Vajentic Family Western Odyssey: Week 1, Day 1 (Saturday, July 13, 2013)



Just like in Home Alone, the airport shuttle came to our house to pick us up around 11 AM.  Fortunately, we did not leave anyone behind.  Unfortunately, we didn't leave at least some of our luggage behind!  It's a good thing bags fly free on Southwest! 

Ben had flown before (on a plane), but not that he could remember, so he was a bit nervous.  However, the excitement of the moment took over, and he did really well at the airport and on the plane.  He was not too happy that we had to fly through some rain, but we made it onto the ground in Albuquerque without any major panic attacks.

Ben and I left Sharon and Dominic in charge of our bags while we shuttled to the rental car facility.  We got our car, and headed to the Marriott Pyramid North in Albuquerque.  As soon as we got checked into our room, we ordered room service!  Yeah, baby....vacation!! 

We went down to swim at the hotel pool in the evening.  There was supposed to be a hot tub, but we couldn't find it anywhere.  None of us were very impressed with the pool.  Eric and Ben headed back up to the room first, and on the way, stopped at the exercise room.  Ben enjoyed the cold and damp towels that were provided.  Dominic stopped by on his way up to the room, and both Domi and Ben pumped some iron for awhile, while Eric tried out the new camera.

Honey Badger Don't Care!

Pumpin' Iron!

After the workout, we met Sharon back at the room.  Of course, we stopped at the gift shop first, so that we could spend more money!  We got some postcards and other junk that will probably end up in a garage sale in a few months. 

There was a big party in the lobby of the Marriott, complete with a mariachi band.  I think there was a wedding reception, and then there was also a reunion for the U.S.S. Boston (thanks for your service!).

Around 8:30, we decided we were in the mood for some ice cream, so out we went to explore Albuquerque.  We headed west from the hotel, crossed the Rio Grande and found a Dairy Queen.  Ben was concerned because we saw lightning to the south, but it never started raining.  Sharon found out that her Aunt Velma from Seattle was also in Albuquerque, so she tried to get in touch with her.

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped at Target (hey, we made it at least 12 hours without a Target!)  We picked up a fresh pack of Uno cards.  A little later, Ben beat me at Uno for the first few games of what would turn out to be an epic string of victories. 

As midnight crept into Albuquerque, we decided to rent the movie "42", the biopic about Jackie Robinson.  Sharon and I enjoyed the movie while the boys watched cartoons in the other room (yep, our suite had two rooms!).  The entire day was a great start to our vacation!


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