Road Trip: Southwest

Day 13: Sunday, May 04, 2025 - Albuquerque, NM

Day's statistics:
Weather: mid 70s
Steps: Steve 9,909; Linda 9,098
Travel: 142 miles

Today's breakfast was a little unique.
Most hotels just put out a buffet for everyone - even including make-your-own waffles - and that's that.
There was [what looked like] a suite-turned-breakfast room (or multiple rooms converted into one large space).
While there were the standards of yogurt, cereal, and toast, in the kitchen area, there was a chef making batches of breakfast burritos. There were two kinds: Linda had the Veggie one, and I had the sausage one, as well as a little yogurt.




Our room was on the second floor - just like the breakfast area.
We didn't see the lobby as well last night, but we saw it after breakfast this morning.

Today was Sunday and it was still part of the first weekend of the month, so today's first stop was at another Bank of America® Museums on Us® museum. All the way in Albuquerque. "All the way" being an hour down state.
The parking lot was between this museum, and Old Town, a small old-time themed village.
On the way in we saw a couple sculptures.


The first Sunday of the month is free for everyone anyway, so our visit would have been free with or without BoA...
Our tour began, of course, to the right. There were quite a few different displays, some that were a little more "modern" than others (we don't care for that too much), an interactive area for kids / kids at heart, and some unique and or more intersting pieces such as the holographic type of art.





To us, the most interesting piece - perhaps one of the most interesting we have ever seen - was this seesaw. There was a supporting video about this too. While it isn't much of an item of itself, it was its use that made it so interesting. At a section of fencing at the US - Mexico boarder, a series of these seesaws was installed through the fence on the DL / QT. But without provocation or prodding, participants of all shapes and ages just started using them.


And continuing on.




























On display was an original horse-drawn cart that was assembled solely of wood - no nails or screws.

The floor in the middle of the wing had a marble map of Albequerque (I couldn't get a large shot of it without getting someone's feet / legs too).

After the main museum section, we entered a large room with a number of photos and images, some from students, and some that were award winning. A good number of the samples won awards for the style and or implementation of the composition of the subject matter, regardless of how interesting the subject matter was. To us, at least.
There were a few other artifacts about as well.






There was a long hallway that led to a small outdoor - and closed - courtyard.


It was a nice visit. I'll refrain from making a joke about being worth the price - because even if we had to pay some, it still would have been worth the visit.

Time for lunch. Almost.
Somewhere between the museum and our next stop was this interesting presentation.

We stepped into a Starbucks® for some coffee before going to the lunch spot.
Near the parking lot on the other side of a Burger King® was this sculpture(?).

We hopped on the highway for a few minutes and before we knew it, we exited, traveled another mile or so down the road, and arrived at Perea's.

Timed with our arrival was a severe - but brief - storm. It hailed too.
We sat in the car for only a minute or two as it was letting up, and headed inside.
Linda's father called her mother "Toots" or "Tootsie", so this plate was meaningful. And that's hail on the bumper too.

There was even more hail collected on the sidewalk next to the restaurant.

When we entered, it was rather packed. We had to wait about ten minute for a table, and wound up sitting in the far left corner from this perspective.

After reviewing the menu, we ordered.


Not long thereafter, our meals were served. Linda had the carne adovada enchilada, I had the carne adovada (just the meat), and both were served with sopapilla (a fried dough sort of thing, similar to the navajo taco base, but on the side rather than underneath).



By the time we were done eating, most of the tables were empty.
The portions were generaous (no, Linda didn't eat all of her's as she may or may not have shared her's with "someone"...), prices reasonalbe, and it was all really good.

It was another fifteen or so minute drive back into town for our next stop - exiting at the same exit we entered the highway, seeing that sculpture thing in front of us at the bottom of the ramp.

Yes, it would have been much easier and faster to have eaten somewhere closer, but we didn't and we were glad we didn't.
Our next stop was the ABQ BioPark. The site has an aquarium, botanical garden, and zoo. We were going to visit the first two, and skip the zoo due to the potential weather. And the time.
We parked in the covered lot that probably were covered in solar panels, made our way to the entrance, paid our fee, and first headed into the aquarium.

There were quite a few species at the aquarium. And most of the tanks had side and top views available.
The glass, fish movement, and, of course, the water made crisp clear photos very difficult, but I retained the ones that came out the best, even if they weren't perfect (yes, an arguement could be made that none of our pictures are perfect...).




































The botanical gardens entrance was across the plaza from the aquarium. We showed our tickets and headed in.
At the onset of the gardens we took a quick selfie.

There were different themed gardens including rose and Japanese, as well as a working farm, and two separate green house-like buildings with "drier" plantings (because New Mexico isn't dry enough, right?!!?) that each had an upper and lower level. The first that we visited was more floral while the second was more cacti.















































At one point in one spot, we were getting buzzed by a large bee or something. It turns out it was something - a hummingbird. He finally landed about eight to ten feet above us, and I tried to get a photo of it, but the camera kept focusing on the tree branch. Of the dozen shots, none was that good and this was the best.

Then he moved to a lower branch and I got a prety good shot.

And we continued on.



After the two buildings, I actually saw a roadrunner. On.. a road. Fortunately, I didn't see a corresponding coyote. The roadrunner happens to be the state bird of New Mexico too.

Onward, reaching the rose garden, and then the Japanese garden.









































We were about as far away from the entrance / exit as we could be, on the far side of the pond admiring the Koi... when we heard thunder. OK, time to go.










Near one of the ponds toward the front of the park was this girl (likely) / woman (not so much) taking pictures for something, perhaps quinciera, birthday, prom, or wedding.

And the last sight inside the gardens was this sculpture near the kids area.

There were a few drops falling from the sky as we got close to the exit.
Just outside the garden gate, we made a quick pitstop before getting on the road. At this point it was starting to rain enough to warrant using the umbrella.

After getting into the car and heading back to the hotel, it started raining even heavier.
Another shot of the city skyline.

We didn't stop for anything for dinner because lunch was on the heavier side, we weren't THAT hungry, and we knew that we had wine and cookies waiting for us in the room.

I dropped Linda off at the portico and parked the car a couple spots down across the lot. And made a run for the door.
Behind the check-in counter was this display.

Back in the room, while organizing the luggage that we had, we found that I needed to get the big bags. From the car. In the pouring rain.
So I just made a run for it because I figured, while it might help ever so slightly with getting to the car, an umbrella would have really just gotten in the way.

The room was nice except for one small issue with the bathroom sink.
Normally, when turning on the water the cold faucet is on the right, and the hot on the left. However, at this hotel - at least in our room - they were reversed with the hot being on the right. Which is wrong.

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