New Mexico Road Trip Days 1 and 2

Just for fun we decided to take a New Mexico Road trip.  We picked a few locations we thought we might like to explore, then flew to Albuquerque and rented a car. Over the course of our travels we drove 1,795 miles and walked 37 miles. Sadly there were no bicycle miles on this trip.

We arrived in Albuquerque in the early afternoon and and headed toward Alamogordo where we spent our first two nights.  On the way we stopped at the Trinity Nuclear test site. There is not much to see there, a sign and some wide open spaces.

Later in the trip, we saw this replica of the launch pad for the world's first atomic bomb.

 Our next quick stop was Valley of Fire BLM recreation area, which was most a lava flow.

Our final side trip was at the Three Rivers Petroglyph site.

The next morning we made 395 mile loop tour of southeastern New Mexico to visit Carlsbad Caverns. Which were amazing, but not really on the road to anywhere.

Grandkid weekends

 Recently we have gotten to host both sets of Reno grandkids for a Friday night sleepover.

We had Sylvan and Ingrid first for a quick overnight.  We made Easter doves and Sylvan decorated the windows for Easter.

The next weekend we had Clare, Garrett and Nick. While Clare was taking her online Chinese lesson Saturday morning the boys and I made cookies. They were able to stay a little longer so we spent some time in the park and then enjoyed a little ice cream.

In the evening I got to watch Clare perform in the Beauty and the Beast ballet.  She was a plate! 

You might not recognize her on the stage so here is her close up

Big Island by sea

 Butch's family loves the water, and every day found time to swim, snorkel or bob in the waves.

Here are some of the snorkel pictures

 Sometimes Lucy got a little ride with Butch

One of the best snorkel spots was an abandoned pier that had an easy entrance and crystal clear water

We also rented kayaks one day and paddled to the Captain Cook monument

And we spent two days at Hapuna Beach where the waves were just right for bobbing, which is why Zack is sitting under an umbrella the second day.

And turtles were finally spotted

No trip to Hawaii is complete without at least one stop for shave ice

Big Island by land

 

We had a great time visiting the Big Island with Butch's family. They are always ready for adventure so we spent our days exploring by land and sea.

Our first land visit was to the Pu'ukohola Heiau where King Kamehameha united the islanders.  It was the last heiau built and it is huge. But I didn't actually take a picture of the heiau.

Next we went to Pu'uhonua o Honaunau, or place of refuge

It had a REALLY big wall separating the Royal palace grounds from the area of refuge.

These are called ki'i

And one day we drove across the saddle of the island to visit the Kilauea crater.

The red lava was just barely visible at the bottom of the crater

One the way back to the Kona side of the island we stopped to see Rainbow Falls and then noticed some caves that needed exploring as we were meandering our way to the hiway.

Kaumana Caves

And, as if we didn't have enough pictures we had a family sunset photo session.