The Folks Visit ABQ
APRIL 2, 2019: When we told my Mom & Dad we were going to quit our jobs, sell our house and hit the road in an RV you might have thought they would say we were crazy. While we likely were and still are, my Dad’s first request was for us to be somewhere warm during the winter/spring break time of year for them to visit. We haven’t always done a good job of keeping up with their requests, but regardless, they have continued to come visit during our travels. This time a trip to Albuquerque in early April. The weather was a little chilly, but the good views and blue skies helped make up for the cooler temperatures.
Their travels weren’t exactly what you would call smooth. A completely cancelled flight for no “real” reason and then rebooked on a flight for the next day. On the following day, delays taking off from Columbus, Ohio meant missing their connection in Charlotte. This was around the time of the 737 Max airplanes being grounded, so that might not have helped their cause. They did finally make it to Albuquerque Sunport (isn’t that a great name for an airport!) way later than they had planned and also late enough to not be able to pick up their reserved rental car. Oh the joys of travel! The next morning they tried again to get a rental car with no luck and after about 6 hours on the phone with Travelocity, they were able to obtain a car. In the midst of all of this and the main reason they wanted a rental car was for a drive down to Carlsbad Caverns. They had scheduled a tour and had a hotel booked but due to the travel delays had to cancel that adventure which was a huge bummer for all of us. Growing up, my Dad talked often about Carlsbad Caverns and this was the vacation that was going to take him there. As a consolation prize (for as much as that’s worth), we were able to provide him with some photos and discussion as we were lucky enough to get a chance to stop on our travels from Southeast Texas to Albuquerque. Both impressive and fascinating, you can read about our visit to Carlsbad Caverns by clicking here.
So the bummer of all of those travel issues aside and being that we were working for a tax company and it was April, we were trying to pack as much sightseeing with my parents as possible during our days off. If the travel delays weren’t enough, my dad also was hit with a dose of what likely was elevation sickness which had him battling fever, shivers, headache, fatigue and an overall feeling of yuckiness and left the other three of us, trying to play rookie doctor to a very stubborn patient. A tidbit of information that many people from the east coast (us included) don’t know is that Albuquerque’s elevation of 5,312 feet is more than that of the well-known Mile High city of Denver which stands at exactly one mile or 5,280 feet, so elevation sickness issues are not a strange occurrence in Albuquerque.
In addition to showing my parents some of our favorite spots in Albuquerque, including things like the best spots to view the Sandia mountains, our favorite grocery store, where to find a good cup of coffee or a delicious ethnic meal, we also had the chance to explore many of the popular attractions Albuquerque has to offer.
Looking back, we fit quite a bit into our time together exploring Albuquerque. We ate too much, laughed often and as always were grateful to be able to spend time with them. Sorry Dad, for not quite always picking somewhere warm for you to visit us in the winter. It doesn’t always hit 80 degrees when you visit us, but 9 times out of 10 it is warmer when you visit than if you would have stayed put in Ohio. You may have to settle for that until we figure out how to get Charlie the RV to somewhere, in say, the Virgin Islands . . . St. Thomas, maybe? That may be fitting for you, right Dad?
