I had a really fun summer with several mini vacations as well as two longer ones. One of those was a trip with my family to Albuquerque, NM. I went with my parents and my Mimi in June. We were there from Wednesday, June 20th to Sunday, June 24th. We drove...but it's really not all that far...and it was kinda nice to drive through and see all the scenery and really be aware of when we crossed the state line. I won't lie...there were some parts when it was so bare I thought it would never end. But, it did and we were back in somewhat of what I would call civilization! The drive home went by faster because I read the whole way home...I must make a mental note to buy multiple books for any future trips that are going to involve driving for that long! Cody wasn't able to go since summer time is his busy season. Plus, we were already going to be going to Jamaica in July and he was going to have to take off work for that on top of the other mini vacations and a trip to Colorado he and Jacob went on at the end of August. I sure missed him...but I had a lot of fun with my family too! The whole reason for the trip was because my mom and Mimi were going to the Madame Alexander Doll Convention. We used to go every year to these annual conventions when we were younger. But, when Michael and I got involved in sports, we just didn't have the time...and I lost interest in dolls. My Mimi is a big collector and she always enjoys going to these things, so now that we are all out of school, mom wanted to start taking her again. Driving is way cheaper than flying, so my dad was going to be the chauffeur and I tagged along so that I could keep him company while they were doing their "doll" thing the days and evenings when we were there. They went to luncheons and dinners and shopped for dolls while we did some sightseeing and found really great restaurants to eat at...and shopped some too! we all had a lot of fun doing what we all love while spending some time together in between...it was a great family vacation!
On Wednesday, my dad and I went to work out together at the Dog House (the Wylie facility behind the football field) early that morning before we left for the trip. He did some light weights and I CrossFitted and also ran a couple of miles. When I got back to the house, Cody was just getting up and ready for work. So, we got to spend a few minutes together before he headed out and I got all cleaned up and finished up my packing before we hit the road for Albuquerque. After I finished getting ready and packing, I had a couple of hours to have my coffee and breakfast and snuggle with my lovies. They knew something was up with all my bags packed...and they weren't acting too happy about it. They were even more sad when I gathered everything up when my parents came by to pick me up. Our doggies have the saddest faces that will make your heart ache! I gave them lots of love and told them by and we headed out around 10:30. We stopped in Lubbock for lunch and made a few more pit stops and were in Albuquerque around dinnertime. I think it was between 6:00 and 7:00 when we finally got there...I just can't remember exactly! Mom and Mimi had some event they had to be at shortly after we unloaded the car and took everything up to the room. So, they headed to that and dad and I went to a Mexican food restaurant that was so conveniently located across the street from our hotel. Thankfully...it was delicious! We could walk there and there was no wait...and we were both starving...so it was great all the way around! After we ate, we just went back up to the room and found a movie on TV and watched that until mom and Mimi got back. We were all pretty pooped from the traveling and such...so we called it a night!
We stayed at the Marriott, which was so nice and thankfully had a workout facility. Every morning, dad and I woke up around 6:00 to head downstairs to get a workout in before the day got started. Of course, I CrossFitted and ran and dad walked a few miles on the treadmill. I definitely remember the CF workout I did on this day. I was beat afterwards! It was: run 1 mile, then 20, 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 of Burpees, Air Squats, Push-Ups, and Dips, then run 1 mile. It took me a little over 45 minutes to complete the workout. So completely worth it...but I was so glad when I was done! When we got back to the room from the gym, mom and Mimi were up and about to head out to some breakfast for the convention. I showered real quick and got ready and then dad did the same. That morning, we just headed downstairs for breakfast. They had a pretty good breakfast buffet with lots of options for however you wanted to eat. It was pretty good...but nothing that I would long to eat at again. Mom and Mimi's breakfast was supposed to be over around mid-morning and after dad and I finished breakfast, we had a couple of hours to spare before they were going to be done. There was a mall about a mile to 2 miles from our hotel, so we decided to walk over there just to get some more exercise and see what kind of shopping it had to offer. When we got there, pretty much everything was closed because it was still before 10:00 in the morning, so we just wondered around for a bit. By the time the stores were opening up, mom texted us and told us that they were finished and waiting on us. So, we headed back to the hotel. They didn't have any other plans for the rest of the day, so we went downtown and did a little local shopping for a bit, then it was time for lunch. We came across this amazing place (that I would eat at everyday, 3 meals a day if we had one locally) called the Flying Star Cafe. Holy yum...it was SO good! I had the Buddah Bowl with brown rice and a soy chicken patty and left off the wonton strips. I finished every single bite and wanted more. In fact...my mom ordered the same thing and she didn't eat all hers...so I finished it too! After lunch, we caught the trolley back to the hotel and just rested for a bit. Mimi was so pooped out...bless her heart! We took the trolley to and from the hotel to get to downtown and then walked the entire time. It was probably a little too much walking for her...but she trucked right along and then took a cat nap back at the hotel. After we all rested, we decided to go to Santa Fe that evening on the train. We took the late afternoon train to Santa Fe and when we got there, it was around 6:45. There was a restaurant just off the train station that we decided to eat at...and it was amazing! There was about a 30 minute wait to be seated...but so completely worth it. The restaurant is called Tomasita's and it has all the traditional New Mexican food...tons of green chile's, everything drenched in red or green chili sauce, enchiladas, fresh veggies and corn on their salads...YUM! Everything was so yummy and fresh...definitely worth the train ride to Santa Fe! After dinner, we walked around the town for a bit, then hopped on the train and headed back to Albuquerque. It was after 10:00 when we got back, so we all showered, then headed to bed. It was a fun day filled with lots of yummy food, fun adventures, and family time!
Friday started out much like Thursday. Dad and I went to the gym after we woke up at 6:00 that morning. He walked on the treadmill and I ran a couple of miles and did a CF workout that consisted of 15 minutes AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) 7 kettlebell swings (35 pounds), 7 burpees, 7 wall balls (14 pounds), and 7 dead lifts (95 pounds). It was not near as grueling as the workout I did on Thursday. But CF never fails to leave me breathless, sweaty, and noodly all over! I love it! We headed back afterwards and got all cleaned up. Mom and Mimi didn't have any plans for the morning, so we decided to go eat at the Flying Star that was right around the corner from the hotel for breakfast. Again, it didn't disappoint! I had a quinoa dish that consisted of red quinoa and tons of apples, butternut squash, and walnuts chopped up into tiny pieces with a lemon vinaigrette. It was SO good! I also drank my weight in coffee...I love coffee...it makes me happy! After breakfast, we headed back to the hotel and just watched some TV and talked for a bit. Mom and Mimi had a luncheon to go to as well as a dinner later on in the evening. So, dad and I made plans to just piddle all day. We left the hotel about 10:00 and walked back to the mall that was close by and I did some shopping for our Jamaica trip that was coming up. Dad sat and read his Kindle while I was cruising through the mall. Then, we went to McAlister's for lunch. It was located in a outdoor shopping center (much like the Southlake Towne Center) a couple of blocks and across the street from the mall. It was good...I had never eaten at a McAlister's before! Dad got a sandwich and I got a Savannah chopped salad that had chicken, dried cranberries, almonds, tomatoes, cucumbers, and a fat free peach vinaigrette. It came with cheese and a different dressing...but I had them leave off the cheese and changed the dressing. I ate every single bite...I love a good salad! Since we were already at the shopping center, we did a bit more shopping. While we were strolling down the sidewalk, we saw three policemen on the prettiest horses I've ever seen. They were beautiful! You just don't see that very often...of course I had to take a picture. This shopping center had more high end stores, so I did a little shopping and a lot of looking. But, I did buy some Lululemon workout clothes. My best friend, Amie, has been trying to get me to buy Lululemon for a couple of years now and I just never did. There's not a store in Abilene and when I go visit her and we go shopping, I usually just buy other things besides workout clothes. But, I decided to cave and now I'm addicted! I can't get enough of Lulu!!! The clothes are so comfortable, breathable, and so stinking cute! They fit so well and conform to your body so when you workout, they don't get in your way. I'm in love... So, after we finished up at the shopping center, we walked back to the hotel. We ran into mom and Mimi on our way in, as they were just finishing up after their luncheon, so we all headed back to the room for a little breather. Dad and I watched TV and I blogged some while mom and Mimi looked at all their dolls that they had gotten at the various events they had been attending up to that point. After a couple of hours, mom and Mimi headed back downstairs for the dinner they were attending and dad and I tried to figure out what we were going to do that evening. There was an Italian restaurant around the corner from the hotel called Buca di Beppo. Neither one of us had ever been, so that's what we decided on! Another good place to eat...we were definitely not lacking when it came to restaurants in Albuquerque! Everything here is family style, so the portions are huge. There is a small and large option...the small feeds 2 (or more) and the large feeds 4 (or more). Neither one of us eat the same way...so we ran into a bit of a pickle. We didn't have anywhere to put leftovers if we got separate dishes and we knew that neither of us would be able to come close to finishing a small separately. So, we decided to order a large pizza and split it in half. Dad's half was the supreme Italiano and my half was the veggie with no cheese. If you haven't guess...I don't really care for cheese! The pizza was so good. I finished my half (minus the extra little bit of crust at the end of each piece) and then had a few bites of one of the pieces dad didn't eat. Both kinds of pizza were delicious...we'll have to try that place again when there's more people! They have them all over the Metroplex...so that may be one place we venture to the next time we're there. After dinner, we went to see a movie. We decided upon Rock of Ages...which was awesome! It's a musical...but the music is all from the 80's. If you like musicals and rock music from the 80's...then go see or rent/buy this movie! Dad bought the play list that night when we got back to the room! We found some movie on TV to watch and Mom and Mimi got back a little bit later. After visiting for a bit, we all decided to go to bed. We were all pretty tired after all of our fun excursions throughout the day!
Well...like I said...dad and I worked out every morning. And Saturday was no different! We woke up at 6:00 and did the same 'ole same. This morning's CF was 3 rounds for time of 15 pull-ups, 20 burpees, and 15 sumo dead lift high-pulls (65 pounds). I also ran a mile before and after the workout. It was short, sweet, and gruesome! At this point, I hadn't gotten my kipping pull-ups mastered so I used to skinniest band to assist me in my pull-ups. My arms were noodles...just the way I like them after a good CF workout! This was the last full day we were going to be in Albuquerque, so we had big plans for the day. We went to Flying Star for breakfast again. Once again...it didn't disappoint! I'm telling you...if we had one of these in Abilene...we would go broke! I got the tofu scramble that was loaded with veggies..and coffee to drink. I've kinda been on a tofu kick...so I was excited to try this. It was really good! When we got back to the hotel, we decided to go to Old Town Albuquerque for the afternoon. Mom and Mimi had the final dinner for the doll convention that night and dad and I had decided to go to the peak of the Sandia Mountains for dinner. So, off we went. There were lots of really cool local shops selling handmade jewelry, sauces, figurines, and any other sort of souvenier that you could think of. After we did some shopping, we made our way back to where we started to have lunch. I can't remember the name of the place, but it was another good choice with lots of local flare. I got a salad with corn, beans, green chili's, chicken, tomatoes, and I topped it with green chile sauce for the dressing. So good! When we finished eating, we made our way back to the car, then headed back to the hotel. Mom and Mimi got ready for their dinner while dad read on his Kindle and I blogged. A couple of hours later, we headed to the Sandia Peak. The only way to get to the top is by a tramway. It takes 15 minutes from the bottom to the top and you are going up and over mountains. It was breathtakingly beautiful...and a tad scary. Thank goodness the views were so incredible, otherwise it would have really freaked me out! Dad and I were talking once we were officially off the mountain and headed back to the hotel how it really was a weird/scary feeling being that high above the ground. But totatlly worth it too! So, like I said, the tram ride takes 15 minutes and you're going 2.7 miles up the mountain. The peak of the Sandia Mountain is 10,378 feet. You can really feel the high elevation when you're up there! Once we were there, we did some hiking around so we could really get a good glimpse of the 11,000 square-mile panoramic view. I had on sandals, so we couldn't go too far or too deep...but we went just enough to take in the magnitude of the beauty of this place. It was amazing to take a look around and see the beauty of God right at our fingertips. After we took tons of pics and did our hiking, we went to the only restaurant at the top of the mountain called, High Finance, for dinner. I had the portobello mushroom stack. It was good...but the best part was looking out all the windows to the beautiful scenery. It was just simply beautiful. After dinner, we headed back down on the tram. I have to be honest. I am SO glad that we did that. It's really hard to describe how awesome and beautiful it was. But, I was so glad to be back on the ground after the tram ride up and down the mountain! It never felt unsecure or unsafe...it's just an uneasy feeling! We headed back to the hotel once we made it down and just watched a movie until mom and Mimi made it back. By this point, we were all exhausted. Plus, we had a long day of traveling on Sunday, so off to bed we went!
All good things must come to an end...and this trip was no different. I debated not getting up to go workout...but that debate didn't last long! I got dad up at 6:00 and off we went to the gym. Since I normally take the weekends off, I decided to take it easy and just run on the treadmill and not do a CF workout. So, I ran 4 miles while dad walked and then we went back to the room to get ready to head home. We checked out and then headed out for one more meal at Flying Star. I didn't get anything fancy this day. Just an omelet loaded with veggies and in-house made green chili turkey sausage. Even though it wasn't fancy...it was delicious! Before we left, I re-filled my coffee cup and we headed out the door and on the road back to Abilene. We stopped in Clovis at a Subway and had a quick bite to eat. Kinda sad after all the fun places we got to eat at while we were in Albuquerque...but Subway never dissapoints! We finally pulled back into Abilene shortly after 6:00. When I walked through the door, I was bombarded by 3 very excited doggies who wouldn't stop wiggling, jumping on me, and giving me sugars as well as one very excited hubby who I hadn't seen in 3 days! I unloaded all my bags, then Cody and I had a quick dinner. We sat down on the couch to watch some mindless TV and talk while the pups laid all over me. I missed them all so much and it was wonderful to be home and snuggled up on the couch with all my loves. It was such a fun trip and so nice to spend time with my family!
PS: I'll be posting all of the pics from the trip in follow-up post!
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