Freedom!

This past Friday night was my last regularly scheduled weekend night at my hotel job. From now on, my schedule is Monday through Thursday nights, unless Frank, the other night auditor, or I need to make changes for special occasions. It feels so good to have weekends off like a normal person.

Ron and I are planning lots of weekend trips to make up for lost time (I figure that in the last 2 1/2 years, I've had about 4 weekends off TOTAL). Most of the trips will be fairly close (Colorado, Texas, elsewhere in New Mexico) and staying with family or friends. But there is a very special long weekend coming up; I'll be going to Virginia to see my mom and nearby siblings. I can't wait for that! Other longer trips are still in the planning stages and include Moab, Utah, one of our favorite places in the world.

Let's hear it for weekends!!

The Other Las Vegas, Part 2

Sunday morning was a lazy one, none of us eager to get an early start. The free continental breakfast at the motel was very sparse, but at least the coffee was good and strong. I had a danish pastry and that was enough to keep me going until lunchtime.

We started the day by heading back to the historic downtown district to drive around and look at the old houses. Las Vegas has more than 900 buildings on the National Register of Historic Places. There are all kinds of interesting houses -- Victorian, Tudor, Georgian, Prairie, and others I didn't recognize. We had a great time driving up and down the streets ooh-ing and aah-ing.

Then we drove up to Fort Union, about half an hour north of town. Fort Union National Monument was established in 1851 to house the soldiers guarding the Santa Fe Trail. It was abandoned in 1892 after the railroad made the Santa Fe Trail more or less obsolete. There are ruins of the adobe and stone buildings surrounding the old parade grounds. I had been there before, but George and Beth hadn't. After going through the museum at the visitor center, we went outside to tour the ruins.

This place is pretty windy on a good day and Sunday was not a good day as far as the weather goes. A storm front was approaching and it was cold and windy. After being outside for about 10 minutes, George and I decided to go back inside. It was just too unpleasant out there; my face was cold. Beth wanted to tour the rest of the ruins, but she promised to be quick and she was.

We drove back to town and had a nice lunch together before going our separate ways.

I had to drive into the approaching storm and they had to drive away from it and try to outrun it.

As I drove on the first, flat part of the route, the wind became fierce and I had to keep both hands in a tight grip on the steering wheel. Then it started to snow. I drove through a swirling snowshower and started climbing up into the mountains. At least once I was in the mountains, I was protected from the winds and I only had to deal with the snow. Up and down, up and down, and around countless curves I drove, grateful for an SUV with four-wheel drive. The snow wasn't sticking to the road yet, but it was starting to stick on the bushes and trees on the sides of the road.

I made it to the other side of the mountain and back down to the flats. The snow tapered off to flurries and there was no wind, so I unpeeled my fingers from the steering wheel and drove the remaining 15 minutes home.

When I got home, the animals greeted me enthusiastically. I'd only been gone 32 hours, but they missed me. I'd only been gone 32 hours, but it was a great trip and I came back refreshed and renewed.

The Other Las Vegas, Part 1

Ron is in the middle of his trip to New Orleans/Baton Rouge (and various places in between here and there).

A couple of weeks ago, while he was planning the trip, we talked to our good friend George and his wife, Beth. They used to live here in New Mexico, but a few years ago they moved to Amarillo, Texas. As fervent liberals, they're definitely in the minority in Amarillo and they were ready for a weekend getaway. They thought I should have a weekend getaway with them while Ron was away and Ron agreed (and of course, so did I).

So we made plans to meet in Las Vegas, New Mexico. It's not really halfway in between -- I only had a 1 1/2-hour drive versus their 3 1/2-hour drive, but it's an interesting town (I suggested next time we meet closer to halfway, perhaps Tucumcari or Santa Rosa).

We met in Las Vegas a little after 10:00 on Saturday morning. It was too early to check into the motel, so after a light breakfast, we headed for the historic downtown district. Las Vegas was once a thriving railroad town (the railroad was built there in 1879), but as the railroad has declined, so has the town. There isn't any industry, but there is New Mexico Highlands University. The population of Las Vegas is about 18,000 and the enrollment at NMHU is 3,500.

The historic downtown district is an odd mix of dilapidated, empty buildings and thriving businesses. We found a great bookstore and spent more than an hour in there. George collects fountain pens and they had several for him to test before he decided on one. His wife Beth teaches third grade and she bought several children's books for her class. I have so many books on my "To Read" shelf, I didn't let myself buy anything.

The owner of the store was a friendly, outgoing woman. Her accent was very pronounced and familiar, but I couldn't place it. George asked her where she's from. Philadelphia. Then it all came back to me -- all those nuns from grade school and high school with their Philadelphia accents! I told George and Beth I was having flashbacks to those Philadelphia nuns. The bookstore woman was very nice, but Philadelphia accents are a bit "screechy" to me.

After wandering up and down the street for awhile longer, we drove back to the motel and checked into our rooms. Then we changed into swimsuits and drove to the hot springs. These are natural hot springs, just off the side of the road several miles outside of town. There are about a dozen different "hot tubs" lined with rock. They're different sizes and shapes and different temperatures. Just like Goldilocks and the three bears, the first one we tried was much too hot. I could only put one foot in and keep it there about 3 seconds. The next one was hot, but not quite hot enough. The third one was just right! There was a guy already in there, but it was the perfect size for four and he welcomed us. We stayed there for a long time, soaking, until our muscles were so relaxed they felt like they were melting.

We went back to the motel and cleaned up for dinner. We were so relaxed, we took the easy route and ate at the motel restaurant. The food and service were excellent. They had steaks, seafood, pasta, and New Mexican cuisine on the menu. I had the 8 oz. sirloin topped with port-sauteed mushrooms and a little bit of cheese (I'm not sure what kind), covered with dijon cream sauce. It was unbelievable, indescribably delicious.

After dinner, we went back to George and Beth's room and sat up talking for a good long while before I went next door to my own room. I turned on the TV to watch the end of the LSU game. Ron was somewhere in the crowd of 92,000-plus people. It was a close, exciting game and LSU won with a last-second touchdown. Ron called a few minutes later with a very loud, very excited crowd in the background.

We both had a great day Saturday.

Coming soon! Part 2. Sunday -- wind and snow!