I am taking off for New Mexico, site of my eventual retirement (I’ve already picked out the town) and — as of this summer — home of both my brother and my oldest son and his family. Twenty years ago, I announced that I would one day escape to Taos, and then my family beat me to the punch and now they’re there and I’m not.
I will be posting while visiting, if the ads told the truth and I really will have a wireless connection in my room. Yes. I go visit family and I stay in a hotel. It’s my gift to my family. Houseguests — even ones you like — are a big ol’ pain, what with the cleaning and the attempts to act normal while they’re around, and so I make it easy on them by getting a room.
I shall be sending dispatches from Mountain Time, but probably not as frequently as I do from the godless Northeast, my normal stomping grounds. Please be patient. And in the meantime — as always — talk among yourselves.
Dating Jesus 
I love New Mexico. Enjoy your time there!
So far, so good; but then, so far I’ve slept and had breakfast.
Lucky you! Share pictures when you can, too. The one above is beautiful. I’ve never been to NM, but a family member lives in Santa Fe and so maybe we’ll visit someday. Enjoy!
You should DEFinitely mooch offa your friends and come out here. I am groggy because I seem to be on Godless Northeast Time, and though I was up until 3 GNT, I was also up at 6:30 Here time. So I’m thinking around 3 p.m. will be a good time to peel off for a nap. But it is beautiful here. Just beautiful.
Here I am, residing in G.N.T., and I didn’t even wake up until 11! (I never do that) I should be in NM right now with that sort of sleep cycle!
A 3pm siesta sounds perfect! …unless you’re riding in a hot air balloon at that time. I think it’s great that you feel so at home there.
The closest I’ve been to a hot air balloon is I saw a buttload from a distance as I left my hotel room. It has been Family Day so far and I’m just touching down briefly in my room. It’s beeyootiful here.
In my old hometown while growing up, we saw hot air balloons over head frequently. One time, one had to land in our yard briefly and to thank us, one of the guys hopped out and gave my parents a bottle of champagne.
I dated a guy who told me he wanted to get married in a hot air balloon. We didn’t stay together much longer after I heard that.
That’s the extend of my close encounters with hot air balloons. For me, they are beautiful to watch from the ground.
I’m pretty sure that’s where I’ll be, on the ground looking up. But we saw some trucks with the big ol’ basket in the back and the people still in the basket. I guess the balloon is transported in another truck?
I wonder why people aren’t tethered to the basket. I saw a short clip in the news that showed a few people falling out after the basket hit a building. How awful.
That is awful. I have no desire to go up in one but they sure are purty from the ground.
I really think that you should choose Santa Fe instead. Having played basketball in both towns while in high school [They were in our district]–Santa Fe would be my preference.
But know that either place has a much lower humidity than your stomping grounds and that your skin will become very dry [unless you constantly apply moisturizer] especially if you spend much time outside during the spring and summer.
Did you ever live out here? Because I want to live out here. I’m in Rio Rancho today and heading out for the balloon festival. I intend to be outside as much as possible, and come back looking like an alligator bag.
I have a friend out there who just posted to facebook that a balloon hit some power lines but no major problems except maybe to the balloon.
Evidently a balloon dropped in the last few days and someone or someones died. I don’t know if that’s the same circumstance, though.
I loved that dry air, felt like I was breathing for the first time. Of course, my girls and I have eczema so given time the dryness could be a real problem! Still, the breathing is worth whatever else the desert can throw at us!
I am dragging both lungs out here with a URI (that’s Upper Respiratory Infection, for you healthy types) and asthma and all I wanna do is stare into the sun and breathe. Breath. I never know which one’s right.
That looks really dusty.
You know? It does. But it doesn’t kick up my asthma so it must not be that bad. Don’t you love the colors?
Yeah, but I thought your asthma was mild?
It is unless it gets aggravated. I don’t think it could ever be called severe, though.
Are you going to visit Los Alamos?
I hear they’re into death rays and clones now. But that’s just scuttlebutt from the Way, Way Out Left.
Don’t tell any one, but I am out here precisely to explore the death-rays-and-clones rumors. Sshhh!
Gotcha.