Life is GOOD

The last 2 weeks have been a whirlwind! Getting everything ready for the wedding, the actual wedding, and then finding out we're heading back out to Washington!! We leave this weekend so the whirlwind is not letting up.

Albuquerque to Denver

I'm done! I made it! This assignment was very challenging and I'm proud of myself that I completed it. Eli and I woke up early this morning and finished packing up the apartment and loading up the car. We got up so early we took a break to walk over to Starbucks while the sun was rising and saw several hot air balloons--great start to the day. Kicked off the drive with our usual breakfast of champions (McDonalds!) and headed to Denver. It was a fairly easy drive--much more scenic than the drive down to Albuquerque. Once we checked into our hotel we went up to the fitness center and worked out--it's nice to do something after sitting in the car all day. Then we went to Larkburger for dinner--oh my delish!!! I had an Amy burger (portabella burger with fixings) and Eli had a chicken burger (adobe sauce and cilantro) both of us had parmesan truffle fries. It was so good!!! Two weeks from today we will be at our reception celebrating!!

Tent Rock National Monument

It's finally my last week at work! I'm so excited--ready to move onto the next thing. Which is getting married :) Eli and I drove to Tent Rock National Monument yesterday and it was so cool. Next time I go to the Desert Dome, it'll be fun because I've seen the desert! We did two trails--the first one was the Canyon Trail, which went through the canyon and then onto a vista about 630 feet elevation. It was so so fun. Eli and I kept saying that the rocks just didn't look real--they looked like they were poured out of concrete. Climbing up to the vista was rocky, steep, and you had to be very aware of where you were stepping. Of course there were people trying to get their little kids up it, which is also terrifying. But we made it and the view was spectacular! 10% chance of rain that day and when I looked behind us you could see the rain clouds (and actual rain) coming. We hightailed it back down and it started sprinkling while we were in the canyon part of the trail.

We wound up the night at Sadie's which is authentic New Mexican food. It was SO good. I also had a margarita, which was quite tasty too. Our new favorite thing down here is sopapillas. Warm fried bread with honey, cinnamon, and sugar? Yes please!! (Start of the trail, In the Canyon, Rainstorm on the Vista)

Santa Fe

Eli and I drove up to Santa Fe today. It was really fun! The two of us really wanted to see the Loretto Chapel with the miraculous staircase--so that was our first stop. On the way there we popped into a pottery gallery. The pieces were so beautiful and intricate. Going into the chapel there was a cherry tree (or some other flowering tree) with a picture of The Virgin Mary in front of it. It was really cool because people had hung several rosaries on it. The staircase was impressive and story behind it is interesting (I pasted the link to it below). Afterwards, we headed off  to a coffee shop and I got drinking chocolate. It was so rich and delicious. Eli wanted to visit the Art Museum, so we went through that. We bought a few prints from the gift shop that will be fun to take home. Then we headed to lunch!! I got chalupas and Eli had green chili stew--both came with sopapillas. One of my favorite things about New Mexico is the food--it is SO good. It was a fun short trip!! (Loretto Chapel, Prints, Art Museum)

http://www.lorettochapel.com/staircase.html