I haven't said much in the last 2 weeks because I haven't been home. For safety purposes we don't broadcast when we're not (or not going to be) around.
Shaun and I had a delayed honeymoon / graduation and/or certification celebration / straight up vacation because, well, we've never actually taken more than a weekend to ourselves and it was about time!
We chose to go to New Mexico; Albuquerque specifically. I've wanted to see the desert in person ever since I watched Breaking Bad, and then after I got into succulents it was an even bigger deal. Added bonus is that they've handled the pandemic wonderfully and have had some of the lowest numbers of COVID cases in the country. New Mexico is one of the few places we actually felt safe to visit.
I don't know what to say besides that it is spectacular there and I literally shed a tear when it was time to leave. The people, the food, the landscape... There is nothing that I didn't love about being there. The worst part (if I had to pick something bad to say) is that it would have been helpful to sleep with a humidifier in the room. Other than that, Shaun and I LOVED it. Shaun's allergies didn't act up even once and despite it being super sunny I wore sleeves and sunscreen and stayed comfortable and didn't get sick once.
We did a lot of cool stuff but my favorite thing HANDS DOWN was the sunrise hot air balloon ride. We got up at 4 that morning to be at Rainbow Ryders by 5. They broke us up into groups and took us by van to the launch site. We got to watch / help them inflate our balloon. Once we were in, it was the neatest feeling to just float away. Before we got too far up, up and away, we did a "Splash and Dash" on the Rio Grande. They basically just touched the basket to the water; the control our pilot had was insane. We didn't even get wet feet!
After that is when we really floated away. It was so serene and beautiful. We watched the sun rise over the Sandia Mountains and the Rio Grande. We got to about 5,000 feet and could see around 75 miles in the distance. It was AMAZING. My favorite part of the ride was the end, though. As we descended over a neighborhood, people came running out of their houses to wave and shout "Good morning!" and "I hope you had a great ride!" and things like that. It was wholesome AF and I choked up a little. Apparently in Albuquerque, hot air balloons have the right of way in all situations. Being late to work or school due to a balloon landing is a legit excuse there. I love that so freaking much!
After we landed we waited for the van to find us. While waiting, we were able to watch / help with the deflating of the balloon, and then we were given champagne, juice, and water. The champagne tradition came from back when balloon rides first became a thing wayyyy back in the day and apparently farmers and townsfolk back then thought the people in the balloons were aliens and came for them with pitchforks. It became tradition to bring something recognizable as being "of Earth" to share when you land to keep the peace. Anyway, I give that experience an 11/10, definitely would do it again.
We also took the tram to the top of the Sandia Mountains and that was INSANE. The elevation there is around 10,000 feet - that's higher than we got in the balloon! On the mountain is the first place I experienced any shortness of breath due to the thin air. It was also a good 30° F colder up there, and SUPER windy. There was also some snow! The views were beautiful. Shaun was smitten. I think the mountain was his favorite part. We both wish we'd had more time to actually hike around and explore.
Other than that we spent time resting and sight-seeing and exploring. There is so much that we didn't get to do, but hopefully one day! Some cool things I saw but didn't get photos of: a roadrunner, some benches that looked like Flintstones cars, a guy riding a MOTORIZED UNICYCLE, a lady walking a cat on a leash, and tons of art.
Here are a BUNCH of photos with captions. If you don't feel like looking through them, here's the gist (in no particular order): beautiful scenery, hot air balloon ride, snow on the mountains, funky interactive art museum / mystery to solve, FOOD.
https://www.facebook.com/blu.xenethos/posts/pfbid04cJsf3LfTbYb9EDSiUD1WsWoxgH8hk2sxkiubktZj5bpnYDW187fohChUu11V8txl
