Nuclear Energy

On our last full day in Albuquerque the 4 Sam's and I set out for a trip to The National Museum of Nuclear History & Science. We thought it would be an interesting place to visit since Allen's unofficial job title is "nuke guy."

Most of the museum tells the history of how the atomic bomb was created. Then there is a large part devoted to the duck-and-cover mentality of the 50s and the Cold War that followed. There's quite a few old missiles and bombs on display, many of which Allen had never even seen or heard of, and outside is a collection of bomb-dropping air crafts and missiles. Good times for people who like military history or want to know about how our country blows stuff up. Tacky, but true.

While we looked at the exhibits, Samuel had fun studying the periodic table.



I love this picture because I took it right after I told Samuel to go find "da-da." He walked right past Allen, over to his grandpa and lifted his arms to be picked up.



It only took a couple of days before Samuel became very attached to Grandpa Sam. He loved to go looking for him and then follow him around. When he woke up in mornings we would tell him to go find Grandpa and he would parachute (since he still holds on to the blanket to get down) right out of bed to go find him.

The Fat Man and 3 Sam's.



Allen in the replica bomb shelter, complete with "Multi-Purpose Food" (just add tin canned water!) and D.O.D. Sanitation Kit. :shudder:



Sam III (a.k.a. Allen), Sam IV, Sam II and Sam I.



Cuteness!



More cuteness!



Future missileer.



Next on the agenda was a visit to the Petroglyph National Monument. There are several trails available that will take you through different canyons to see over 20,000 rock carvings, but we decided one trail was more than enough. We chose a "moderately strenuous" trail that was actually more of a rock climb. There were a few times I felt that a harness would not have been unreasonable. Needless to say, Allen and I tackled this one on our own.

Allen showing the mountain who's boss.



Me showing Allen who's boss.



Getting in touch with his prehistoric side.



We made it to the top! (With me in flip-flops none-the-less).



Back at the bottom the 4 Sam's were strutting their stuff.



Samuel sure was glad to see Mommy! He dodged all the obstacles in his way to get to me. Namely, Great-Grandpa, Grandpa Sam and Daddy. I happily carried him all the way back to the car.

Zooper Duper

By day three of our Albuquerque adventures Samuel was wore out! Little dudes can only handle so much excitement (and exhaustion) before they start to become increasingly unpleasant. Samuel was at his limit, so we only planned one activity - the zoo.

The Albuquerque zoo is also part of the BioPark and, like the aquarium, it's awesome! You can tell the city spent a few pennies on these attractions. We got their early to beat the crowds. Once we realized how large the zoo was we rented a wagon for Samuel to ride.



He rode for about 5 minutes before he realized that it would be much more fun to push the wagon all over the park. We figure that, in all, he must have walked and pushed the wagon for at least a mile. Everytime we would try to put him back in he would fuss, so Samuel pushed and Grandpa pulled.





We finally got him to ride for a while on my lap, which meant that Allen had to pull us both!



One of the best parts about this zoo is that the animals are accessible. Most are very close, which is important when trying to attract the interest of a toddler. Although, Samuel was so occupied with the wagon that he hardly noticed most of the animals! At least a few caught his attention.





He was especially curious about the peacock, but once it hopped up on the fence he got scared and quickly toddled over to Mom for safety.



After all of the walking and pushing he did it's no wonder he passed out as soon as we got him strapped in to the carseat. He was asleep before we even left the parking lot!



Once he had a big nap he was ready to play! Grandpa Sam borrowed lots of fun toys for Samuel and he loved having new things to explore.







That evening Samuel spent time with Grandpa so Allen and I could have dinner together. We ate at Il Vicino and had Ben & Jerry's after. Allen loves Phish Food! When we got back to the house Samuel's Great Grandpa, Sam Sr., had arrived. He found out we were going to be in town for the week, jumped in his car and drove two days to see us. He's pretty spry for 75-plus! It was great to have the 4 Sam's together again.

From Balloons to Botany

Our second day in Albuquerque was busy! We started bright and early by watching the balloons from the Balloon Fiesta. We decided against visiting the mass ascension since apparently you have to be there at 5:00 AM to even get in (due to traffic and crowds). Instead we went to Sam's office to watch from the balcony. He had a great view and we got to see a lot of neat balloons. There were all so unique! We saw a Pepsi can, monster head, penguin, Felix the Cat and more.



Samuel loved watching the balloons with his dad and grandpa!



Guess who had the best view?



He really wanted to touch one!



Sam works for the National Forest Service (a.k.a. Smokey the Bear), so we got some photos with the great statues outside the building.





It was still really early, so we headed up to Santa Fe. Our first stop was at Zia's Diner which has been featured on the Food Network program Diners, Drive-In's and Dives. The food was good, but we all agreed that they may have exaggerated it on television. Samuel enjoyed the sweet potato fries and some of Grandpa's corned beef hash.



Next we visited one of the oldest churches in America, the San Miguel Mission. It was built around 1610 and is still in use today.



Grandpa and Samuel hung out while Allen and I looked around.



Samuel got a couple helping hands down the stairs.



It was time for someone's nap, so we started to head back to Albuquerque. On the way out of town we stopped at a gourmet chocolate shop to sample a few New Mexican treats. Samuel and I shared an Ancho & Chipotle Chili Peanut Butter Bar. It was pretty spicy but he seemed to like it and kept signing for "more."



Once we got back to Albuquerque we went to visit the aquarium. It is right next to the botanical gardens so we were able to do both. Samuel had a great time watching all the fish and marine life. We let him roam free and he toddled from one window to the next squealing with delight. He liked to put his face right up on the glass and would even pat them a little.





Family photo!



"Look at all the fishies, Grandpa!"





The botanical gardens were amazing, but the battery on my camera died so wasn't able to take photos. They had a fantastic Secret Garden area for children and Samuel loved going down the log slide. There was also a butterfly pavilion, garden train and duck pond. We will definitely go again the next time we visit!

Pitas & Peaks

Our trip to Albuquerque was so much fun! Allen's dad and stepmother moved there last year, and since neither of us had ever been we were excited to visit. We planned our trip to coincide with the Balloon Fiesta which is the city's big deal event (like Cheyenne Frontier Days). We had no idea there would be so much else to see and Sam was an excellent tour guide. Our days were full of fun, although I don't think poor Samuel ever had a proper nap!

Our first full day was Saturday so we decided to check out the big flea market. They had a little bit of everything, but the best find for me was beads. They had tons of natural stones in many shapes and sizes. I bought turquoise, coral, pearls and seed beads for as little at $2 a strand. I'm hoping to get my jewelry design business started soon and I know I will want to make some more trips there to stock up on inventory!

The sun was roasting us so we moved on to the next activity. The Grecian Festival was downtown so we headed there for lunch - gyros, spanakopita, dolmas and baklava. While we ate we enjoyed the Aegean music and traditional dance.

Samuel liked the music so much he tried to join the dancers! Grandpa grabbed him before he got ran over.



Then he just clapped along.



Sam suggested that we head to the top of Sandia Peak to look down on the city. To be quite honest, before we got there, I had no idea Albuquerque even had mountains! I guess I imagined a desert landscape with a bunch of stucco buildings. Allen and I were both pleasantly surprised at the beauty of the city. Sam and his wife live in a house that is nestled right into the mountains and they have some amazing views.

It took about an hour to get to the top of the peak. Samuel and I took a little snooze on the way there. When we arrived we were greeted with cooler weather and spectacular scenery.



Samuel loved walking up and down the trail and waving to everyone he saw.





He made friends with a little baby girl while there and kept walking back over to "talk" to her. One tourist got quite a surprise when Samuel decided to play drawbridge with him! (At home Allen will open his legs so Samuel can walk underneath. He thinks it's so fun that now he does it with me too. He will even come up to us and try to spread our legs so he can play.) The unsuspecting man on top of Sandia Peak was pretty amused when Samuel walked underneath his open legs.

Insert obligatory family photos here:





Before we left Samuel and his dad shared a Popsicle.





At Sam's house Samuel loved exploring his new surroundings especially the backyard. He even helped out with the yard work! He wanted to help grill steaks too but we encouraged him to chase Oreo the cat and Lady the dog instead.

Air-pain

I want to start off by saying that having Samuel is wonderful. I really feel that everything is more fun because we have him to share it with us. I love watching him discover something new and explore the world around him. Although, there are definitely things that were much easier before he arrived.

Once upon a time I loved to travel. I would get so excited about the prospect of flying somewhere. It really didn't matter where I was going. Just the idea of going someplace different really sparked my sense of adventure. Even a layover wasn't a big deal as long as I had a good book or magazine to keep me busy. Nowadays, flying is much different.

Traveling to Albuquerque was an adventure all right. Trying to keep a 13-month-old out of trouble in an airport is impossible! I carried him in my Mai Tai through security and to our terminal but he was antsy, so once we reached the gate I took him out. When he saw his stroller, and since he loves to push anything that moves, he decided he needed to push his stroller up and down the hallway for 45 minutes until we had to board. At least it kept him busy for a while.

The airplane was a different story altogether. A toddler simply cannot be confined. When he realized he couldn't go out he decided the next best thing is up so he used my stomach and chest as a ladder to try to crawl over the seat. We did our best to occupy him with fun toys that sang and lit up but he was much more interested in unfastening my seat belt and unlatching the tray and smacking it back on the seat in front. Needless to say, it was one wild ride!

Of course, it wasn't until we were landing that he finally fell asleep. On our way to the baggage claim Allen suggested that maybe we should have driven. Not only do I hate road trips (due to horrible motion sickness) but the idea of spending 8 hours with Samuel strapped in a car seat, probably screaming, is much worse than a few hours of inconvenience. Will this experience deter us from flying? No way! I can't wait to do it all again.

Vacation Hangover

Recovering from a vacation is a bit like recovering from a big night of drinking. You feel exhausted, disoriented and guilty. Of course, the causes are much different. Alcohol speaks for itself.... devil's brew. Vacation's are another story.

The guilt stems mostly from hemorrhaging money the entire time you are away, once you arrive home you are disoriented since it takes a couple days of fumbling around before you ease back into a routine and, of course, the exhaustion is from trying to squeeze a ridiculous amount of activities into an inadequate amount of time. All of this is in the attempt to "get away and relax." Right. I usually feel more stressed during a vacation then when I'm home. The only difference is at least I don't have to do the dishes. I HATE doing the dishes.

Later this week we are off on another vacation, to Albuquerque, but first I need to unpack from our trip to Colorado Springs....