I got up at 2 in the morning on a Saturday. Now I'm used to getting up at 3 or so for a plane, but this was pretty extreme even for me. My plan was to take a five am plane to Dallas and then connect over to Albuquerque, arriving around noon MST.
Arriving at the Avistar parking facility, I was pretty disappointed that I couldn't use any more Groupons with them. It was a huge help getting a few dollars off each day. But I'm not going to pay a comparable price to get slower service. After breezing through security, I checked the departure board and I saw my flight was delayed a half hour. That didn't get to me, I knew I'd have enough time to make my connecting flight. But my heart sank when I saw the third Dallas flight of the morning was cancelled.
I was number 20 of 33 on the standby list. Then, when the gate agent asked for volunteers to give up seats, I knew my odds were terrible. I got bumped to the 6 am flight, which was delayed 45 minutes. But much to my surprise, they called my name, so I hopped on. They said there wasn't room for my carry on bag, which I expected. So I gave my bag up and took my seat.
An hour must have passed by. I had fallen asleep when I heard the pilot say we were getting off the plane because Dallas could not take in any planes due to bad weather. After finding out from my mother that the flights from Dallas to Albuquerque were not looking good, I figured my best bet was to avoid Dallas. So I went to the rebooking center, gave up my Dallas seat, and asked to be switched over to the non-stop flight at 10:20, which was still three hours away.
After a sub par breakfast sandwich at Dunkin Donuts, I headed to the G concourse. There was only one other standby passenger, so I knew I had a pretty good shot to get on. I was feeling pretty good. As I approached the gate, I saw the plane was delayed an hour. The only two good things about that were I had time to recharge my phone and I saw this adorable blonde cocker spaniel that looked just like Hogan. I so wanted to pet him!
Two gate changes and three 20 minute delays later (apparently because they didn't have a pilot), we boarded. So I'm getting in four hours later than expected, which isn't terrible. It's just that I'm missing my bag. I'm thinking as long as it comes in tonight, I'll be good. I hadn't eaten since breakfast and that bag of mini pretzels and coke were way more refreshing than they should have been.
As the plane touched down, I was reminded of what a mountain looks like. Living in such a flat land, it's refreshing to be surrounded by nature. Mom picked me up and we drove to the northwest section of Albuquerque to El Pinto, a restaurant that specializes in New Mexican cuisine. Their red chili ribs had been voted in the top five ribs in America by the did network, so I knew I wanted to try them. We got an appetizer platter of ribs, guacamole, and queso dip. The ribs were very tender, but they were weird in that they didn't have a sauce or a rub taste. They had the smoked chiles on the outside. While they were certainly smoky, I was glad they weren't too spicy. The guacamole was fresh, just excellent. I was really pleased with creaminess of the queso dip, which was accented with New Mexican green chile.
From there, we headed south into Old Town. This is a section of several blocks on the northwest side that has loads of little shops and the center of it is a square shaped grassy plaza. I enjoyed looking at all the Native American artifacts, the uniquely designed crosses, and western themed clothes. I also enjoy hearing the unique music of acoustic guitars and wind chimes. It just relaxes me in a way that so few things can. I also went into the San Felipe de Neri church, which was built in the 1700s. I may not be Catholic, but I have great respect for those old traditional churches, so it was a very sacred place to visit.
We went over to the Route 66 diner, near the University of New Mexico. Mom had a lot of places to visit to meet the owners and to make sure that they could accommodate her tour group. This place is so vintage. There's an old school jukebox, they have hundreds of Pez dispensers, and the waitresses wear poodle skirts. One of the things I really liked was the Route 66 map painted on the wall that highlighted the trip. We each had a small shake, mom had a turtle and I had the Elvis (peanut butter and banana). Good stuff.
I think we were both feeling a little bored this point. We drove north to the casino and the setting was beautiful. It was at the foot of the Sandia mountains. The golf course on the outskirts of the property was very well maintained and there is also an outdoor amphitheatre that I imagine would be great for a concert. But once we were inside, it seemed like Mohegan Sun light. Just a typical casino. Lots of lights, lots of colors, and lots of sad faces. If you ever want to see a truly depressed group of people, go into a casino and walk around.
After a half hour in the casino, we were ready to go. We checked again for my bag at the airport and it was still missing so I filed a report with lost luggage. Knowing we were driving to Santa Fe the following day, I couldn't bear the thought of not having a change of clothes in the morning.
We went to the Marriott hotel and I settled in...well, sort of. Settling in basically meant taking my sneakers off. The staff gave me a grooming kit with deodorant, toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, q tips, and hair products. I really was imposed with the level of service on the trip and this wad just one example. I found out an hour later that my bag had landed in New Mexico. Since I had been told it would be delivered to the hotel, I let it go, and took an Uber to the Marble brewery. It was located outside the downtown area and I felt at home pretty quickly. There was a live band playing rock and roll, a Korean food truck was parked outside, and there were a lot of 20 and 30 somethings hanging inside and outside. Not having company, I went into the bar, sat down, and ordered a flight of six beers. My favorite was the Amber ale and I later drank a pint.
A few minutes after I arrived, a cute brunette girl in a jean jacket sat at the stool next to me. Her friend joined soon and it turns out they were mobile nurses from Louisville working in New Mexico. I had what I'd call a decent conversation with them before I took my exit and caught a ride back to the Marriott around ten.
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