vovat: (Autobomb)
[personal profile] vovat
A week ago, [livejournal.com profile] bethje and I went out to Albuquerque to visit my family. My dad and his brother have lived out there for a while, and they brought their parents there a few years ago. They currently live together in a giant house in a gated community. I had been reluctant to ask for time off from work, but I ended up getting three days off in a row anyway, so we figured that would be a good time to go there. We had a layover in Minneapolis, which is barely worth mentioning aside from the fact that I saw a T-shirt that showed the state of Minnesota riding a bike. In retrospect, I wish I'd taken a picture of it. Anyway, after reaching New Mexico, we had lunch at a Mexican place called Monroe's. I'm not the biggest fan of Mexican food, but I like some of it as long as it isn't too spicy. In Albuquerque, they serve pretty much everything with salsa, but it's not like you have to use it. I had miniature tacos and Beth had chicken quesadillas, and I actually liked her meal better than my own. We had arrived during the Balloon Fiesta, apparently the most photographed event in the world or something like that, so that evening we visited the grounds with my dad and his girlfriend. The balloons weren't flying at the time of night, but they still had them inflated and and the burners lit periodically, which produced a cool glowing effect.





Beth and my dad have both been watching Breaking Bad, which is set in Albuquerque. I've only seen one episode, which has led [livejournal.com profile] therealtavie to call me a hipster contrarian. I just feel I don't really have any time to invest in TV these days, what with my free time being tied up in making blog posts. Anyway, on Monday, she took pictures of a few places from the show and bought some blue meth candy and a postcard from the Candy Lady in Old Town.

Also in Old Town, we saw this inflatable Noah's Ark. It looks like Clifford is in the front, but closer inspection revealed that the animal had stripes, and so is probably actually supposed to be a tiger.

I also found it amusing that there are stores advertising that they sell fetishes, when what they mean are Native American style carvings of animals. I get the impression that's not what most Americans think of when they see the word "fetish." Then again, maybe someone's sexual fetish IS a carving of a bear or a frog. It's not my place to judge. No, apparently the word can refer to any object thought to have magical power, and it was first used in a sexual way by the psychologist Alfred Binet. Getting back to the main topic, we had lunch at a place called the Falling Star, where I ate during all three of my trips to Albuquerque. When I first visited in 1999, though, it was called the Double Rainbow. Apparently some ice cream company with the same name forced them to change it. This was all before that YouTube video with the guy freaking out about the double rainbow became a phenomenon. That night we played a card game called Oh Hell, although my family calls it "Aw Phooey" as sort of an inside joke.


Tuesday was the last day I had off, so after lunch at the Olive Garden with my dad and grandparents, we flew back home. The flights were all pretty much on time, so that was relatively painless, although we didn't always get to sit together. It was a short trip, but a worthwhile one.

Date: 2013-10-13 02:53 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] chu_hi.livejournal.com
These pictures are fantastic!

Date: 2013-10-17 10:16 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] vovat.livejournal.com
Thanks! I actually took them with my phone, which isn't my first camera phone, but is a huge improvement over my last one in that respect.

Date: 2013-10-14 01:03 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kevenn.livejournal.com
Those pics - that looks INCREDIBLE!!!

Date: 2013-10-17 10:17 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] vovat.livejournal.com
Guess that's why the Balloon Fiesta is the most photographed event.

Date: 2013-10-14 03:55 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] nova-one.livejournal.com
Love the Weird Al reference. AFAIK, he performed Albuquerque in its entirety perhaps only once - in Albuquerque, 1999.

Date: 2013-10-17 10:21 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] vovat.livejournal.com
I believe that, when I last visited Albuquerque eight years ago, I called the post "Where the Shriners and the Lepers Play Their Ukuleles All Day." Fortunately, the song is long enough that I won't run out of references anytime soon. And I've actually seen Al perform it in New Jersey; there was a tour a few years back where it was the closer. Before that tour, though, I think it was only played that one time.

Date: 2013-10-17 10:35 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] nova-one.livejournal.com
Good to know! Like the whole song?

Date: 2013-10-18 11:42 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] vovat.livejournal.com
Yes, the whole song! I know he does a medley of shortened versions of his parodies, but I don't think he truncates his original songs.

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