The Long Road to Albuquerque

After a week of alone time I was more than ready to hit the road and meet up with Warren and the boys in New Mexico. Pretty much everyone I know was worried about me driving 1000+ alone.

Everyone except Warren.

At first I thought that Warren didn't care about me, but after surviving the drive I see that he actually had a lot of faith in me. The drive was fairly uneventful except for the hunk of metal that came flying at my windshield near Little Rock. Thankfully it lodged itself in the grill of the car rather than in my forehead!

I had every intention of stopping somewhere in Oklahoma to spend the night and break up the long drive, but somehow I got into an extreme driving groove and made it all the way to Amarillo. Six hundred and fifty miles! Not bad for someone who's never driven farther than Jackson, Mississippi alone.

After a good night's sleep at the Courtyard by Marriott (no roach motels for me!), I realized that I had forgotten to pack the boys' suits for the wedding!! After a few phone calls to remedy the situation, I hit the road to New Mexico. I had planned to meet up with the boys in Albuquerque, but since I was making such good time, I met them in Santa Fe.

Man, it was good to see them! I swear the monkeys got bigger in the week we were apart! Warren got hairier--at least on his face. I could definitely tell that the boys missed me as much as I missed them and it was great to be back together! And, not surprisingly, it was clear that Warren's parents were ready to be monkey-free. I've never seen two people unpack a car so fast!

We said our good-byes and thank yous to Oba and Oji and hit the road to Jeremy's house in Albuquerque. We visited Jeremy and his wife two years ago when they were just a few months away from having their first baby and we were all eager to meet the little man in person.

We arrived in the evening and with the exception of the addition of Bodhi and his toys, everything looked the same. Ani was even pregnant again!

Unfortunately Jeremy and Ani had to work for most of the time that we were there, but we managed to squeeze in a good bit of quality time lounging in the yard, chasing bugs, exploring the garden, cooking together, taking walks, and swimming. The monkeys loved Bodhi and were super gentle with him. Bodhi played it cool, but I think he liked them too.

On our last full day, Team Oster decided to revisit Sandia Peak and the world's longest tram. (On our last trip Jiro fell asleep mid-hike preventing us from reaching the peak.) Everyone stayed awake this time and we got quite a workout. We saw some really awesome flowers, wildlife, fossils, and views.

On Friday we woke up bright and early, got some coffee (in cups made from corn) and fancy eclairs for the road and headed towards my brother's wedding in Crested Butte.


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