Balloons!

The launch was awesome!  We met Radar and his mom and dad from Colorado Springs and made lots of friends with other watchers.  We took tons of pictures but these seem to be the best ones.  It was a great morning!

We drove to Santa Rosa, NM hoping to see the Blue Hole and Santa Rosa State Park.  Both were a bit of a disappointment.  The blue hole was COLD and tiny (although it was crystal clear and blue) and Santa Rosa lake was the color of poo.  Glad we changed our plans and decided to keep driving to visit some of Brad’s family. 

Night one!

The afternoon started by finding Uncle Pat’s rehab center.  We had a bit of trouble finding his room but we eventually found him in the dining room.  I think he recognized me and Brad but he is non-verbal so it was challenging.  Leo and Gemi made lots of friends.  Both dogs were great with all the residents and Uncle Pat seemed to have fun petting them.  His table mate wanted one of the cookies we brought him.  The nurses were thankful for the flowers.  We didn’t stay long but it was great to see him.

We found a great little State Park with an arboretum.  We took the dogs for a good long walk and then road our bikes to see the night glow. It was pretty cool!  

Found a spot in a Walmart parking lot to sleep for a few hours before getting up early to watch the balloon launch.  Found a great local coffee shop and are now waiting in a Target parking lot for lift off!

We were a bit nervous about finding a spot close to town to sleep.  We didn’t want to go too far outside of town because we wanted to be back by daylight.  Turns out Walmart parking lots are a pretty decent stop over place.

Karma cafe!!

We made it!  It was delicious and awesome!!  Malcolm and his wife Susanne met us for a wonderful lunch.  Brad had Christmas enchiladas and I had a Monte Cristo!  yum!

On the road!

So we are off!  We just passed IKEA and we were talking about how weird this all feels.  Over the last couple of months “weird” has been our word to discribe all of this but it just doesn’t seem adequate.  We have decided to use “crasome” crazy + awesome.  It seems to fit a little better.  This adventure has been and will continue to be crasome.

I (Libby) took my mom to the airport this morning at 5:30 a.m.  Bright and early for me.  Brad stayed back to finish packing up the camper.  Meanwhile, Leo decided to throw up twice and Brad lost his car keys but nevertheless we got on the road by 7:30.  That is not bad.

We are heading to ABQ today for the balloon fest and to see old friends that Brad used to work with at Falcon Discovery.  I also hope to visit with my Uncle Pat who is in a nursing home there.

Our first cafe spot, we hope, is Karma Cafe.