We thought we'd play "tourist" this weekend and visit Santa Fe. It's actually very close to Albuquerque for those of you who need a brush-up on geography :) It took us about 45 minutes to get from our door to "The Plaza," which is the main spot to check out if you're just visiting Santa Fe. The 75 mph speed limit through the desert certainly helps quite a bit! Anyways, we left about 1:30 on Saturday. The drive was fairly fast and the scenery was pretty nice...a few mesa areas, some random bushes, mountain ranges, etc.
We got to the plaza and found a pretty cheap parking garage about a block from the main center. The area is full of culture, including lots of jewelry shops, clothing stores, restaurants, etc. Unfortunately, everything is WAY overpriced since it's the main touristy spot (similar to "Old Town" in ABQ). We went into a jewelry shop with some beautiful merchandise and was offered a "deal" on a bracelet Cari liked of $350...um...no thanks! After window-shopping a little more, we made our way to the New Mexico History Museum, which was free this weekend...how convenient! Outside of the museum were many Native American vendors, selling hand-made merchandise. Very cool and authentic.
The museum is in the renovated "Palace of the Governors," which is the oldest continuously occupied public building in the United States. This site has a lot of info on the actual building itself, so if you want a history lesson, feel free to read through it (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_the_Governors). The museum was pretty nice...there was a "Through the Lens" exhibit on one side which displayed the history of New Mexico through photography. The other side was the "permanent" half, which included all sorts of artifacts and timelines about New Mexico's history. There were also various sections of the building itself that were preserved and displayed. It was crazy to see the things they had on display (old revolvers, Rough Riders badges, etc)...I think my appreciation for history (especially living in this culture) has grown a great deal since I've been here.
Aaaanyways, we took some pictures of the plaza, a big cathedral close by, and the monument located in the center of the plaza. Then we walked down to a restuarant called Tomasita's which was in an old train station. The walk was further than we thought, especially with open parking spots close by. However, the food was incredible...traditional New Mexican. Also, the margaritas were one of the best I've had. Cari is getting a little tired of Mexican/New Mexican food, but I don't think I could ever get sick of it. After our dinner, we waddled back to the car and headed home. There was rain all around us, but we never drove through any of it. It's incredible to see the clouds and the rain out here. Since everything is so wide-open, you can see the streaks of rain and the area to where it's isolated.
Hope everyone reading this is on Facebook. If so, you can check out pictures of our trip on my profile. We are ready for some visitors (in case you hadn't picked up on that yet), so if anyone is ready to come out, let us know!! Love you guys!!
Happy Memorial Day everyone! We hope all of our friends and family had a great long weekend, and more importantly spent some time reflecting on our veterans and what they and our current military servicemen and women have done for us. Cari and I had a much needed three day weekend full of rest and good ole fashion Albuquerque fun!
We checked out our first wine festival on Saturday with some friends (picture is above). It was incredible...much better than what we got to experience in Raleigh the past couple years. It was not very crowded at all (no lines to taste), beautiful weather, about 30 different vendors, and some GREAT wine. I've heard that New Mexican wine is pretty good, and those rumors were certainly justified through our experience Saturday. We tried everything from "wine-erita" (yuck!) to red chile wine (yum!).
We also went down "Old Town" Sunday, which apparently is the place most tourists go when they visit Albuquerque. It's a fun area with older style architecture filled with shops and restaurants. A lot of the merchandise is over-priced (or so we hear) since the tourists will pay more for it. We did have a nice Sunday lunch at a Mexican restaurant (the name escapes me) that was decent, but not the best we've had. We left to go see Terminator: Salvation...I know, not very New Mexican, but a GREAT movie.
As far as other updates, nothing super important to report. I got to meet my manager this week...she works out of Fidelity's New Hampshire office and came down to visit. My team of 3 analysts and I went bowling and out to eat while she was here. It was a good time...we're all definitely getting closer and our personalities are different but work well together. I'm looking forward to getting to know them all better. Cari has not found a job yet, but continues to look and put her resume out there. Hopefully the Lord will provide something for her that will be challenging and rewarding and that she'll enjoy.
We are also still continuing our church hunt. We've found a couple we like, but want to look at a few more before making our second runs on the ones we like. We've also been to a few more restaurants other than El Pinto (which is still the best). Sadie's was pretty good, but definitely not comparable. I've learned that I LOVE green chiles and have proceeded to put them on everything (enchiladas, quesadillas, nachos, etc). Anyways, we have a few more restaurants on the list that we're looking forward to trying soon. I think we might travel up to Santa Fe this weekend for the afternoon, so I'm sure I'll have another update next week with our travel adventures.
Thanks again to everyone for your prayers and calls. Our apologies if we don't always call back right away. We're a lot busier here than we thought we'd be, but we always appreciate the calls and emails so keep 'em coming. Congratulations to Jon and Megan for moving into their house recently, Happy 1 Month birthday to baby Austin, and Happy One Year Anniversary to my sister and her husband! Love you guys!!
Hola! Hope everyone is doing well back home. Things are going pretty well out in New Mexico. We've experienced a little bit more of the culture, so I figured it was time for another post. Cari and I are continuing to get settled in to our small apartment. Besides pictures on the walls, everything else has pretty much found it's place. My job is going well...only four more weeks of in-class training! I'm meeting some really nice people and am excited about the team of analysts I'll be officially working with. We are praying that God provides something for Cari soon, as she's ready to get back into the classroom and be around people. Belle keeps her company during the day, but a dog that doesn't talk back only goes so far.
So the moment we were all waiting for has finally come...Cari and I went out to eat at an authentic local New Mexican restaurant!! It's called El Pinto (you can check it out online), and it was delicious! For those of you who don't know, the main difference between Mexican and New Mexican food (so I'm told) is that the latter is cooked with chilis (red or green). I had chicken enchiladas smothered in spicy green chile and Cari had tostadas. It was a great first local cuisine experience, and we can't wait for some visitors to take there (hint hint).
We've also visited a couple churches the past two weeks, Grace Church (with Preston and Laurel) and City on a Hill in downtown Albuquerque near the university. Both were very different, and we enjoyed certain things about each one but think we'll continue to search for something that fits our needs and where we can serve. We're definintely excited about getting involved somewhere and meeting some more people as soon as possible.
I think that's it for now...hope everyone is doing great, and feel free to come on out and visit whenever. The weather is phenominal here, and we're excited about showing you all around. Also, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY MOM!! We love you guys!
Hi everyone! It's been several days since I've posted here, and I'm sure you all are disappointed because I know you check it constantly! Anyways, Cari and I are here at our new home in Albuquerque, and I feel like there is quite a bit to update you all on since we left. I'll try to keep it short, but no promises.
We left Friday morning early and made it about 5 miles before pulling off the interstate due to the "check engine light" coming on in the moving truck. After a quick call to Penske, we were informed it may be an oxygen sensor and should go off upon filling the truck with gas. It did. We made it all the way to Memphis on day 1...a total of about 15 hours altogether, including stops. Belle (our dog) did well, mainly sleeping in the back of the Trailblazer most of the way.
Day 2 was a little more interesting. The goal was to get to Elk City (western Oklahoma). We stopped in Oklahoma City for dinner, and noticed some dark clouds to the west when we finished and were preparing to leave. After some calls to friends/family for a weather radar check, we thought we could make it and headed out. As night fell, it started to get worse. Although it wasn't raining, the lightening surrounding the interstate was INCREDIBLE. Eventually, the rain started and we pulled off into a gas station. Over the next 45 minutes, the wind/rain picked up, we learned there was tornadic activity nearby, learned of a tornado northeast of our location, met some locals who educated us on tornadoes and what to do, saw quarter-size hail, and had a dead battery. Whew! Things cleared up and we finally made it to our hotel much later than expected.
Day 3 driving was pretty straight-forward. It was incredible to see how the terrain changed so quickly from green to greenish-brown to desert. We made it to Albuquerque around 4:30 and signed the lease on our new apartment. Luckily, we have some great friends here (Preston and Laurel) who mustered their friends and we had the moving truck unloaded in 40 minutes flat. Granted, there was no room left in our small apartment so we went to Laurel's parents for dinner and to stay overnight.
Since we've been here, I've been in training for work everyday (and will be for the next five weeks) and Cari has been working diligently on the apartment. I think we'll be successful at fitting everything in here, it's just a matter of time and patience in unpacking. I think that's all for now...thanks again to everyone who helped us load up and to everyone who helped us unload...we couldn't have done it without you. Also, special thanks to my dad, who drove the ENTIRE way in the moving truck and has devoted his past week to helping us. We love you all and miss everyone and will update this constantly.
Yesterday was our last Sunday going to church at Southbridge Fellowship. In fact, we're realizing that this week will be full of "lasts." Two weeks ago, Cari and I met an extremely friendly couple at church who we talked to about our potential move for quite a while. They shared their stories of their past with us, how they've traveled all around the U.S. during their lifetime and how they've made life-long friends all over the place. We believe God definitely put them in our lives to be an encouragement to us and to our difficult decision. We saw them again yesterday, and they were so excited to hear about our decision and said they had been praying for us constantly since they met us. God just continues to amaze Cari and me by the people He places in our lives and the encouragement He provides through others.
The packing is going well, although our apartment is in shambles and it doesn't look like much has been packed. Wednesday is the big "load-up-the-truck" party...friends, family, pizza, hard labor...you know, all the fun stuff. We're so blessed to have family and friends that are willing to help, and we definitely could not do any of this without them. After packing the truck Wednesday evening and Thursday if needed, we'll spend the night at my parent's house where Cari's parents will meet us. On Friday morning, we'll get up early, say our teary goodbyes, and hit the road. We can't believe we'll be in New Mexico in less than a week!! Thanks again for everyone's prayers and help...I'll try to post to this as soon as possible after we arrive in Albuquerque!
Friends and Family-
If you're reading this, I suppose it means you are somewhat interested in what has been happening with Cari and me over the past few weeks. As of Thursday, April 9th, we have officially decided to move out to Albuquerque, New Mexico. We will be moving Friday, April 24th. As most of you know, I lost my job with Fidelity Investments at the beginning of February due to the recent economic downturn and the need for a reduction in force. I have been actively looking for a job since then, and after hundreds of resume submissions and very little interest from employers, I was given the option to come out to Albuquerque for an interview. The position was with Fidelity's Health and Welfare division as a Client Service Analyst. I've always been interested in the analytical side of the financial services business, so this seemed to be a good opportunity.
Cari and I traveled to ABQ (on our own dime) for the interview. The interview went well, but neither of us really liked the city itself. Luckily we have a couple friends who live out there, and they were extremely hospitable (showed us around, went to lunch, looked at apartments). To make a long story short, I was offered the position with Fidelity and after a potential opportunity with BB&T bank didn't work out, we accepted the offer.
We will both miss our friends and family on the east coast a great deal, but after much prayer and long (sometimes emotional) conversations, we feel as though this is where God is leading us. We're not sure why yet, but we're praying that He reveals His purpose and will for us in His perfect timing. What incredible rest and peace we can find in that! We'll miss the trees/grass (it's all red and brown out there), and I'm still not sure what I'll do without being able to catch every single Panthers, Hurricanes and Tarheels game on TV. However, I feel as though this is a great opportunity for us for my long-term career path interests. Cari hopes to find a teaching job once we get out there and get settled, and we're praying God provides something for her and uses her just as much, if not more, as He's used her here in Raleigh.
That's enough for now! Sorry for the novel, but those of you who know me know that I'm a little long-winded when it comes to writing and emails. We are starting the packing process and are trying to get excited about this new adventure, but I'll try and keep everyone updated through this blog regarding our moving experience, life in New Mexico, etc. Feel free to check back often for new posts and hopefully we'll get some pictures online too. Also, we're excited to have some visitors, so we won't discourage you booking plane tickets now!!! Thanks for everyone's prayers and support. We want you all to know that God has certainly provided, as we've been asking Him to do, and we are excited for what He has planned for our lives in New Mexico!
