Madeira Beach, Florida

Rondi is training for a 100-mile run, and she wanted to do a training run…in Florida! She sent flight information to Molly and me, and we booked the tickets in January, when it was cold and dark. A nice trip to look forward to during the winter!

Day one

Rondi and I flew on Allegiant from Flint to the St Pete-Clearwater International Airport. We hadn’t flown from Flint in a long time, and it went great. Nice, small airports, both of them.

I’m all for budget airlines, because I’ve never had a problem with them getting cancelled (I have with American the last two flights, but it’s not really the fault of the airline) and they’re inexpensive. 

We took an Uber to our hotel – Cambria Madeira Beach Hotel. It was a great place – rooftop pool and hot tub and bar/restaurant, bike rental, and just a block off the ocean.

We ran many miles, but it was prohibitively hot at 88 degrees, so we ran/walked back.

There are a variety of places to eat in the tourist town! We stopped at Fort Knox, then had dinner at Conch Republic Grill, and everyone was friendly.

Kudos to the servers everywhere in this town. FRIENDLY. So friendly. Everywhere seemed to be well-staffed, too! Happy spring break!

I watched the sunset on Madeira Beach. This beach is great, and just what I think of when I think of Florida. White sand, wide beach, right off the city, and tons of shopping and food options. We went to Captain Billy’s with Molly to watch MSU win in the NCAA tournament! 

Day two

We woke up with goals – a triathlon! 

We ran 3.1 miles, then rented bikes at Cambria and rode for an hour. We walked to John’s Pass, which is an area with lots of shops and restaurants and ate at a place facing the water - there were many, but we went to Sculley's and had awesome mahi tacos. 

Since we were sitting right on the water, we were delighted to see – dolphins! The entire time we had lunch we watched dolphins in the water. It was exciting, and the scene itself was so beautiful.

We walked back (about 2 miles) on the beach, and then we went to the rooftop pool and hot tub. Then we swam in the ocean – my favorite. I love just floating in the salt water. Fun triathlon complete!

We went to the Beach Bar on the way back, and then we went to have dinner on the rooftop of Cambria again. Beautiful view and great place.

Day three

I woke up early, so I ran on the empty beach, and the Rondi, Molly and I ran again. 6 miles total for us! We walked to the Madeira Snack Shack and ate ice cream and breakfast. Then it was an Uber back to the airport.

I’ve never gone to Florida just for the weekend, but I totally recommend it. I feel like I got a great workout, lots of sunshine, and tons of time to talk with my friends. I came home on the first day of spring, and it set me up wonderfully for it. 

If you need a warm weekend, this is a great place to do it. Hopefully my friends will always need company for spring training!

Hottest part of Saturday

Sunday morning

Indianapolis, Indiana - Big Ten Tournament 2022!

In 2020 we came to Indianapolis when the Big Ten Tournament was cancelled, but our Airbnb could not be! This year was a redo for me. Kris has traveled to the Big Ten Tournament many times, but this was my first real time.

Eight of us total got a house together on Fletcher St. It seemed to be an Airbnb neighborhood! It was within walking distance of Gainsbridge Fieldhouse, though we did drive and park closer at one point when it was bitterly cold.

Thursday

We got there on Thursday night, and we ate at Kilroy’s before the game.

One of the things that Kris likes best about going to the tournament is that the atmosphere is awesome. Everyone’s watching basketball, everyone’s decked out in team gear, and everyone is in a good mood. I found this to be completely accurate! It was so much fun being out in the city with every bar and restaurant packed, every street full of people, and every TV tuned to basketball.

In the olden days, you could buy tickets from people on the street after their team lost. It’s not like that anymore. Now, you have to troll Stub Hub, Vivid Seats, and the university sites to get tickets. People post them as they lose, and you’re never sure when the right time to buy is. Basically the best strategy for us was to wait as long as possible to get tickets – usually about an hour before the game.

Gainsbridge Fieldhouse was great, and we loved cheering MSU to a win! They also sold ice cream cereal shakes that you could also add shots to - this is definitely not offered at Breslin. Delicious.

Afterward my brother wanted to sing karaoke, and I’m so glad he did! We went to the Wild Saloon and Kris and I sang a duet, and Gage sang Bad Company, by the band Bad Company, on the album Bad Company to ... good company? Ha! Such a fun night.

Friday

Jess and I got up and ran to the Sailors & Soldiers Monument. This was the same route as the marathon my sister Tracy and  I ran in November, and if you ever get the chance to see the nighttime show projected on it, you should. It’s glorious. I haven’t gone up in it yet, but I want to. 

We went to the Indiana State Capitol and since it was Friday, it was open! We walked all around it and admired how beautiful it was. Totally worth a tour or a self tour.

We watched the early game at home and then went to the Slippery Noodle, where Kate’s friends were having an event.

Again, we were at the Slippery Noodle in March 2020 when we heard the bars and restaurants were going to be closed, and I was so sad. Now – normal and joyful!

They all went to the game and I met up with my friend Erica, who watched the game with me at the Slippery Noodle – and a bunch of friendly MSU fans! Another win.

We had made a reservation for eating at St Elmo Steak House, one of Kris’ favorite steak places.

We had come in 2020, and I had a few bites of steak. They were delicious. I’d been having an issue with low iron, and I’d tried taking iron supplements, but they made me sick. While at St Elmo, I decided that maybe I was a meat eater now – after not eating meat for 24 years. That led to eating meat every once in awhile, to once a week, to now very frequently! And it all started in Indianapolis!

Now after two years of eating meat, I can confidently say that St Elmo is really good. However…it’s really expensive. I don’t get any bigger kick out of an expensive restaurant than I do a good, reasonably-priced restaurant. And the steak Kris makes at home with our own beef is the best, but that’s not something you’re probably going to get (check local listings). But thank you for the life changing experience, St Elmo!

Saturday

Indianapolis is a great city to run in (especially for the marathon) and it was this day too, despite it being 14 degrees. We then went to Gainsbridge Fieldhouse and got tickets for the game. Amazingly, Kate’s friend gave her tickets to a suite! We watched Michigan State lose, but we still had a blast.

We went to Sun King, a brewery we remembered from last time, and then ate at Dough King, a pizza place Andrew’s local friend recommended.

Then it was back to Fletcher Street, where they had a shower with a timer (so you can gauge how long you’re in) and a thermostat that tells you the exact temperature you’re turning the faucet to! I prefer 122 degrees, and take 5 minute showers, or even more when I’m messing with the faucet night of the king trying to figure out the right temperature.

It was interesting to see Indianapolis in the beginning of Covid, then lively for the marathon, then even more packed and vibrant for the tournament. It’s busy, but you can get in places. It’s a city, but you can drive around it AND FIND PARKING. I’m a huge fan of Indianapolis during rain, shine, pandemic, and back again on the other side!

Key West and the Florida Keys

I met Alicia, Aimee, and Laurie when we lived in North Carolina in 2002. After we moved to Illinois, they invited me to meet up in Miami with them in 2003...and we've been traveling together ever since!

(Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, and Belize should have gotten a writeup for sure. The time the bridge detour was driving on two planks over a ravine...trusting a guide will catch you before you plunge down a waterfall...riding a galloping horse when you have zero experience...)

This time we decided to explore Key West. Alicia and Laurie had been there long ago, but Aimee and I never had.

Day one
We all met up in Fort Lauderdale. The car rental line Aimee and Laurie had to wait in for Budget at the airport was so long, but I don’t know how to make the car rental process any better. They are still expensive and the lines are horribly slow, because there’s only ever one person working. I thought by now there would be a better option, but it hasn’t happened yet.

Aimee and Laurie were a couple of hours behind us, so Alicia and I took an Uber to the Fort Lauderdale boardwalk, where we walked a long way in the warm sunshine, people watched, and put our toes in the water. It is a beautiful beach and there are many choices for eating – I had my first blackened mahi sandwich, which I then ate at almost every place we went on the trip. So good!

Aimee and Laurie picked us up and we headed to Key West, stopping along the way at Mile Marker 88 for dinner and sunset. It’s right on the water, they have a serene, picturesque spot, and it was super pretty and popular.

We made it to Key West in the dark, wishing that we had the two hours back they waited in line for the car so we could see the drive but – not to worry! We’d be back the same way in the light.

Alicia found a rental house right off Duval Sreet (the main strip) on Petronia, and it had a back yard and pool! We hung out in the backyard and were surprised by a possum, but hey – that’s a city. Everybody wants to be there.

Day Two

I got up early and ran to the southernmost point, noting that there were chickens and roosters and chicks the entire way, the roosters crowing so enthusiastically! I then realized they were everywhere, and a lot of people put out feed for them. I thought it was super charming.

Alicia got us croissants from Croissants de France, and I ate my first chocolate croissant.   

We rented bikes at Blue Sky Rentals, which were $10 a day, because it was within walking distance of our place. We rode to Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park, and it was fantastic! Name any facts you can about Zachary Taylor. Done? Didn't take long? You will have MORE when you leave! We walked all around, rode our bikes on the trails, and then went to the beach there. It was picture perfect. White sand, blue sky, rocks, a little concession stand - and warm! Looked like paradise. Definitely a great spot.

Riding bikes around Key West is great if you aren't afraid of traffic. Even though you're riding a vintage bike, no helmet, right with cars...I still felt safe since it's the city, so no one can go very fast, and there are bikers and walkers everywhere so people are always watching for them. There are also lots of bike racks for locking up.

We rode to Schooners Wharf and ate right by the water, where a couple of charter boats were coming back with their fish. The pelicans gathered around and hoped for scraps, and the people all admired the fish. There were giant tarpons and nurse sharks in the water too. The pelicans were so tame! I've never gotten that close to them.

We rode to South Beach because Alicia said it had great people watching, and it did! Real characters there.

We walked to Mallory Square for the sunset, and there was a big crowd there to applaud it and watch street performers. On the way we stopped at the Mile 0 sign and then the Mile 222 sign - my favorite number!

We stopped by the Green Parrot for a drink and to watch the MSU basketball game, and then we went to Blue Heaven for ping pong (yay!) in their outer spot and dinner across the street. I love outdoor ping pong, even though you spend most of the time chasing the ball.

Day Three

Another run to see the sunrise...but this time as I started down the block, a rooster started chasing me! He was fast and chased me so long that I even took a video while running! This was a definite first.

We had booked paddleboards the day before with Lazy Dog in Cow Key. We drove the six miles there. The guide gave us a map and a suggested route, which we tried to follow but have no idea if we actually did. Do you know how alike mangroves look? THEY ALL LOOK ALIKE. So you're paddling and turning, pulling yourself through mangrove tunnels, looking at a map that basically is meaningless to you, and just hoping you make it back in time because maybe one of you has a work meeting you can't miss! (Yes, me.)

Alicia: I should have told you I wasn't listening to the directions.

Laurie: This is not the direction we came.

Aimee: The salt pond might be this way.

Me: This mangrove has a rope tied to it for people just like me.

Right as we were heading back, we saw manatees! One came right up beside my paddleboards and it was so cool! We were all so happy we saw them. Then a man in a kayak with a child leaned over to look, fell out, then jumped back in when he realized his phone had been in his pocket. He did not find it. Meanwhile, while on the trip my waterproof phone case somehow broke, so I was really careful on the way back so I didn't end up like him.

Near the end, we also saw many, many nurse sharks below us in the water. They were huge! Even though they don't bite people, it is a little bit of a thrill to see them waiting for you under your board to fall off.

Alicia picked up key lime pie from the Southernmost Key Lime Shop on Duval. It was frozen and covered in chocolate and perhaps the best food I ate all vacation. I'm not even a huge fan of pie, but this was more to me in the cheesecake family.

We swam in the pool, and then Aimee and I biked to Higgs Beach and see amazing kite surfers and some sort of other surfers with butterfly-shaped sails. They were doing tricks, there's a long pier to walk out on, and it was a cool spot.

We then had to get back in time to return our bikes and shower before we had to leave for the sunset sail. It took us longer than we planned, since we thought we knew the way and did not, but it turned into a nice little 50 minute bike ride!

We walked to Schooners Wharf dock to go on the Schooner Spirit of Independence sail boat. As soon as we got on, they asked it there were any volunteers to help, and I was so excited! I thought it would be pretend help, but I had to pull on ropes to lift the sail the same speed as the girl beside me, and it really did take some work. The skipper (is that the right word? It feels right. Or ...starboard.) said that when no one volunteers it's a real pain.

It was a beautiful sail! The weather was so warm, the water was so pretty, and we sailed for about two hours and watched the sun set.

We went to Caroline's, Irish Kevin's, and then to my favorite place Sloppy Joe's, because they had a live band and everyone was dancing! The band was the Lima Bean Riot,  and they were so fun to dance to - they hit the highlights of cover songs, so you didn't even have time to get tired of the repetitive parts!

Day Four

I ran to Higgs Beach to watch the sunrise and to figure out the way home. Unfortunately, it was hard to watch, because when Aimee and I went on our bike ride, I forgot my sunglasses and sunburnt my eyes. Can you tell I don't live close to the equator?

We left Key West and stopped in Marathon to eat at a waterfront restaurant called Key Fisheries. We drove on to Long Key State Park and went on their nature trail and through the park. Very secluded, very serene, and very hot if you went away from the water.

We drove over the Seven Mile Bridge and admired the view all the way to Islamorada Key. We stayed at Chesapeake Resort and went right out to their very open and pretty beach, pool, and hot tub.

We ate at Lazy Days, which was really popular, but it was right on the water so we didn't mind waiting - and saw more tarpon and nurse sharks. We ended the night by going to Florida Keys Brewing Company in their beer garden, where - this doesn't get old - it was so warm we didn't even need a jacket.

So! Key West was different than other places I've been in Florida, and I liked it and can see why it's popular. Hot, nice beaches, tourist town feel, and everything is open to the outside. I particularly liked biking and running around, the urban chickens, paddleboarding, and sailing. And of course - the company. Here's to lifelong travel partners!

And finally ... our first trip in Miami in 2003:

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

                                 

Our friends Matt and Kate invited us to go to Cabo with them. Friends Greg, Adrienne, Betsy, and Chris went too!

We flew American to Cabo. Matt hooked us up with a driver. (You can also book one online ahead of time. I strongly suggest this because there are a ton of taxi drivers when you get there, trying to get your business. Ours was Rael at Brown's Private Services Transportation and I told him I’d recommend him, so here you go!

Matt and Kate rented an Airbnb in Ventanas de Cabo Sur, and it was a really nice place and neighborhood. As soon as we got there, they told us we were going out to eat by the marina.

They rented a car, so we drove there and parked in the parking garage by the mall and marina. We ate at a restaurant there and met up with some people – Chef Lenny and his friend Pamela Salinas. Matt owns a business that sells fishing forecasting analysis (Roff’s) so he knew some people. We went with Lenny to a market and bought fish for him to cook at the house.

We went back and gathered materials from a vacant lot for Kate to make a beautiful floral arrangement. I went running, and quickly found there were dirt roads to go on.

I got completely lost. I took one and tried to come back the same way I came, but I didn’t know where that was, my phone battery was at 19%, and I got a little nervous. Just lost in a foreign country with no GPS! However! I eventually found my way back. (Totally fine – I didn’t know how safe it was yet.)

We watched the beautiful sunset. Lenny came over and cooked us dinner, and Pamela came to drop off sushi. My job was to peel the asparagus. I’d never seen that before!

We ate a delicious meal of snook, mahi. Some people had octopus salad and sushi – not me, but they loved it.

Day 2

The boys chartered a fishing boat – Blue Sky Cabo. I offered to drive them at 5:30 a.m. There was no traffic on my way back, which was a great way to drive a Suburban for the first time in another country. My GPS tried to misdirect me, but I made it back fine. This time, I went running right back to where I got lost but with a full battery charge! I took what sort of seemed like a path up a mountain, but it sort of ended at some big rocks, so I was content with my pretty view and scratched up skin. Betsy texted, and I headed back and went for a walk in the hills with them – cactus! Views! All pretty! All the dirt roads in this area were pleasant for recreation.

Pamela came and did a yoga class right by the pool! I did my first headstand (since I was a kid) and it was great. You can contact her through her sushi restaurant, Sakow Sushi. 

We hung out by the pool until it was time to meet up with the guys downtown. This time I drove in traffic. No problem, but seems like a big vehicle on the narrow roads, and often when there’s two lanes people make it three, and sometimes a moped drives in between you. But really, mostly just regular city driving, but with more speed bumps. There were a lot of them.

We met up with the guys by the marina – they had a great fishing day! Four marlins and one mahi mahi, which is the only one you could keep and eat.

We went on the sunset cruise with Blue Sky Cabo, and it was truly amazing. We went out to Arch Rock and admired it and took a million pictures. The mountains along the water were beautiful. Then we saw WHALES. This was an unexpected treat. We followed them around and marveled at them. On the way back – sea lions, and then one was right by our boat in the marina! It looked just like a dog. This is my first must do in Cabo – it was magical.

We went to Misiones De Kino where they will cook up your fish for you, and we ate Kris’ mahi mahi! It was delicious, there were great musicians, and we all loved it there.

Day 3

Up for another run! I took a different dirt path and made it to more paths through the woods – high for an awesome view of ocean and mountains! I also found a machete in the woods. No, I didn’t take it with me. But a fun discovery!

We went to Cannery Beach and parked in an open lot. Parking was very cheap everywhere. This beach was at the foot of the rocks! We climbed up them, but couldn’t get far because it ended in a cliff.

Niles and Matt started going along the rocks and in the water, and Kris and I decided to go with them. We had to climb along rocks and in the water, so I didn’t bring my camera, which I will forever regret!

It was so fun – we really had to scramble along the rocks, and then we would go in the water when it was easier to go in the water. After rocks it would open up to beaches, each more beautiful and deserted than the last. We just kept going to see how far we could go, until we reached the last beach. There was one guy, and he disappeared behind a rock.

It looked like Star Wars – giant mountains of rock on either side of us, completely white sand at our feet, and gorgeous, wild crashing waves in front of us. Everything was glittering in the sun – and it was just us!

We kicked sand and splashed around and spun around, taking it all in. We thought about going through the water to arch rock, but it was too wild and deep to make it.

I searched for the guy behind the rock, asked him to take our picture and send it to me. He didn’t speak English and I didn’t speak Spanish, and I didn’t get the pictures. Oh well … go here and bring your camera! It was truly beautiful, and my favorite activity.

On the way I slipped on a rock, plus I cut my foot open on a barnacle, and I like both of those things because that means ... it was a more challenging hike.

The tide was lower on the way back, so it seemed like it didn’t take us much time at all to return. We were probably gone an hour and 45 minutes total.

The boys helped the neighbors move a washer, dryer, and furniture into their house AS YOU DO, we watched the sunset from the roof and ate, and then we went to the marina area to see all the wild Cabo nightlife. If you don’t like peddlers, don’t go to this area.

Day 4

We hiked Cerro de la Z! We followed the GPS to get there, which took us through some sketchy neighborhoods, but on the way back we just took the main roads we normally took. We parked at the bottom of the hill by other cars – not really a parking lot, but plenty of room to pull off. It starts with just a cement road, and then you come to a big fence that looks like you shouldn’t pass it, but everyone just sidestepped it. 

The people on this path were almost all locals. Families, people with dogs, runners, people working out – huge shoutout to the woman wearing ankle weights and holding a boulder, stepping up and down a wall. It was a quick and steep walk up to the giant weather station that looked like a huge soccer ball (you can see it from Cabo) and then some amazing views. We could see whales from here, too! The boats following them cued us in. Perfect blue sky, bluer ocean, mountains, just picturesque all around.

We went for a walk and saw more interesting cactus, and then all took Covid tests! Such a fun part of international travel.

We ate lunch at La Taquiza T-zal, and while we were there, Matt needed to get to the marina before the food came, so I offered to drop him off and drive back. On the way back, I was paying attention so hard, basically just thinking – don’t get in an accident and screw this up for everyone! But it was easy and I was back in no time. 

We parked to go to Cachet Beach – also called Corazon. We paid to park in a public lot, and then we walked into a completely different beach than the day before! Lots of people, bars and restaurants on the water, great views, and people selling stuff. We were all offered bracelets, necklaces, and trinkets, and if you said no to those, weed and cocaine. Really full service. 

The view on this beach was great, and we had a drink at the Baja Brewing Company and then walked down to the marina to meet up with Matt. We had dinner at Agua Salada (giant burrito, my second of the day) and it was so delicious I was full the next day. We walked around downtown a little bit more and headed home.

Day 5

Kris and I ran and walked up in the hills. We got our same driver as the way there and enjoyed talking to him about Mexican politics. We had the same flight as Chris and Betsy – flight cancelled. (Second trip in a row this has happened - this one was due to bad weather in Arizona and Texas.) 

The app booked us on a flight two days later. I freaked out because my kids were staying with friends I didn’t want to burden. We ran to a desk and tried to get on another flight that was leaving right then. They said no. We tried with another airline. They said no. I tried to go through my brother to get on standby to get on a United flight. They herded us through a hall and said we had to go there to get our bags (we didn’t check any bags) and get rebooked. 

We walked that way and realized we were leaving the airport. We begged a customs agent to not make us leave the airport because we were trying to fly out. He kindly told us how to get back in, and we went to the American Airlines line (again) and tried just to get back into the country, because our covid test was only good for one day. (We could get another one but we didn’t have one and didn’t know how we would get one in the airport.) 

A kindly agent booked us on a flight with Alaska Air, United, and American Airlines that took us through San Francisco, a redeye to Chicago, then to Detroit the next day. Betsy and Chris ended up with an equally odd flight path, and Kate and Matt had trouble leaving too. But - after a lot of jockeying around, we all eventually made it back. 

Views on Cabo – beautiful. Loved the cruise, the hiking, the weather, and the views. Service was spectacular and friendly all around. So many people working. This is my third time to Mexico, and it was different than both other places (Puerto Vallarta and Cozumel.) Always felt safe. Cons – Getting out.

Special thanks to the Uptons and Roff's, without whom this trip would not have been possible!

Dairy farmers go to New Mexico dairy farm

Kris hit state #49 – New Mexico! Although I’ve been to New Mexico many times, I had never been to my family’s dairy farm in Portales. We planned to go there on our 20th wedding anniversary!

Headed to New Mexico

We got an evening flight out of Grand Rapids, and we shared a romantic meal in the airport while watching the MSU basketball game on Kris’ propped up phone. We’re fancy.

We had a layover in Dallas, and then the flight got delayed from 9:30 p.m. until 12:30 a.m., and then we boarded and got all ready to go, and I really thought we were going…and the flight attendant said, “Just pray the pilots make it.”

They cancelled the flight, we all got off, and our American Airlines app booked us on the next flight in the morning.

I really wanted to sleep on uncomfortable chairs in the airport, never really sleeping, but mostly groaning and making sure you still had your stuff, because I’d paid for a hotel in Albuquerque I couldn’t get refunded. But, Kris made a reservation at a Best Western two miles away, so we went and got five glorious hours of sleep. Happy anniversary!

I was worried about the rental car, because I’d done the skip-the-counter check in with Alamo, and we never made it that night. I figured I could try the bar code the next day, so after we landed we hurried to the rental car lot to find … zero cars! Not a one. So we went to Alamo the counter anyway, where they had a handwritten paper sign that read: ‘Go to Enterprise.’

We followed directions and rented from Enterprise. We got a tiny Mitsubishi Malibu – cons – it was so light it got blown on the road with the New Mexico winds. Pros – it was SO easy to park. We drove 3.5 hours to my Aunt Delia and Uncle Al’s house in Portales. It went mountains, desert, then dairy farms!

They moved to New Mexico and started their dairy farm in 1992. Al took us on a tour to show us everything, and it was so interesting the different parts of farms in the southwest! The cows aren’t in barns, because they just need a roof to block the sun because the weather’s so mild, their excess water just evaporates in a pond, their manure dries out and they can just pile it up to use it later. So many differences. They milk 1700 and own 1300 acres. 

Al then drove us around their neighborhood and showed us a calf ranch where a neighbor had about 10,000 animals in hutches that appeared to be made out of pallets. It was huge.

I felt like the sun was setting the entire time on the tour, and the sky seemed so huge with nothing blocking it, and it was beautiful.

My cousin Cass, his wife Dorie, and their daughters Mia and Joelle came over for dinner, cards, and an MSU bowl win! What a great night.

Portales

We went with Cass, Delia, and Al to do their morning chores at 6:00 a.m. the next day. It was so fun to ride around with them and hear all about their farm and how they do things. 

Al and Delia took us into Portales to show us around and treated us with peanut butter shakes, in part because when they first moved there they worked in a peanut factory! We saw Eastern New Mexico University, their downtown, and had lunch with my whole family again. It was a lovely visit! 

Kris and I drove back to Albuquerque for New Year’s Eve. We got an Airbnb on Stover St, and it was a nice little area that was walking distance to the downtown area. However, there were lots of places that were closed, partly due to New Year’s Eve I guess…even though that seems like a great time to make money! 

We tried three places that said they were open online, but were not open in real life. (Rio Bravo, Sidetrack, Boese Brothers). We went to open places – Red Door, had football on, very friendly, Thirsty Eye, and the owner and coworker were there and gave us hiking suggestions, and we were the only people there. We went to Bow and Arrow, but they were not friendly and didn’t have food, so we went to Tractor Brewing in Wells Park, and their food truck hadn’t come, but they did have live music. Finally, we hit the jackpot – Bourbon and Boots! It had it all – live band, full dance floor, and food! We loved it there – great fun! It absolutely poured when we caught our Uber back, and just on the walk to the car we got completely soaked. Ah, deserts are funny. It was a great way to ring in 2022.

Albuquerque & Santa Fe

I ran in the Albuquerque downtown in the morning. At one point, it was just me, a coughing homeless man, and a parking garage that made really weird high pitched noises. I felt uneasy. But then – I found a penny on the ground AND a woman yelled ‘happy new year’ to me out her car window. So not a bad run, all in all!

Kris and I did my favorite vacation activity – hiking! We drove to the La Luz Trail on snowy roads. It was an absolutely beautiful hike. It was snowy, it had stunning vistas of mountains, and we even got to hike above the clouds. ‘Cloud hikers!’ a hiker greeted us coming the opposite way. This is an out and back trail that goes for seven miles, so we hiked up one hour and then back, and we were treated to even more views! We could actually feel the elevation in our lungs, too. Wonderful!

We drove to Santa Fe, and it was even snowier there! They also don’t shovel the sidewalks – I assume it must melt pretty quickly, but it was funny. Santa Fe was not like Albuquerque – it was full of tourists! We heard so many different languages. We parked near the plaza, and we walked around and looked at the shops, the churches, and ate at Chile Line Brewery. We then drove over and checked out St. Johns College, which is perched right on top of the city. We drove down Canyon Road, which had over a hundred art galleries. It’s artsy!

We went back to Albuquerque for dinner, since we had to fly out early the next morning. Kris had a drink at Bosque Brewing, we played shuffleboard and darts at Boxing Bear, and we ate Mexican food and watched the end of the Rose Bowl at Range Café. All good spots – and open! They all were pretty full and had good service.

We went back to our hotel (Hilton Garden Inn – Airport) and set our alarms for an early flight. Then we got the notification – our flight was delayed 3 hours, and we wouldn’t make our connection, and we could book the next day. What followed was a flurry of activity trying to call American (4 hour hold time), Expedia (can’t help you), my brother (putting Kris on as one of the people who can fly standby under his name), and then it automatically rebooked us on … another flight that didn’t connect, but this time with two stops!

Heading home (eventually)

We got to the airport as soon as it opened and begged an airport worker to get us somewhere, anywhere in Michigan. She booked us on a flight that got to Detroit, which meant my family had to pick me up in a different airport…and then we waited an hour on that while it had maintenance issues. But! Thanks to my dad and brother who got us, and retrieved my car, we made it on the same day.

The airport troubles were national news, as a lot of factors (weather, sickness, covid, the holidays) came together to make air travel difficult. But – it was all completely worth it. I loved seeing the Andersons, new places, and celebrating with Kris, and we’re doing it all again next month!