Vacation Part I: Albuquerque
The Mendenhall family gathered in Albuquerque for a reunion. There were 13 of us in total (8 adults, 5 kids) all under one roof. It was a bit chaotic but it was great to have the whole family together.
Our flight to Albuquerque left at 6:35am. Our plan was to leave for the airport at 5am to ensure we had enough time and wouldn't have to rush through the airport. At 5:07am I hear Josh say, "We slept in!" We somehow slept through three, yes THREE, alarms. Missing our flight would not have been the ideal way to begin our vacation so we jumped out of bed and left as soon as we could. On the way to the airport I thought we would still make it on the flight without any problem but the airport was packed. We were trekking to the end of a massive security checkpoint line and commiserating about how there was no way we were going to make our flight when a woman in the line got my attention. She called me over and mentioned that there was a family lane that we could use. Hallelujah! The family lane was our saving grace and we made it to the gate just in time.
On our first full day in NM we visited the Sanctuary at Chimayo. The church was built in 1816 and is visited by nearly 300,000 per year. The church was quite small and beautiful in it's simplicity.
The day before we flew to L.A., we went on a short hike in the Sandia Mountains. Last time we visited Albuquerque we took a tram to the top of the Sandias. This time we drove up and hiked along the top of the range.
Our flight to Albuquerque left at 6:35am. Our plan was to leave for the airport at 5am to ensure we had enough time and wouldn't have to rush through the airport. At 5:07am I hear Josh say, "We slept in!" We somehow slept through three, yes THREE, alarms. Missing our flight would not have been the ideal way to begin our vacation so we jumped out of bed and left as soon as we could. On the way to the airport I thought we would still make it on the flight without any problem but the airport was packed. We were trekking to the end of a massive security checkpoint line and commiserating about how there was no way we were going to make our flight when a woman in the line got my attention. She called me over and mentioned that there was a family lane that we could use. Hallelujah! The family lane was our saving grace and we made it to the gate just in time.
On our first full day in NM we visited the Sanctuary at Chimayo. The church was built in 1816 and is visited by nearly 300,000 per year. The church was quite small and beautiful in it's simplicity.
Sanctuary at Chimayo
Cross made of metal roses on the grounds of Chimayo
The following day was a pool day. You will notice that there are no picture of Eli in the water. He did go in, but he didn't last long. He didn't seem particularly fond of the water. They guys were throwing a football and attempting to catch it mid jump before hitting the water.
My brother, Lynn.
The Pants
Brother-in-law, Scott, making a diving catch
My dad, post swim. This is my favorite picture from the entire vacation.
Over looking the city
My two favorites
Kiwanis cabin
Some of our troop of hikers. L to R: Angie, Andrew, Anita, Eli, and the Pants
My parents
My parents and Andrew standing on the edge of a cliff
Sandias
Wide open meadow on our hike
Panorama from the top
In addition to the fun shown in the pictures, we played volleyball, ate lots of good food, played games, and enjoyed being together. Thanks for hosting us, S&A!
Wow! New Mexico sure is pretty! It didn't look like that when I drove through it!
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