Sat. June 11, 2011

Up & out to see the sights of Albuquerque. First stop, Albuquerque International Balloon Museum.. It contains one of the world's finest collections of historic balloons, artifacts, & some "hands" on experiences. I wished our grandkids along. I flunked flying a balloon. We headed to Old Town, which is a fun historic district that dates back to the founding of the city by the Spanisl in 1706. It comprises 10 blocks of historic adobe buildings grouped around a central plaza & church. The adobe buildings were converted to shops, restaurants.Old town did not become part of Albuquerque until the 1940's. We got to observe a Quinceanera, a rite of passage into womanhood for a 15yr. old Mexican girl. It was at the park & looked like a wedding. The girl wore a white gown & her attendants wore purple gowns. Quite impressive. One of the shop owners told us what was happening. At 6:30pm we headed towards Sandia Tram, which took us on a 2.7 mile ride up the mountain to 10,378 ft, where we had dinner  & watched the sun set. Beautiful experience. We stopped at the Sandia Casino where I left 15 dollars & Larry won. Went home tired, but with some fond memories.