A-L-B-U-Q-U-E-R-Q-U-E

I can spell Albuquerque faster than anyone.  That's because my dad taught me how to spell it before I could even read.  It was very important to him that I know how to spell the name of the city where I was born.  Mom and Dad were living on Comanche Lane in Albuquerque when I arrived (many, many years ago). Dad was finishing his work on his Doctorate at University of New Mexico and was eagerly getting ready to begin teaching at BYU when I made my entrance into the world.

I was an infant when mom and dad packed their three little girls (ages 3 months, 2 1/2, and 5 yrs), a dog, a cat with three baby kittens, and all their household belongings into a station wagon that pulled a trailer from New Mexico to Utah.  Now THAT took courage.  I can only imagine how excited dad was to have been offered such a great job at a great university.  It must have been a dream come true.

Dad taught us to love the American Southwest.  In fact, every summer for as long as I can remember, we would pack up and head south for the annual Corn Dance at Santo Domingo Pueblo, New Mexico.  We'd camp and sometimes stay in hotels.  It was an adventure year after year after year.

Of course it's been years since we've made the trip.  So when mom suggested that Cissy and I accompany them for one last pilgrimage to Santo Domingo for the corn dance, we were all over it.

First stop:  Acoma--the Sky City.  We used to be able to park at the bottom and hike up through a rock staircase that dates back to the 12th century.  But that's all changed now.

Now, you have to pay a bunch of $$ and catch a ride/tour at a fancy visitor's center.  This is my dad, mom, and Uncle Bobby Stroud and Aunt Ella from Florida.

This adobe church was built in the 1100's.  Our tour guide was not at all shy about telling us his opinion of how the white men came and changed everything about their native way of life.  I kinda wanted to slink away and hide from him.

One of the main reasons why Cissy and I wanted to go to Albuquerque was to see the film locations for our favorite TV show, Breaking Bad.  We were giggling and screaming like teenages when we pulled up to Walter White's house.  There was another car of crazy fans at this house and, in fact, everywhere we went, there were Breaking Bad fans just like us.  We didn't feel so stupid after meeting so many others.

We went to Santa Fe and spent Saturday night at the nicest hotel I've EVER stayed in (in the US, that is).  The La Fonda.  When we were kids, we called it the La Fondle.  HA!

We seriously felt like princesses in this hotel.  We shopped and explored and went to bed that night feeling completely exhausted.  That's the BEST way to vacation.

I didn't take pictures of the corn dance because photography is strictly forbidden.  But let's just say that it was another great experience.  It was more crowded than in the past, and this year was particularly hot.  It was hard on my parents and dad, having dementia, didn't really understand what we were doing there.  But all in all, it was a great experience for me.  I loved helping my parents and aunt and uncle get in and out of the car.  I loved hearing Bobby and mom talk about their childhood. I loved that dad was there, even though he didn't know why.

I hope this trip to Albuquerque wasn't my last.