Old Town Albuquerque, SoZo Coffee & a visit to the Boynes

Erica & Wes' belated honeymoon road trip, part 4 -
       TEMPE, AZ & ALBUQUERQUE, NM

I've tried to kiss this dog in every picture but she refuses to kiss me back!

The last installment of my travel journal is here!

Late night arrival

We arrived at my cousin, Dianne's, house late Saturday night.  I've visited her every year since she & her family moved from Oklahoma to Arizona and this is the second year that Wes & I have visited together. Dianne is awesome. She was the one to buy me a prom dress when I was the most unpopular kid in my class and didn't even think about going to the prom. She always brought Trevor (then only a baby) over to play and he was the only one who could get my dad up and smiling when he was very ill. Her two boys, Trevor & Andrew, are the only two kids I've actually loved for their entire lives (sorry to all my friends with kids).

It was too late to really hang out when we arrived in Tempe so we all just chatted a bit (thanks to Wes & Andrew, I learned the true definition of a box and that my laundry container is really not a box) and went to bed. The next morning, we had lunch at Red Robin and then spent the rest of the afternoon playing games with the boys. Sadly, I am horrible at board games. We played Gloom (a Christmas present from me a few years back), Risk & 4 player Connect4 and I came in at a dismal last place each time.

Risk lasted almost 5 hours. How is that even possible?

Playing games with Trevor & Andrew was a lot of fun even though strategy board games aren't a usual hobby of mine. I've known them since birth and it's always interesting to see how they've grown & changed each year when I visit them. I fear for the day that they're too cool to want to spend a weekend with me. (;_;) We had pizza for dinner and left at the boys' bedtime. It was a school night after all.

We spent the night at my friend, Christine's. I met Christine several years ago through another cousin of mine. I've also been visiting her and her husband each year for about 7 years now (convenient how everyone is located in Arizona). I told her that Wes was a huge coffee aficionado so she took us to her favorite coffee shop Monday morning.

I had a Thai chai. It tasted like a Thai tea with some chai tea spices.

SoZo coffee is all about local art and artists. If I lived in Tempe, I would be there every morning for my cup of joe. There was local art on the walls and they have free independent movie screenings each Monday night and a stage for nightly performances (live bands, acoustic sets and poetry readings!) Christine's piano students' recital was scheduled to be at SoZo that upcoming weekend. Feeling the artist love, I placed a RagsReborn card on their community board.

Then it was lunch time. Christine took us here last year and I should have remembered how big the sandwiches were but I didn't so I got a full sandwich instead of a half. It was so much food. And it's so so good so I wanted to eat it all. But in the end, I struggled and had to give up that last few bites of my sandwich. Forefather's has the best Philly cheese steaks that I've ever had!

I got cilantro jalapeno ranch on mine! 

Our last destination was Albuquerque, NM. I wasn't sure what was there but a friend I used to know almost moved there and recommended that I visit if I ever got the chance. We stayed at the Best Western Rio Grande Inn. Wes booked the hotel so I can't leave a review (unless I steal his user identity, hehehe) so I will leave a review on my blog.
       It was the best hotel we stayed in our entire trip. Even better than the fancy Las Vegas hotel! The room was clean & had signs everywhere boasting of their environmental friendliness and pleas for patrons to do their part. The hotel did its best to not waste water and electricity. Our room had a fridge but no microwave (which was odd because they usually come in a pair). The only food we had for the night was microwavable Easy Mac. I called the front desk and asked if there was a microwave I could use (thinking it was in some sort of community kitchen area by the lobby) but instead, the front desk sent a microwave to our room and had it installed for us! The guy who brought it up was super friendly, too. Not often do you encounter friendly hotel service at 11pm.

And I got a towel folded into a chicken.

While in Albuquerque, I decided on a trip to Old Town. Old Town consisted of a plaza, church and tons of gift shops. It reminded me of the small town I studied abroad in while in Spain. It was modeled after old Spanish towns so I guess that shouldn't have been a surprise. I had to pay for parking (which I hate) so we only paid for an hour but ended up staying for two. Luckily, the meter maids weren't very diligent in their patrols. I could have walked around the plaza and went into each and every gift shop (so many neat things!) but we left in the middle of the afternoon. They had a set of street performers who played movie soundtracks on the wooden flute and other Native American instruments. Wes recognized the score from the Karate Kid II. 

 The gazebo at the center of the plaza. Essential for every town square.

 The Catholic church; San Felipe, I think it was. The first adobe Catholic church I've ever seen.

 Rectory and church courtyards.

One of the many gift shops. Wes bought souvenirs for friends and a necklace for me. I once again sucked at shopping and gift giving.

Before we left, we dined at Sadie's. It's a local chain that is known for its super spicy chili and generous portions. The food was definitely spicy and the plates were loaded. It was pretty darn delicious. :)

I got the taco and Wes got the tamale. Both came with beans and smothered potatoes. 

Somehow, we both got sick on the last day of our trip. Maybe it was the change in altitude or just being in the desert for a week. Whatever it was, we were ready to be home. With sore throats and headaches, we drove home and were back by Wednesday. It was really nice to have the extra days to just stay at home and relax. Originally, I wanted our trip to last the full two weeks but I'm glad we got back early to recover. And we got to see the pups a few days sooner than expected. Athena has doubled in size!

The puppy is almost as big as Sadie is now!!

Erica & Wes do Las Vegas!

Erica & Wes' belated honeymoon road trip, part 3 -

     BOULDER CITY, NV & LAS VEGAS, NV

My neck. My back. My Netflix. My snacks. (Even though I like Hulu more.)

Before venturing into Las Vegas, we made two impromptu stops. One was to the Hoover Dam and the other was to an alpaca store in Boulder City, NV (the world's largest alpaca store, to be exact). The Hoover Dam was damn impressive. Hahaha...puns. We wanted an alpaca from Alpaca Imports but they were over priced and we really had no place to display it at home. What does one do with a stuffed alpaca?

Then came the main part of our road trip... Las Vegas! \(^_^)/ We stayed at the MGM Grand and saw a different show each night. They were all really really good. It's hard to pick a favorite. 

Our home for the next few days.

Wednesday: Arrival and Ka. 

I couldn't find a good souvenir at the gift shop so I just took a promotional picture. 

We gorged ourselves at the buffet and saw a sign for BOGO Ka (a Cirque Du Soleil performance) tickets. If you purchase one ticket at regular price, the second one was only $10. How do you not take advantage of a deal like that??!? The show was amazing. It was Wes' favorite of all their shows. It was the story of a prince & princess (royal twins) who are attacked by a villain who wants to abuse gunpowder. The twins get separated and they go on crazy adventures before reuniting and having a double wedding (they each fall in love along the way). My favorite act was a trapeze type act on a vertical floor.

Everyone was taking pictures when the show ended. (They had some good display props, costumes and artwork.) We came across a group of young female tourists who asked for me to take their picture. I took a few and became the best photographer ever. LOL They were so excited to return the favor and took several pictures of me & Wes with my phone. As we walked away, they all shouted out their thanks to me and proclaimed that I was #1. I think they maybe had been drinking just a tad. Hahaha!

Thursday: My favorite day <3

Korean BBQ for lunch.

We started the day with lunch with my uncle. I called and told him we'd be in town and he asked what type of food we liked. Korean is one of Wes' favorite cuisines so we all met up at Sura. My uncle was their first customer when the restaurant opened. We ate for hours (he kept telling us to take our time and get more food) until we felt like we were going to burst.

Wee Kirk O'the Heather

After lunch, we went to get married... again! We had a renewal of vows ceremony at the Wee Kirk O'the Heather chapel. We had an Elvis impersonator officiant (because Las Vegas, right?)  This was the absolute best part of our trip for me. I wish I could show you pictures but they didn't allow photography inside and our photo order hasn't come back, yet. You can see the pictures at www.weekirk-photo-lab.smugmug.com/ Click wes_erica. We have both candid and posed pictures. 

Our Elvis was hilarious. He was super nice in person and a ham of a performer. He had "Elvis vows" for us to recite and act out. I could see him out of the corner of my eye gyrating his hips away and then he made Wes do the moves. I couldn't stop laughing. Oh, and the lady at the front desk asked how long we've been married before renewing our vows so we told her five and a half months. Elvis remembered to throw that in throughout the ceremony. Five and a half months!  Five and a half months! We were the happiest re-newlyweds. 

That night we saw another Cirque Du Soleil performance, Zarkana. It was a traditional circus type show. The premise centered around the legend that theaters have to leave one light on at night so the ghosts of the theater can come out to play. There were all sort of circus acts ranging from tight ropes, sand art, human balancing pyramids, and hand ropes (my favorite). I enjoyed all of the acts --they were all crazy impressive-- but wish there was a story to tie it all together. Sadly, the theater didn't have any cool displays and there were no giggly tourists for me to be a photographer for. So we just left after the show.

Hand rope performance. They allowed non-flash photography.

After the show, we walked around the strip a bit and caught the dancing fountains at the Bellaigo. Then we called it a night. 

Friday: Sharkreef at Mandalay Bay and David Copperfield... DAVID COPPERFIELD!!

I got to pet some sting rays and blue horseshoe crabs.

We walked what looked like a short distance to Mandalay Bay (it was NOT a short distance and we took the tram on the way back) and toured the aquarium. The aquarium was neat but I think we've been spoiled by the one in Sydney and nothing else compares. I'm not sure what we did after the aquarium. I think we went back to the hotel and I took a nap. Yeah, that sounds like me. 

That night, we saw David Copperfield. David freakin' Copperfield!! I have seen all of his live TV specials and I had the biggest crush on him when I was little. He was my favorite celebrity in grade school. This was gonna be awesome. 

The website that I bought our tickets from messed up the ticket dates (don't trust BestofVegas.com) so we got a seat upgrade. We were in the third row!! We shared a table with a couple from Norway. The show was great. He only did a few grand illusions but the audience interaction was what made the show. It was really funny and the audience members he chose were all pretty good, too. I almost got to participate. One of the stagehands came to our table beforehand to ask for a volunteer but it had to be a male. Our table-mate, Christian, got the honors.  His show centered on when David was a child and this dinosaur toy that he had. For the last illusion, he made a life-size dinosaur skeleton appear in this empty box. Oh and he had dancing duck who waddled to Shake your tail feather. 

Saturday: Walkin' the Strip

This was actually just a store at the MGM Grand. We didn't come across the actual sign.

Saturday was our last day and we hadn't gambled or done any shopping. What horrible tourists we were! I won a $5 slot machine voucher from the Lucky Cat at the Cosmopolitan so that's where we went. Wes advised that I play at least $100 because the machine would recognize that I put a large bill in and then it would pay out more but I was cheap and only put in $1 (you had to put in a bill in order to use the voucher). We wandered around the casino to find the perfect machine for me to spend my grand $6 on. I played the Big Bang Theory machine. I was doing okay at first (got up to $11) but then I lost it all. LOL

 Me winning my voucher a few nights before.

Big Bang Theory!! I'm there with Penny but I'm a bit dark compared to her lit up image. 

After that, we had lunch at Shake Shack--per my cousin, Kent's, advice. Good recommendation; yummy burgers!! Then we went to the Venetian for some shopping. I realized that I hadn't bought any souvenirs!! (I guess shopping isn't my strong suit.) I ended up with a shirt for my mom, another shirt for Mike and nothing for myself. Wes got us a poker chip magnet. I really didn't see anything that I liked. 

Lunch!!

Then that was it. We drove out of Las Vegas in the middle of the afternoon and headed back to Arizona to see more family. Take a break ladies and gents, there will be more to come next week!

Carlsbad Caverns & a visit to the Ngo's

Erica & Wes' belated honeymoon road trip, part 2 -
       CARLSBAD, NM & LAVEEN, AZ

I did a little self promoting the last few weeks and craft shows are in full swing. (^_^) To alleviate the stress, I will blog about my somewhat recent road trip.  Remember the detailed journal entries and pictures I promised a few weeks ago? Here it is. You're welcome ;)

Our first planned stop was at Carlsbad Caverns. I wasn't a huge fan of the day but Wes really enjoyed it. (He likes caves and especially bats.) I liked the cave itself but everything else about the day was only so so.

SO.MUCH.RAIN.

We came into New Mexico and I must have accidentally angered Mother Nature because it rained...and rained...and rained. Luckily, the caverns were underground and not affected by rain. I was pretty worried that our day would be ruined. There were some hiking trails in the park but we had to skip those. The picturesque mountain trails weren't very beautiful to drive through because winding mountain roads plus slick road conditions plus rain equals stressful driving. And my left windshield wiper decided it didn't want to work very well. (x_x)

Before going into the cave, we stopped in the gift shop and Wes wanted to buy every mug and magnet. LOL He refrained and only got one mug & one magnet. I got a magnet for my mom, a commemorative coin for Mike and a pair of socks for myself.

The entrance into the cave.

The cave was 900ft underground. We walked down a mile to get to the Big Room. It was a really pretty trek. We saw stalactites and stalagmites. A lot of them were named after what they supposedly looked like but I don't remember any of them. We also saw popcorn (the clusters of water droplets) and soda straws (the hollow skinny stalactites). There were pools of super clear water here and there. It was hard to take pictures because of how dark it was but I tried.

After walking all the way down to the Big Room, I decided I was hungry so we rode the elevator back up, had some snacks in the car and took the elevator back down. (Thank goodness for elevators!) Refueled and rested, we took the 1.3-ish mile self guided tour around the Big Room. The Big Room was literally a big room. It was the bottom of the cave where a lot of the formations were. All while we were walking, we wondered where the bats were. We found out that they sleep in a section of the cave where visitors aren't allowed.

The bats come out each night around 5:45pm and visitors are allowed to gather at the mouth of the cave and watch them fly out. It's supposed to be a really neat sight to behold. This was actually the main reason why we stopped at Carlsbad. After cave exploring, we went back to the hotel and putted around until it was bat time. We drove back to the cavern with exited anticipation, but, it was raining and the bats didn't come out. (;_;) Super sad face!! There was a good handful of tourists gathered around and the park ranger (Ranger Mark) did his best to entertain us but in the end, we all walked back to our cars soaked and disappointed. The bats didn't come out the night before either because of the rain so we had high hopes that they'd come out Sunday night to feed. We later heard that it was supposed to rain the rest of the week. Those bats either gotta man up and fly out or just starve.

Before leaving the city, we decided to grab dinner. The only place open on a Sunday night was Danny's Place. It was a barbecue restaurant but I foolishly got a burger. Well, sort of. It was called a 'flip plate' and it was supposed to be a local favorite. It was a hamburger quesadilla. It was a hamburger patty, salsa, and an American singles slice of cheese in a folded tortilla. Not very tasty, in my opinion.

That was it for Carlsbad and we were headed to see my cousin, Sieu and his family in Arizona the next morning. Before getting to his house, we ate at Chompie's. It's a sandwich place that Wes saw on Man vs. Food. The portions were huge and the food was delicious. And they had watermelon beer! :) Our waitress, Karen, was great. She told us some pretty funny stuff but I don't remember what and at the end of our meal, she sent us home with bagels (we were the last customers that night).

 Brewed in Phoenix. Keeping it local : )

So much food!! I got the meatloaf sandwich with split pea soup. Wes got the Jewish sliders.

We hung out with my family a bit when we arrived (oh and its STILL raining, by the way) but it was late so we didn't want to keep the kids up. I was super excited to see everyone and could have stayed up all night playing with the kids and catching up with my cousins, Sieu and Jill. My second cousin, Michelle, is in a variety of dance classes (9 dance classes, I think is what she boasted to us). She recently had a summer recital. Before bed, she showed us the video recording of her recital and she and her little brother gave us a live show as they danced along. So stinkin' cute!!

Me, Michelle and Kate. I should have taken a video of the live dance recital reenactment but I was too entertained to think about it at the moment. 

The next morning, the kids had art camp so Wes and I entertained ourselves. We went to IKEA and the Arizona Mills mall. Wes saw an arcade machine that only came out in Japan. But it was here!! Pictures had to be taken. LOL Oddly enough, he didn't want to play the machine (he claims we were on a tight schedule and didn't have enough time). We wandered around the mall a bit and headed back to my cousin's for some old fashioned family time. On the way home, we picked up Chinese take-out that Jill called in. She got two sushi rolls for Michelle. The 6- year-old eats sushi. I'm related to the coolest kid ever.

Tatsunoko vs. Capcom

The rest of the night and some of the next morning consisted of catching up with my cousin and his wife, Jill, and playing with their two kids. Best time of the trip so far and just what I needed after driving three days in torrential rains. We all played board games & acted silly with the children. Michelle was the master of Candyland and Ryan loved Don't Break the Ice (even if he got the rules a little backwards). Even Kate (the eldest of the children who isn't really a child anymore) was a good sport and played along. The cats tried to come out to play but Ryan just chased them off again. Haha!

 We attempted to play Sorry but everyone lost interest when Wes started explaining the rules.

The kids have a ball pit in their play room. I got in and played some. Ball pits are pretty fun even as an adult!

Our stay reminded me of Christmas dinners when I was younger. I had tons --okay, like 15-- aunts and cousins packed in our living room and my mom and dad were busily cooking a delicious meal in the kitchen. We played made up games all night. We didn't hang out much outside of those family dinners but when we were all at my house, age and social status disappeared and we were all the best of friends. Those Christmas gatherings ended when I was in high school because everyone grew up and moved away. I don't think we have ever all gathered together since. It was great getting to reconnect to one part of my dad's side of the family again. Laughs were had and memories were relived. Good times overall.

Erica has an ambitious month lined up.

I have four shows coming up in November and December. I haven't done any of these shows before so I'm not sure how it'll go but I am eager to find out. I've been sewing new pillows and getting my booth displays ready all weekend. I hope you can make it out to one (or all, if you really want to be a doll) of the shows to check out what I have. As always, if you have a custom order, bring it out because I'll have my sewing machine with me. And, if one of your pillows needs a little more stuffing, I will re-fluff and stuff for just $1.

Here's a little bit of detail on each show:
    (to further encourage you to come and to help you decide which show to attend)

TRIUMPH FAMILY WORSHIP CRAFT FAIR
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 7, 2015     9AM-4PM
       This is a small show at a local church. I don't expect too many vendors. It'll most likely have your usual craft show fare: jewelry, knitted items, baby items, soaps and candles. If you're looking for something extraordinary, I would go to one of my other shows later in the month.
       The reason why I chose to be a part of this show is because of the event organizers. I was contacted on Facebook by one of the ladies who is running the show. We talked a bit and she seemed really nice. The booth rent was within my budget so I signed up. A couple of weeks later, I received a complete vendor packet. It outlined the show's itinerary, do's and don'ts, and all other general information you could think of. I knew months before the show exactly what time I needed to be there for set up, what I needed to bring and even what would be served for lunch (soups & stews). I am not a spontaneous person so having all this information in advance was great customer service in my mind.

This show is having a silent auction to benefit the church and all vendors were asked to donate at least a $10 value item. Here is mine.

PUTNAM CITY WEST HIGH SCHOOL "WEST FEST"
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 14, 2015     10AM-4PM
        I didn't attend PC West but I'm supporting the cause anyway. LOL One of the show organizers handed me a flier at The Summer Show and I decided immediately to give it a try (I think I was just really excited to be at a show and wanted to do more). But now, the more I think about it, the more I think I should have chosen another show to do on this weekend... but it's too late now >.>
       I've heard mixed reviews regarding this show. The last one they put on was in the spring. I heard the actual event, "West Fest," was great. There were lots of games for children, outdoor grilling, signs advertising the outdoor festival everywhere but the craft show part that was inside didn't get too much traffic because everyone was outside enjoying the family activities. So, I'm telling you now... there is a craft show that is indoors. After you have fun in the bouncy castles and face painting, come on in and look around at all the local vendors and shopping.
       The only thing I must tell you now is that I am only selling totes at this show. No Pillows. I will have my sewing machine but I'm not bringing any cotton so if you want a custom order, I'll have to sew you a tote. Or I can take your order and deliver it to you at a later date.

This show is having a silent auction to benefit the school and all vendors were asked to donate at least a $25 value item with a sign explaining their shop. Here is mine.

EARLYWINE PARK YMCA CRAFT AND VENDOR FAIR

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 21, 2015     9AM-3PM

       One of the first vendors I ever met (back at the Indie Trunk Show) told me that I have to do this show. She said that she and her husband get more sales at this show than any other one they do. She said it's a small show but all the vendors are great and the YMCA does a great job hosting it. She advised me to try to get in this show each year but it is juried (yikes, competition!) so I decided that I needed to apply in May. The show isn't until November so I applied entirely too early and just freaked myself out when the YMCA didn't contact me right away. As I was finalizing my holiday show schedule, I got an email stating that I was accepted. YAY!

       I have walked the track at the Earlywine YMCA a couple of times so I think it's great that I'm able to be a part of their show and give back to the community. All of our booth fee went back into financing YMCA programs. 

THE CROWN CENTER HOLIDAY HANDMADE SHOW

SATURDAY DECEMBER 12, 2015     9AM-4PM

       This show also came highly recommended. Two of my fellow vendors at Indie Trunk Show singled this one out as one of their favorite shows. It, too, is a juried show. And it's a handmade show. That should mean no direct sales (Jamberry, Avon, Origami Owl, etc.) and no boutique. Pretty much, this is my dream show on paper. (^_^) If you're looking for an actual craft show, this is the one for you. And its right around Christmastime.  Here is a list of vendors thus far:

I wish they listed shop/business names instead of our actual names but this was a post for other vendors and not the public so I guess names make sense. 

       I'm really super excited about this show. I expect a good variety of vendors and a lot of quality made items. It's a larger show than the one at Triumph Family Worship and PC West. If you could only choose one show to attend, I would recommend this one or the YMCA show. I will have both pillows and totes (unless I sell out at West Fest) at these two. I will only be bringing pillows to the Triumph Family Worship show.  I wish I found some shows that were in north OKC but driving to south OKC and Moore for a show isn't bad. I will have feedback on each show after they are complete. I look forward to seeing you!

TTYL... I have work to do!