute of American Indian Arts Museum, where we enjoyed the works of Norval Morrisseau.



I also saw a few things on exhbit in the gallery shop that I liked, including a super-cool piece by Randy Chitto that was kind of similar to this one:



After a few more sites and shops in Santa Fe, we made another quick decision to head north to Taos, rather than go back to the dreary apartment. Taos is about 70 miles north of Santa Fe and it was a pretty drive along the Rio Grande and through the mountains.



We didn't really have a plan for Taos, but Carrie found a mention of a yarn shop in Arroyo Seco. The little town was about five miles north of Taos and had lots of interesting looking shops. Unfortunately, it started raining as soon as we got there and we really weren't able to wander around much. We stayed long enough for Carrie to buy some yarn and for us to have some really good ice cream at the Taos Cow and then we headed back towards Taos.



When we reached Taos, it was still raining, there was no parking, and many of the shops were closing, so we decided to just head on home. To make things a little more interesting, Carrie suggested we follow an alternate route presented in Frommer's New Mexico (9th Edition). I was all for an alternate route, especially since the book suggested it was mostly downhill and offered spectacular views. But the road was so crazy (and slippery) that I wasn't really able to enjoy the views.



I became less interested in all the little towns we passed through, and much more focused on how many more miles it would be before we were back on a real road and heading to Albuquerque. Fortunately, the detour only added twenty minutes or so to our trip and we did get to see some fantastic geography. I just wish that someone else had been driving.

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Things I Miss

That MLB.TV package is looking better and better all the time.

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Petroglyph Monument? Check. Old Town? Check. Sandia Peak Tramway? Check.

Yesterday

When we last spoke, I was still waiting for the UPS driver to show up with my boxes. I can only imagine the suspense that you've been in over the last 40 hours or so. I can just hear you now...

Did the packages arrive? How long did they have to wait? Did Amanda's things arrive in one piece?

Well, I can tell you right now that my packages did eventually arrive and they were even intact. There goes my dream of UPS buying me a new iMac after they broke and/or lost mine.

The day was long and Carrie and I got a little stir crazy here in my miniature house. I escaped for a little while to get my student ID. It was my first visit on campus, but I quickly found the Student Union Building and the "LoboCard" office and got my new ID. The kindly fellow taking my picture was nice enough to show me the mugshot before he printed the card. Everything seemed fine on the screen, but when it came out my head seemed to be distorted a little bit. Either my head is squashed in the picture or I'm getting fatter. One of the two. Here I am with the new ID:



I had alerted my landlord (currently living in the main house), that my packages were arriving and that I was waiting for them. He suggested I put a note on the gate to help the UPS man find me. Fortunately for me, when the driver finally pulled up around 5:30pm, the landlord was outside and able to alert me so that I could meet the truck on the street and guide him to the guest house.

After sitting in the boring house for ten hours, we were anxious to get out of here. I quickly unpacked my boxes and put things away and then we headed out for dinner. Unfortunately, in our haste, neither of us remembered to bring a map or guidebook of any sort and we had no idea where to go. We wanted to go somewhere away from my neighborhood, but we also didn't want to go too far or get lost. So we drove downtown and then turned around and ended up at Saggio's which is right across the street from the Tamarind Institute.

Here is a evening shot of Tamarind:



And here is Carrie waiting for our yummy Margherita pizza at Saggios:



After we got home, we watched Babel and then got really depressed and went to bed.

Today

We got up early and drove a few miles west to Petroglyph National Monument. Thankfully, we got there early enough that it wasn't too hot and we were able to enjoy walking the trails and looking at the rock carvings. For some reason, I didn't really give much thought to what we'd actually be doing at the park. I certainly didn't anticipate having to walk up this hill:



Despite my out-of-shapedness, I made it to the top.



We saw lots of cool petroglyphs and lots of vandalism and lots of wildlife (lizards, rabbits, snakes, and something that looked like a prairie dog). Here are a few of the petroglyphs:





Since we were already out that way, we decided to stop at Old Town on the way home. As the name implies, Old Town is the oldest part of town, situated around a plaza that is home to the 300 year old Church of San Felipe de Neri. These days, this is a tourist trap. The shops are filled with southwesty things and t-shirts and windchimes and turquoise and silver jewelry. There were people there with jewelry spread out on blankets and a lot of it was pretty, but we didn't get anything. We had lunch at the Church Street Cafe which is located in the oldest home in Albuquerque. Our food was good and I especially enjoyed the Sopaipilla that came with my soup.

After lunch, we went home, ran a few errands on campus, then showered and hung out in the apartment for the afternoon. As much as we hate being in the apartment, we hate the sun more. So we stayed in the house as long as we could and then headed back out to ride the Sandia Peak Tramway!

I was a little bit nervous about the ride. I get motion sick easy and also am not the biggest fan of heights. However, Carrie was super excited to go up to the top of the mountain, and I'm not one to ruin her fun. So off we went. Here is me with a look of terror hesitation while waiting for our tram to come back down and pick us up.





Once we got on and started going, it was fine. I took a lot of pictures. In fact, I took so many pictures that I failed to notice that Carrie was having a bit of an anxiety attack. It was a little weird being up so high, but I quickly adjusted and was able to go out by the rail and snap some pictures of the view.



Carrie, on the other hand, was content to stay as far away from the edge as possible.



We probably stayed up there for an hour or so. It was nice and peaceful, but I wish they had more places to just sit and enjoy the view. There weren't really a lot of benches. Just rickety looking rails and decks that seemed like they might collapse at any moment and hurl you 10,500 feet to your death. Thankfully, there were no deck collapses and our descent back to the bottom of the peak was without incident. I'm glad that we went up there, but I guess we won't be doing it again anytime soon. It's kind of like the Arch in Saint Louis. Everybody has to do it at least once.

Now that we have exhausted every possible touristy thing to do in Albuquerque, I'm not sure what tomorrow will bring. Maybe a day trip to Sante Fe. I guess we'll wait and see.

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Out for Delivery

Yesterday



We stayed at the hotel as long as possible, enjoying the comfy beds and watching HGTV. At check-out time, we reluctantly gathered up our things and headed back to my new apartment to drop off our belongings. Then it was off the the Flying Star cafe for lunch and back out to the NE side for a second trip to Target and Wal-Mart and an inaugural visit to the Albuquerque Trader Joes.



I am now stocked up on groceries... for a week or so at least. Perhaps Carrie and I will make one more grocery trip with the rental car before she goes back to Saint Louis.

Last night we had Thai leftovers for dinner, rented some movies, bought some local beer, and played Gin Rummy out on my patio table. The sleeping situation here isn't quite as inviting as the pillowtop bed at the hotel. Carrie crashed on the twin bed (with nice new sheets), and I curled up on the ratty little futon... later ending up with the futon pad on the floor.

Today
When I worked at the UPS Store, one of the most commonly asked questions was, "When will my packages get there/here?"

If they had been shipped by a Next Day or early 2nd Day service, I could give them a time. But with ground service you just never really know. Sometimes ground drivers will deliver up until 8 o'clock at night in residential areas! Tracking your packages will give you no more than an "Out for Delivery" notice, and that's if you're lucky. So if you're expecting a package, and you know you have to sign for it, your only option is to free up your schedule, sit with your ears alert and your nose plastered against a window, and keep an eye out for your package.

That's pretty much what I'm doing today. The six packages that I shipped last Wednesday are scheduled to be delivered today. When today? Your guess is as good as mine. I'd be fine camping out and waiting for the truck to arrive, but I'm a little nervous. You see, my guest house is pretty well hidden off the main road. Despite the fact that the boxes are marked "Rear Guest House", I don't really trust the UPS driver to work that hard to find me. Past leaving up signs for the driver, or waiting on the curb for him to arrive, I can't really do much more than cross my fingers and hope that my boxes find their way here.

At some point today, I hope to venture over to the UNM campus (across the street), to pick up my student ID and free bus sticker (a new perk for UNM students). All of our other plans are hinging on whether or not (and what time) my packages arrive.

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