We have been enjoying Susanne, Andy & the doggies here in Albuquerque. Gorgeous weather.

We went to Old Town yesterday and saw the old town square and all of the shops that surround it. Lots of adobe buildings, of course. Adobe just seems so beautiful and perfect for this area. Albuquerque has a different landscape, because of the need to use plants that require less water. So, many of the yards use decorative rock instead of grass with plants, bushes or some trees to landscape along with the rock. Many of the adobe buildings are quite old, especially in the Old Town area where there is a wonderful town square that is surrounded by a catholic church and lots of little unique stores and restaurants. The Old Town area is where the town of Albuquerque was established by the Spanish in 1706. There was an original catholic church which was replaced by the current Catholic Church (San Felipe de Neri) which was built in 1793 and is still very much in operation. Since we were there a couple of days after Easter, the church was still filled with beautiful Easter lillies and they were so very fragrant. It was wonderful to be there.

We went to a really old-fashioned bakery in the Old Town area where we had one of the best pizzas ever and bought lots of empanadas (traditional Mexican pastries that are fresh-baked little turnovers that are filled with a variety of fruits.) We bought a dozen to bring home and enjoy for breakfast. (Mom had a cherry empanada for lunch and just a bite of pizza). Besides the fruit empanadas, they make sweet potato and pumpkin empanadas, which sound odd but are very good. The owner/baker had been a major in the air national guard reserve and he and Dad had a good time talking to each other. Dad called him Major and saluted him, since Dad got as far as Staff Sgt during his service time. By the way....When Susanne first moved to Albuquerque she helped out this bakery by using her prior Seattle barista skills to show them how to make espresso drinks on the new machine that they had purchased for their bakery. He told us that the special coffee drinks were a great addition for them.

Later, Susanne showed all of us her scooter and it was great fun for Mom, Dad & I to take turns sitting on it. Susanne offered us rides, but no one took her up on it...at least not yet