Wednesday October 7, Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta

The sound of raindrops woke me up this morning, which is better than a barking dog! No balloons today, due to the weather. Took the dogs on their rounds, then made Irish oatmeal with raisins for breakfast. Our group photo shoot this morning got washed out, too.

A big bunch got together and those with toads (towed vehicles) shared with those without, and we went down to the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. We enjoyed lots of exhibits and dance/drum displays. I rode down with Tessa, Lia and Noel, and in our haste to see the museum we forgot to set up a time and place to meet.

This weaver was very friendly and informative, and his hands really were a blur!!!

We would all meet and then separate, the various groups that rode down together, but I didn’t see Tessa until the very end, and didn’t see Noel at all. Tessa and Lia grabbed some lunch in the Pueblo Harvest Café, and I grabbed a green chili stew to go. YUM!!!

Showing off our Lazy Daze shirts in front of the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center.

I chatted out front of the Museum with folks from our group, and we finally found Noel and our ride back to the Fiesta grounds.

Once home, I took the dogs out for a stroll and then took a nap. We all got together to take our group photo, and those that purchased shirts were wearing them….all those happy, smiley Lazy Dazes!!! We had a lot of fun sitting around chatting, and I shared Steve’s “pre-mix” margaritas with Tessa.We all piled into the toads again for dinner down near the University of Albuquerque at a little place called “El Patio”. Some of us sat outside on the patio, and some sat inside in a little room… this may have been a little house converted into a restaurant. Our food was quite good, I ordered green chili chicken enchiladas, and they were stuffed with chicken. The sides were whole pinto beans and potatoes, which were wonderful. Since I already had my Margie, I had iced-tea to drink. We finished dinner with orders of sopapillas with honey.
Tessa wondered if she could eat her tortilla stuffed with Fajita fixin's (I love Lia's expression!!), and this guitarist played during our meal.

This area was chock full of restaurants, mostly tiny, but all different ethic groups were represented. And every place was packed with people!

Back at the campground, a few of us sat around telling stories and they got to have some “fun” with me.. To have a glass of “butterbeer” I had to answer a Harry Potter question. Of course, it was regarding one of the books I haven’t yet read, the one with the “Tonks” character. Lazy Daze butterbeer is crème soda, vanilla vodka and butterscotch shnapps. Whew!!! Very good, but very rich. We had lots of fun staying up late!!