One Moore Day: Was it a left turn at Albuquerque???

Well, after a great time last year in Savannah, my friends Stacy, Stacey, and I decided to do the SITE conference again this year - this time in Albuquerque, NM. Our first act as tourists was to ride a tram up to the top of Sandia Peak. There's nothing like hanging over a mountain in a little cable car crammed full of people to make you appreciate the good 'ole ground when you get back down! The views were spectacular, though, and made it well worth the ride up (and down).

We also squeezed in a trip to Santa Fe and were happily surprised to find out we had arrived on a very special day. Each year, a procession carries a statue of La Conquistadora, the oldest statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary to an old campsite, where today stands a chapel known as the Rosario, built in 1806 to replace the temporary shelter of cottonwood and juniper branches erected annually for her novena. It was explained to us that the week before we came, this procession carried her to the Rosario and on the day we arrived we saw the procession bringing her back to St. Francis Cathedral where she is enshrined in the Lady's Chapel. It was a fascinating thing to see!

We also took a tour of Old Town Albuquerque. We stopped to get a couple of pictures of the scenery on our way to a restaurant where we had a chance to have some very authentic southwestern food. To make the experience even better, we got to sit by a tree that was growing up through the middle of the old home that had been converted to the restaurant.

While doing a little shopping, I noticed this bar and just had to take a picture. It really appealed to the reader in me. The book titles are hard to read in the picture but they are: "Gone With the Gin," "Tequila Mockingbird," "A Midsummer Night's Drink," "The Wrath of Grapes," "Lord of the Onion Rings," and "Partying 101." Funny thing was, I noticed on a following night that it was a biker bar - interesting, huh?

On our last night there, we dined with the convention group...you guessed it - more southwestern food. I was as happy as I could be. There were beans EVERYWHERE!!! Here's a shot of our dinner group, one of me with my Stac(e)ys, and one of my food (it's becoming a tradition for me to capture a shot of a good meal, it seems!