Albuquerque KOA – Albuquerque, NM

Albuquerque is one of those places you never expect to end up. As a matter of fact, we expected to end up in Santa Fe, NM just an hour north of Albuquerque. We did pass through Albuquerque on the way and we did play Weird Al’s song as we drive through the town. But, I guess the whole point I’m trying to make here is… I HATE SAUERKRAUT!! (gotta love some Weird Al)

Well, we did end up in Santa Fe for a night and we don’t have anything bad to say about that place. But it was 1,800ft higher in elevation (7,199ft), which was also about 15 degrees cooler, our internet didn’t want to connect well, the site was tight and the campground was very small for us living there for two weeks, and we found a martial arts school in Albuquerque that all four of us could attend. It seemed like a no brainer for us. After the first night in Santa Fe with watching DVDs and using our heaters and blankets on a low 30’s evening. (hey give us a break, we had been in the desert for 6 weeks!) We headed down to our new location. I guess Bugs Bunny had it right…

So for the next two weeks we are at the Albuquerque KOA. The kids loved the jump pad and played on it almost every day. We joined The Chinese Culture Center for the two weeks we were there and one of us was in a class just about every day of the week. The school has been around for 30 years and welcomed us with open arms. We trained in Taichi and Kungfu and everyone was so incredibly friendly. We were sad to leave and have promised to come back one day.

We did head back up to Santa Fe one day. There is a train that goes right into downtown in the mornings and the evenings for only $5. We figured it would be perfect since there was a farmers market right there and shops to walk around in. However, the world had other plans for us. It was a hard morning for our family between dropping the dog at daycare, child hormones and our fantastic ability to always be late. As we drove up to the parking garage, we watched the train pull out of the station. whomp whomp whomp. But that is ok, we were just as happy to drive. It turns out that was a very good thing. The weather in Santa Fe was freezing and it started to rain about 30 min after we arrived. Since the pup was at daycare, we took full advantage and booked tickets to see Dr Strange. Big sacrifices there, I tell you.

Before heading home from Santa Fe, we ventured outside of town to the Folk Art museum and got to make our own designs using different types of stitches. There was a lot of cool exhibits to see, but I was a little scared of the Yōkai: Ghosts and Demons of Japan exhibit. Outside we were able to follow a labyrinth, which was quite meditative. In the middle the acoustics were so wild, I can’t even describe it.

We all agreed that Albuquerque was an amazing spot full of the friendliest people we’ve met so far. The homeless situation there is pretty prominent and the only green trees you find are along the Rio Grande river and houses with a lot of trees run way higher than we’d ever afford. But Albuquerque holds a special place for us. And it’s definitely been added to our “We could possibly live there” list.

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