This little kid is so smart she is running rings around us. Also wearing down two old people quickly.
But I am getting ahead of myself.
Great ticket prices on SOUTHWEST! Was able to book a hotel close to the kiddos... cheaply. Pre checked so walked through TSA checkpoint with the basic checks.. fantastic... Have to redo my pre check stuff for the future... was able to sit and have a snack and relax prior to the flight. Plane showed up on time and was only 3/4 full so being in the back of the line allowed us to get on and find a full three seat section no one had taken. WOW!
Flight was around 2 hours and a bit. Had the GPS running on the IPAD so caught that flight for the future. Enjoyed that a lot. Landed and my daughter was there waiting. Picked out the bag and got on the road up to Emmers with a short stop for a burger at In and Out.
It was a little treat as we were more wanting to get right to Emmers than anything else. Zipped up the 80 and stopped at Emmers care givers. She was happy even after bonking her head off the floor right before we got there. Big hugs and chatter and we headed off to check in.
Hotel was the Far West. It was acceptable and after a slight snafu with the check in we had a very spacious room that was clean and suitable for the minimal amount of time we would be there.
We had a lot of fun. We took Emmers to a play place just for little kids. She almost went the whole hour but couldn't as she used up all her energy quickly.... We visiting the Jelly Belly Factory and had some fun with that and we hit a few stores for clothes for her and other things and even got on a train and carousel... she didn't seem to like the carousel but trying to get her off it was a totally different story. She rode it three times in the end with the operator letting us all on to ride so I could get some better pictures.
I took over 800 shots but a lot are dark or out of focus since chasing a toddler around you need a prime lens and a lot of duct tape. I did get to put her play place together so she could climb and slide at home in the living room of her Grandmothers in Cali. It also has a little ball drop and basin for balls. She loves swishing them around or out right throwing them at your head.
Four words... She is a treasure.
Cant wait for the next visit.. which will be here for the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. Five weeks or so. 39 days in reality.
Here are some shots from beginning to end of everything that touched my eye.. and no.. I will not load all Emmey shots ....
PS.. this was a trip exclusively to see the baby .. not to sight-see.... We blew her schedule up and she was running full steam ahead most times to crash asleep. Next trip we will adhere to her schedule and sight-see while she is at her caregivers... WHO IS ALSO VERY AWESOME!
Ok.. pictures...
This guy is going to have a bad day.. but it looked like there was assistance nearby.
Above ground shuttle train... seems this would be much better than the insanity of Central ave in Albuquerque. Would be nice to run one of these from the airport North to Fiesta Field area and Coors and Central to Tramway and Central. I would take it to work for sure.
Palms and traffic. Back seat shooting.
Off side views.
Flowers and trash. It was only a small bit I saw. The juxtaposition of the flowers with the trash caught my eye. Pretty clean otherwise.
Da Police. There were more here than in the 505. Nice to know they were cruising around.
All the crows seem to have had collars on lately.. that or forgot to bath in the morning. This guy was looking for scraps.. very few.
One shot. Good burger. I like In and Out and 5 Guys and also Mo makes a mean burger I don't have to leave the house for.
The golden gate bridge entryway. We were not going that way. It was very Smoggy or Foggy or Fire burning in the area occluded. Next time.
The city in the mists....
Jelly Belly HQ and factory... They had to have a balloon!
Not in order but... Digital Stitches owned my daughters Mother In Law. Nice place, big, loads of stuff and cool designs. Saw this jacket which would be real cool for Fiesta as it covers your butt. Can we get AIBF to look into these?
Shirt printer. Way cool. Very fast and excellent output.
Back to Jelly Belly factory tour. Emmers wearing the required headgear, also glasses by Cartier. Styling! This place was excellent. They even had a cat walk all around the factory floor with windows to the floor in most places so the kids in strollers could see. I didn't want to take Emily anywhere she would not enjoy. What fun is that... she liked it. I took pics though half and had her in my arms for the remainder. She loved it and got a very nice sugar high after. LOL. followed by a major crash. Look at those ankles! She folds her hands.. crosses her ankles, wakes up happy and is fantastic to be around unless he feels the need to put a hand in your mouth.... yeah.
Pina Colada jelly bellys prepping.. Lots and lots... the smell.. wooo boy!
Mixed fruits I think.... so many...
Carousels are my favorite and I only took a few of the thing itself. Some other time I will go back and really do it justice. It has been there for a very long time. Counter clock wise.
That about it for DSLR shots. I have some on my cell phone but wont post those here. We did see a ride balloon or two on Saturday. The winds were very calm. Never got too close to it. We had other priorities.
Flight back was like the flight to but shorter by 20 minutes. Lots of turbulence on landing... storm clouds on arrival. Again... 3/4 full, so lots of room to relax in in the back of the plane. Sandias were right where I left them.
So now back the Albuquerque resting. Picked up a sore throat on the way back to the airport. It hit somewhere there and now I am suffering through it with lozenges and coffee.... One other thing that happened was I caught my thumb in the door of my daughters car. Lets say it hurt a lot and leave it at that... Its still bruised but I can wiggle it now.
Don't matter as I got to hold my Granddaughter.... Nothing else mattered really.
PPS.. Didn't mention how dry the hills around the area were. One match and the whole place would go.... Traffic was minimal but there. Car pool lane was nice. Motorcycles weaving through traffic was unnerving... Went to IKEA on a whim... interesting.. Didn't buy anything but food...People seems surprised when you were nice to them.
CALI... def going back. 99%.99 for the Emmers .01% to sight-see.
Almost forgot.. PPPS... We got flocked while we were away.. the Albuquerque Aerostat Ascension Association will flock a house with silly flamingos if your not careful or pay insurance... we got hit!
Hilarious.
