Gus and I went to New Mexico two weeks ago to visit his family and attend the Albuquerque International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta. Let me tell you, this was awesome and exactly what I needed. Last time I was in New Mexico was for Thanksgiving and Gus' sister's wedding. While it was amazing to be a part of their family's celebration, it was awesome to just relax and enjoy my surroundings this time.
The first thing we did was go to the Santa Fe Ski Basin to see the Aspen trees changing. The leaves were stunning colors of red, orange, yellow, and green! We hiked around and took tons of pictures. Everything was so lovely and the day was so clear. It was a great start to the week.
We had originally planned to attend the balloon fiesta the day after we got in, but it was unfortunately rained out. Since I REALLY wanted to go see the balloons, we decided to head back down to Albuquerque on Thursday. That evening, we went to the Special Shapes "Glowdeo." Basically, all the uniquely shaped balloons (think Darth Vader, Pooh Bear, giant pigs, etc.) are blown up in the field and remain tethered to the ground. You have the opportunity to wander around and check out the balloons, and of course snap a TON of pictures. Once the sun sets, the special shapes balloons light up at the same time and in different patterns. I'm sure you can imagine how beautiful this sight was. I was in simply in awe.
The next morning, Gus and I got up at 5:15AM to catch the bus to the morning launch of the balloons. Since hot air balloons fly the best in cold weather, they launched very early in the morning. Even though I desparately needed a hot chocolate, I was sooo glad we came. We got to see all the special shape balloons blown up again, but this time they launched into the air. It was so colorful and exciting that I felt like a kid in a candy store. It was hard to know where to look because the balloons were everywhere. After the special shapes had gone, the normal balloons started pouring in for the Honda "Key Grab" Competition. Basically, there were three poles sticking up in the middle of the field with car keys on top. Each of the balloons had the opportunity to swoop in and grab the key, and thus win a car! We saw two balloons reach success, two balloons drop the keys, and numerous balloons come in a little too low, if you know what I mean! Ouch. Overall, the experience was amazing and I would highly recommend everyone attend this fiesta at least once in their life!
Needless to say, the rest of our week wasn't as exciting, but I enjoyed it immensely. We did large amounts of hanging out with Gus' family, watching football, going to a movie, eating delicious food, and just generally enjoying our time together.
Once Gus and I returned to Seattle, our apartment search was on! We didn't exactly plan our vacation at the best time since our current lease is up at the end of October, and we had decided to get separate places from our roommates. Gus and I spent the weekend and entire next week searching for a place. We saw many good apartments and many duds, but eventually we found the perfect apartment. Unfortunately, it is located in the University District! I mean, literally down the street are numerous frat houses. I wasn't convinced that this apartment was going to work. However, seeing is believing. Our apartment is on the back of the building and on the downside slope of a hill. From the front of the building, our apartment would be considered underground. We won't have any neighbors and no one can walk anywhere near our apartment. With a washer & dryer in the unit, I was sold and the rest is history. Now we are working on packing and moving... oy. If you need our new address, leave me a comment and I'll send you an email.
Finally, I promised a work update. Life is crazy on that front. My yearly review is slated for Friday, and I'm hoping to get good news. Stay tuned to hear because if it's good, I'm sure I won't be able to keep it quiet. :)
Anyway, I want you all to know that I love you dearly. Here are some teaser pictures for you to enjoy. Go to my Flickr site for more of the balloons and Aspens: http://flickr.com/photos/29006243@N02/sets/72157608005747110/. I have also put up two videos on YouTube (on the right of this page) of a balloon being blown up.
