Albuquerque

January 26
A cold morning, but the sun came up just a little after 7 and quickly made the van comfortable. We got back on the road for a longish day of driving, making a stop in Hatch, New Mexico to pick up some chile salsas at a kitschy place recommended by Dave. His restaurant recommendation was not to be found however, and we ended up having lunch at Pepper Pot after checking out another spot for huevos rancheros - guess you can only get those for breakfast! Rudy's chimichanga, and my combination of chile relleno, enchiladas, and taco smothered in red and green chile was acceptable. After the meal, it was straight to Albuquerque to see my college friend Margot! She recently moved and was pretty busy with work, so we mostly tried to stay out of the way and enjoy some good chatting time with her between career and life stuff. Chill evening, with just some leftovers and a little visiting.

January 27
A quiet day with some good yoga and a little run around the neighborhood for me while Rudy worked on his bike, followed by lots of hanging out and reading and probably too much internet time. For dinner, we met Margot and a work colleague of hers at Two Fools Tavern - an Irish pub. Good Irish stew, and fish and chips - and instead of an Irish import, I tried the local La Cumbre IPA - it was fantastic. The place was busy, but still managed some good conversation, with only a little work stuff popping up from the employed :) A quick stroll around downtown, then nothing too exciting for the evening.

January 28
I practiced restraint or laziness, can't decide which, and didn't join Margot for the weekend long run. We saw her a little between that and another social function she had for the remainder of the day, then headed to Sandia Foothills where Rudy biked and I hiked in the nice afternoon sun.



Next, we spent an excessive amount of time grocery shopping - a few good Sprouts deals were had! Then I made a blueberry pie, stir fry for dinner - accompanied by another local beer: Marble red ale - surprisingly hoppy - and I enjoyed it! Another mellow evening.

January 29
I baked a little loaf of bread in the morning, using some whole wheat flour Margot got from a friend in Bayfield! The flour was a bit coarse, didn't rise much, but the bread turned out edible. Another short run for me - nice and sunny! We were able to meet another college friend of mine that just moved to Albuquerque, Karl, at The Grove for brunch - decent food, and a couple hours of good chatting - yeah!

Later in the afternoon, we got in a hike with Margot on the Embudito Trail, finding some trees and snow - a very cool area to see, and pretty chilly when not in the sun! We ended up racing the dark in - barely made it without resorting to our lights - all in all a great outing. For dinner we made pizza and big salads - all good, then got in some final visiting, as we plan to depart in the morning and will probably miss Margot before she heads to work. Also enjoyed a little more blueberry pie!