South By Southwest
I guess I should have figured out that some sort of fortune was smiling on our Albuquerque vacation when we showed up at the rental car counter. “I see you have a compact car reserved for the weekend, but we have a special right now. For only $6 more a day, we can upgrade you to a Mustang.” Glances were exchanged, followed by a “Why Not?” shrug, and we ended up in a brand new silver Mustang (only 2 miles on it before us) to cruise around Route 66 with.
Not only were we riding in style, we were staying in style too. Our gracious hosts live in a rambling adobe house in the South Valley, with a beautiful courtyard, large yard with garden, a spacious guestroom, and heaps of Southwest character. The neighborhood just screamed Southwest, right down to the light-up Jesus lawn display down the block.
Oh, and then there’s the food. I’m hard pressed to think of anything I ate that didn’t include a generous portion of green chile. After being starved for good Mexican food here in bland, dry Seattle, the rich spice of New Mexican food was just perfect. I think I packed on ten pounds worth of breakfast burrito fat.
The baby shower that we were in town for was great also, with everything from monster-themed craft activities to a surprise (to some) visit. Follow up a full day of party preparation, crafting, and socializing with a mojito run in Old Town Albuquerque, and you’ve got a recipe for a day well-spent.
There are really too many high points to the trip to list them all, and the only low point was the very end, when US Airways got us stuck in Phoenix overnight. I don’t understand how anyone can live there, with temperatures regularly cresting 100 early in the day. It’s not a climate I’m looking forward to visiting again anytime soon, but at least we got some free beers at the free hotel the airline put us up in. It didn’t make up for the inconvenience really, but it was a small comfort.
So now we’re back in Seattle, with it’s oddly inconsistent summer weather, it’s lack of decent Mexican food, it’s gentrifying neighborhoods and high cost of living. But we brought back fresh tortillas and real salsa, to hopefully fend off the wanderlust a little longer.
