Today marks our 3rd week in Albuquerque….. and two weeks in our new home!
We had a blast in CA! As we headed from San Francisco to L.A. to visit family, we had such a beautiful ride. Time with family was priceless. Got lots of exhausting swimming in and plenty of pizza! 
And peacock feathers for the taking! What fun to see peacocks on the street like we would see squirrels in Chicago! We spent time checking out the ‘musts’…. according to offspring. One wanted to go to Diaso Japan, another to Hollywood Blvd.. On the way out of town we also made a swing past a famous filming spot for Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Excitement was impalpable!
As we headed south and eastward we decided we just must pass through San Bernadino to visit the site of the first ever McDonald’s. The older two and I had watched The Founder not long ago and wanted to swing by and see the spot and visit the free museum. It was super cool and the curator was eager to give us a very VERY interesting earful of the ‘real deal’ …. quite a fascinating experience all around!
Having the gumption to make it as far as possible we over-nighted in Phoenix. Warm and cozy and closer to NM! I felt like it was getting to complicated finding a temp housing situation in Albuquerque via internet and phone so I made the executive decision to just get there, spend a weekend in a hotel, hit the ground running, find a place and move. Little did I know just what would transpire!
We landed here June 7th in the evening. That gave me till the following Monday to find something. I spent that evening scheduling appointments and setting up a schedule for Thursday. We leave early Thursday morning to see a few places. As I’m seeking, looking and realizing I see that the better option would be to get a short term lease with a move-in special. After the first few stops we are thinking we have selected the place we want, but for save measure we opt to drive to other places listed on the vast checklist I’ve made. As we are cruising along I spot this place with flags and balloons waving, “move-in special!” I veer off the road to check it out. The place is awesome! Nice, neat, clean, 2 pools, 2 laundry rooms, a playground…. the view of Sandia’s is incredible! The units are perfect for what we are seeking, AND…. a 6 month lease and affordable to boot!
All this transpires to us having a new home!!!! We are officially New Mexicans (wanna be’s perhaps)…. But we have a semi-permanent residence here which will allow us to still do our fall travel, allows us to meet the homeschool community (which we’ve already had the pleasure to attend 2 park days, yeah!), and….. find a place where we will ultimately/permanently land when the 6 month lease is up!!! I still wake daily to the need to pinch myself as this place is just so freakin’ amazing! We are steps to the mountains and over see the whole town of Albuquerque. I have switched my license over, as well as driver account over so I was able to continue driving for Lyft here. It’s fun and amazing the kindness of people here. Everywhere I go I am beaming from how kind folks are. The landscape around me soothes my soul and the kindness of people makes my cup overflow.
We are planted here for the rest of the summer with many day trips all over this amazing state. Just the other day we did a complete route around the Sandia peeks and it was super duper fun and adventurous. We found a back road that was quite the back road…. we just laughed and joked the entire time at the situations we always encounter. At the massive peek we were able to look down and see all of the foot hills we’ve been hiking as well as our new home. We’ve had daily swimming in our pools, and the dry heat is just a sheer blessing. Nothing better. My daily Vit D doses the highest I’ve ever felt ’em and that makes me one happy mama.
K is gearing up to do the 48 Hour Film Festival here in Albuquerque in July!!! (With viewings the week to follow, early August.) Towards the end of the summer we head to another conference in Alabama. From there we will get a bit of travel in, head to Chicago and unload our storage unit and bring everything home…. our new home! Already planning for friends and family to come visit and our doors are open to YOU if you would like to visit Albuquerque as well!!! We will have a blast discovering new things together! Just let us know when you arrive and you have a place to stay!!!
xoxo, off to the pool!
