We said goodbye to Santa Fe this morning having had a great time there this week. This morning we headed south on I-25 for Albuquerque, the largest city in New Mexico, about an hour south of Santa Fe.
Along the way we made a couple of stops, traveling part of the wat along the old Route 66. We drove a bit of this famous road before heading back to the Interstate. A bonus this morning was getting to the NM monument for the Spanish explorer, Francisco Vásquez de Coronado, (www.nmmonuments.org/inst.php?inst=4) which is located along the banks of the Rio Grande. This monument provides a fascinating glimpse into Pueblo culture before and after the Spaniard's arrival.
Then it was back along I-25 to Albuquerque where we went to visit the International Balloon Museum (www.balloonmuseum.com). This is located at the site of the famous hot air balloon festival and chronicles the history, equipement, and personalities of those who take to the skies in these colorful contraptions. Really a great stop for all ages. The manager of the museum shoppe, Jennifer Taylor, was a wonderful ambassador for the community and gave us a awesome recommendation for lunch.
Following Jennifer's advice, we went to El Pinto, a restaraunt that is as famous for its own brand of salsa as it is for its food. We tried to eat a light meal but we still came away stuffed! If you ever come this way, be sure to visit El Pinto (www.elpinto.com)!!!
After lunch, we decided to walk off the awesome example of NM cuisine we'd just sampled by taking a walk around Old Albquerque. We visited the oldest church in the city, San Felipe de Neri, which is just beautiful (www.sanfelipedeneri.org). A bit of window shopping later and we were ready for more sight-seeing.
We found the National Hispanic Center of New Mexico (www.nhccnm.org), a wonderful site for everything you ever wanted to know about this diverse portion of our society. A short drive away was the Rio Grande Zoo and even though it was closing in 45 minutes, Charles was able to check out the gift shop and talk to some friendly flamingos (www.cabq.gov/biopark/zoo).
Tomorrow we'll be heading west, leaving New Mexico having made so many special memories.
Along the way we made a couple of stops, traveling part of the wat along the old Route 66. We drove a bit of this famous road before heading back to the Interstate. A bonus this morning was getting to the NM monument for the Spanish explorer, Francisco Vásquez de Coronado, (www.nmmonuments.org/inst.php?inst=4) which is located along the banks of the Rio Grande. This monument provides a fascinating glimpse into Pueblo culture before and after the Spaniard's arrival.
Then it was back along I-25 to Albuquerque where we went to visit the International Balloon Museum (www.balloonmuseum.com). This is located at the site of the famous hot air balloon festival and chronicles the history, equipement, and personalities of those who take to the skies in these colorful contraptions. Really a great stop for all ages. The manager of the museum shoppe, Jennifer Taylor, was a wonderful ambassador for the community and gave us a awesome recommendation for lunch.
Following Jennifer's advice, we went to El Pinto, a restaraunt that is as famous for its own brand of salsa as it is for its food. We tried to eat a light meal but we still came away stuffed! If you ever come this way, be sure to visit El Pinto (www.elpinto.com)!!!
After lunch, we decided to walk off the awesome example of NM cuisine we'd just sampled by taking a walk around Old Albquerque. We visited the oldest church in the city, San Felipe de Neri, which is just beautiful (www.sanfelipedeneri.org). A bit of window shopping later and we were ready for more sight-seeing.
We found the National Hispanic Center of New Mexico (www.nhccnm.org), a wonderful site for everything you ever wanted to know about this diverse portion of our society. A short drive away was the Rio Grande Zoo and even though it was closing in 45 minutes, Charles was able to check out the gift shop and talk to some friendly flamingos (www.cabq.gov/biopark/zoo).
Tomorrow we'll be heading west, leaving New Mexico having made so many special memories.
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