Isabelle looks concerned in this photo. Maybe she knew it was my last day in New Mexico. Well, at least until the next time I come and visit. :)



It was a quiet sunday. Isabelle wanted to watch the dogs in the next yard, so Gerrit and I took turns lifting her up so she could see over the wall.



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Since it was finally the weekend (and we did not have to work), we could do something during the day that didn't revolve around what time it was (with the exception of keeping Belle's crankiness and hunger levels in check).

Another site seeing adventure guests of Hotel GAK and Sarah experience is a day trip up to beautiful Santa Fe! (Did you know you go past Las Vegas to get there? :P )



Perry suggested we hit up Cafe Pasqual's for lunch. Of course there was a wait to get in, but it was certainly worth it. The food was really good!



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Day 3 in ABQ was pretty awesome. Gerrit and I had to do the work thing in the AM, but got done with all the work we needed to do by lunchtime. For lunch, our crew hit The Standard Diner for some pretty good diner food. I swear, everything in New Mexico has chilies on it. Not that that is a bad thing, mind you. I just find it amusing is all. The mac-n-cheese was especially good with green chili mixed into it. That will be something to try at home, for sure.



After we got back to Gerrit's, we got Belle ready to go and headed off to Sandia Peak. Gerrit likes taking all his guests to a few different places, this being one of them (that also happens to be like 15 minutes from their house).



After a 15 minute ride in the tram, we arrived at our destination - the top of the mountain! I think perhaps I was the only person who liked the fact that it was COLD up there. Okay, it was both WINDY and COLD. Being that I am grudgingly used to the low Kelvin temps that we experience in Minnesota most of the year, I found the wind and chill a nice change from the New Mexico heat (if only for a few hours though... in the end, heat triumphs over cold... prolonged cold sucks).

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Today was mostly work and some play. Gerrit and I had to meet our client and the rest of our coworkers downtown so we could get some work done (mostly writing reports). We all cut out at about 1 for lunch to The Grove Cafe, an organic centered deli / cafe in downtown Albuquerque. It took us awhile to find the place, but it was worth it. The food was fantastic - I had another sandwich (this time with avocado on it, of course). Avocado should be its own food group, they are that heavenly.



Almost all the photos I took today were of Isabelle. Little kids are way too much fun to capture on camera to NOT be enthusiastic about photographing them! They always have the best facial expressions. I guess this is most likely due to their view of the world and how everything must appear new and interesting to them.



After Gerrit and I got back from work, we took Isabelle to the park near their house. This is Isabelle leading Sarah through the grass.

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After some on and off nagging on Gerrit and Sarah's part (and P's offer to fly me out for business), I made my first trip to New Mexico. Of course, I had my fear of flying anxiety for about two weeks leading up to the trip, but it soon subsided after the plan took off from MSP. I arrived in ABQ late in the morning, meeting Sarah, Gerrit, and Izzy at the airport.



After our much overdue hello's (after not having seen each other for awhile), Gerrit drove us to see this house that he wanted me to photograph for its rather odd architecture.



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