We've been in New Mexico a little over a week now and we are having a lot of fun!  It's a slow pace here, which I love.  David has been going to the gym every other day and also helping Hence and Hence's friend, Jack, rebuild a jeep.  I think David has loved working on a car again and also hanging with the guys instead of me.

I found a very nice yoga studio only a few miles away from here and they had a special of $35.00 for 30 yoga classes.  Since we will be here a little over a month, I thought this was a great deal and signed up.  It is mainly a hot yoga studio which isn't really what I want to do but they do have a few classes every day of warm yoga and warm, gentle yoga.  I have taken four classes now and they are wonderful.  Today it was all I could do to drag myself off the floor after practice and drive back home.  I am really hoping to become more flexible and more balanced.  I think yoga is the best thing for those two things.

Hence and Carol have been good friends to us.  We all four are trying not to be a bother to each other but we still find ourselves doing some things together.  Last Wednesday we gathered in their movie room to watch a Netflix movie called "Wine Country," with Amy Poehler and other female comedians.  Although Hence and David did not want to watch it, they did laugh pretty hard a few times.  And Carol had three kinds of ice cream to pick from!

Saturday night we had our usual cocktail hour and Carol stopped over just to try one of David's delicious cocktails.  She stayed about 2 hours and we had a lot of fun.  Here we are outside admiring the mountains in our pajamas!

Last night Hence built a fire in their fire pit and we roasted marshmallows and had s'mores.  I'm gonna have to watch because I'm eating too many treats!!!  It was very relaxing just hanging out enjoying the fire and talking. 

When we packed to come here, David did not know he was going to be working on a car so he did not bring any work pants.  Hence sent us to Goodwill (!) and David got a brand new pair or Dickies, with the tags still on them, for $10.00.  While I was waiting for him to try them on, I spyed a pair of pink jeans and walked over to check them out.  They were Talbots brand and just like new.  I tried them on and bought them!  Guess I shouldn't be such a big snob!!!

Here are some beautiful pictures of our view from the Casita!

Hello from Corrales!  Corrales is a beautiful little village outside of Albuquerque. Yesterday when we were driving in we saw many signs advertising an event called “Corrales Art and Studio Tour” which was held on Saturday and today.  It is the 21st year this event has been held.  We decided it would be a fun thing to do so we went to the Casa Vieja Event Center to see the pieces that were displayed there and pick up a map to the other locations.  There were over 100 artists at something like 45 locations.  We viewed the art that was hung in the event center and decided which artists’ work we would like to see and developed a plan of attack.  We knew we couldn’t see every exhibit.

It was a beautiful day here and we walked as much of the art trail as we could.  David and I both love Native American art so there were many, many pieces we loved . . . but we decided it would be silly to buy art when we don’t have any walls!

We came home around 3:00 and Carol asked us to walk across the street to the Pasando Tiempo Winery and Vineyards for a wine tasting.  You bet!  The winery is beautiful and the tasting room is very nice.  They also have nice seating areas outside too.  Carol and Hence are good friends with the owners so we got lots of special attention.  We tasted six wines, I think, and then bought a bottle of one called Spanish Dancer Syrah, a very nice red wine.  It was lovely to enjoy the wine and then just stroll across the street to our casita.

Dinner was at home and very simple.  Watched American Idol on TV and headed to bed early, around 9:30.  It feels good to be here!

We actually set the alarm to get up early this morning.  Amarillo was forecast to get severe thunderstorms and we wanted to drive West away from there quickly.  We ended up  driving through a few heavy rain showers but no real dangerous storms.  Whew!

Our drive to Albuquerque was about five hours and it seemed like the time went very quickly.  Sadly we didn’t find any roadside attractions to stop and see.  We do want to see the Cadillac Ranch which we did drive by, but it was on the other side of the highway.  In case you aren’t familiar with the Cadillac Ranch it is an art installation created in 1974 where an art group buried 10 Cadillacs half-way into the ground, nose-first.  We think it sounds very sophisticated and a must-see on our way back to Huntsville!

We got to the Casita around 3:00 and truly forgot how much we love it here.  Just look at these pictures! 

The bathroom is gorgeous and the entire back wall is the walk-in shower.  Heavenly!

Unloading the car for a few weeks and actually unpacking and putting our clothes in drawers and closets was wonderful.  And did I mention the closets are cedar lined?

We made a quick trip to the grocery store to buy groceries for the week and then went out for an early dinner.  We ate at a restaurant called Sweet Tomatoes which is a huge salad bar restaurant with a soup bar, a bakery section, a pasta section and a dessert section.  It was very good!  It’s a chain restaurant but we had never eaten at one before.

Every evening should end with sitting on your patio staring at the mountains.  Good night!

Today we are driving from Oklahoma City to Amarillo, TX.  We didn’t plan on stopping anywhere on the way BUT shortly after we left OC we saw a sign for live buffaloes so we had to take the exit and go see them.  Although I gave up most of my collection, I still think they have the sweetest faces!

And of course there was a gift shop there too.  I wasn’t even going to bother going in but David insisted (ha!).  I bought a really cute pair of Minnetonka moccasins — brown with leopard on the top of the foot.  Also very comfortable!  He would not, however, let me buy this large stuffed buffalo.  Sigh.

The weather has been tumultuous this trip but luckily we have escaped anything too dangerous.  We have driven through very heavy rain, tho, and I hate that.  The closer we got to Amarillo, the less rain we had.  We hope tomorrow’s drive to Albuquerque will be drier and sunnier!

We checked into our hotel early and took showers and got cleaned up to go to this very touristy steak house next door called The Big Texan.  It’s one of those places where if you eat a 72 oz. steak and all the sides it is free.

Obviously that “steak” is a roast!  They also have a huge selection of beer there, all of it made on the premises.  We sat at the bar and started talking to the guy beside us, Jim Adams,  He had a long grey beard — probably 20 inches long — but well groomed.  He is a retired truck driver and eats at The Big Texan three or four times a week.  That’s a lot of steak!  He helped us pick our beers and then told us we could eat dinner at the bar so we just settled in where it was quiet and not as crowded as the dining room.  Ordering was very fun.  I ordered my rib eye steak with two sides and David ordered three other side dishes.  I concentrated mostly on my steak which was delicious and David ate the side dishes..  We both had plenty of food! That didn’t stop us from taking a piece of toasted coconut cake back to our room, tho, and that was the best part of the meal!!!

Going to bed early.  We are looking forward to arriving in Albuquerque tomorrow.

What a fun day!  Our plan was to drive from Van Buren, AR to Oklahoma City today but David had a surprise for me!  He had read about a chocolate cafe in Tulsa, OK, and we took a detour so we could eat there.  A perfect day for me.  The cafe is called Glacier Bean to Bar and it’s a gigantic space with chocolates, gelato, pastries, a coffee station and cocktails!  We were there around lunch time so we just had sweets for lunch.  I had cream and caramel gelato and three pieces of chocolate — two that combined chocolate with coffee and one salted caramel.  So delicious.  David had stracciatella and Madagascar vanilla gelato.  His chocolate choices were pina colada and orange. The chocolates are made at Glacier Confection just around the corner from the cafe. The original owner and master chocolatier just sold the business in April, but he is still around directing the operation.  We love that he is an Army Veteran and he and his company support veterans through the Wounded Warriors Program.

And we bought just a few more chocolates because you have to have road food!

We then continued on to Oklahoma City where we stayed in the Bricktown part of town which is old factories that have been converted to hotels, restaurants and a very cool baseball field.  We got there early enough to visit a few art galleries because we both love Native American art.  At one of them called Gallery C,  we were the only ones there so we had an opportunity to talk to the manager who is Native American and a painter but he did not have his work displayed there.  He said it would be a conflict of interest. He was very interesting and told us about the nearby tribes and how they connect.  We learned a lot!

After that we went to a local brew pub that the hotel receptionist recommended and had a very good dinner.  Real food (pub food) tastes so good after only eating chocolate all day!

Hooray!  Hooray!  It’s the first of May!  Judge Redden said that to me every May 1st for almost 25 years!  I never forget to say it in my head.

We drove from Marion, AR to Van Buren, AR today.  There have been very bad storms and tornadoes in this area and so much flooding.  When we began the drive the rain was so heavy you could just barely see the taillights of the car in front of you!  Thankfully the rain only lasted about an hour and then the weather was sunny the rest of the way to Van Buren.  We didn’t see any sights we wanted to see on the way so it was just a pleasant drive.  We wanted to check into our hotel early so we could do a load of laundry.  I hate using public washing machines and dryers but our hotel had a very nice laundry room!

We were in our room in time to watch the news and decided it was a good idea to drink a beer or two before dinner.  We had some bottles of beer we brought back from Pensacola and also a few cans we bought in Huntsville.  It was very relaxing to sit on the bed with our feet up drinking ice cold beer!  So relaxing, in fact, that we didn’t want to go out for dinner so we ate cheese rolled up in tortillas and cocktail peanuts for dinner. Luckily I had some chocolate covered raisins for dessert!

About the time we wanted to go to sleep some very bad thunderstorms rolled through and the loud thunder kept us up for an hour or so.  I’m just happy we were tucked in and safe.

Nothing else to report . . . more tomorrow!

We have made the decision to live in Huntsville, AL, in a condo downtown where we can walk everywhere.  However, there are currently no condos available to buy, so we decided to take a trip to New Mexico and spend time there because it is one of our favorite places in the country.  We visit every year and never run out of things to see and do.  We are lucky to have a generous friend there who is letting us stay in the Casita behind his house as long as we promise not to bother him.  No problem!  We don’t have all of our sightseeing plans made but we do have many ideas.

We had planned to leave Huntsville on April 27th, but David’s Invisalign braces had not been delivered yet so we waited until he could get started on that process yesterday. We got up early this morning and headed West.  We plan to only drive four or five hours a day which I think is plenty. On today’s drive while driving through Tuscumbia, Alabama, we saw a sign for the birthplace of Helen Keller.  It sounded interesting so we detoured a tiny bit to visit it.  It was a very interesting tour and very informative.

The house was built in1820 by Helen Keller’s grandparents.  Originally the property was 640 acres.  Today the house sits on 10 acres.  The house is simple but very nice with original pine plank floors.  About 85% of the furnishings are original to the house.

This is the formal living room.  The lamps are the original gas lamps that have been electrified.

The organ is also original to the house.  It has been refurbished and can be played.

The china on the table is also the family china that was used every day.

The silver tea service below is the oldest item in the house -- about 250 years old!

Surprisingly for that time period, the master bedroom was on the first floor.  The quilt on the bed was made by Helen’s Mother.

The children’s bedrooms were on the second floor separated by a hallway.  Two boys shared the room on the right and Helen and Anne shared the room on the left.

I’ve read the book "The Miracle Worker," and I’ve also seen the movie staring Patty Duke.  I remember when her teacher, Anne Sullivan, first started trying to "teach" Helen Keller.  She was a wild child and very spoiled and had never been disciplined.  Ms. Sullivan suggested it would be best if she could remove Helen from the family home for a short period of time in order to teach her without interference from the family.  It was decided that Helen and Anne would move into the small house next door for a few weeks.  They packed up and they were driven around in the car for a long period of time before stopping at the neighboring house so Helen would think she was far away from her family home.  Very clever!  It is a very cute cottage!

This is the famous pump where Anne was able to teach Helen her first word — water. Something clicked with Helen and she learned 30 words that day and 600 words in one month.  Amazing!

It was a really nicely done museum with a very informative docent.  We are happy we stopped there.

We continued our drive to Marion, AR ad it was uneventful until we reached the exit for our hotel.  In the other lane just adjacent to our exit there was a horrific accident involving 4 or 5 tractor trailers and 4 or 5 cars.  One of the tractor trailers burned to the ground.  I have not been able to find out if anyone was hurt although I’ve been watching the news.  Prayers to all involved!

We stayed at a nice Hampton Inn and had an early dinner at a restaurant called Coltons Steak House & Grill which was just across the parking lot from the hotel.  The food was great!  We watched a little TV and went to bed early.  How does riding in a car all day make you so tired???