It's That Time Again!

My reservations were made at the Albuquerque Marriott Pyramid North for Oct 5-10th. Hope to see as many of you as can make it there!

And here's an extra added incentive....I am bringing both of my girls with me.

Looks good....get here two days before the first day of Balloon Fiesta.  Weather most likely to still be okay then.....will deteriorate later in the week.

Both girls ...wow ! Let the wild rumpus begin ! So is Ben coming too ?

This is what the balloon field looks like right now. How do we survive these brutal February winters ?

Yes, Ben will be there. Of all the trips we go on, this is the one he likes best.

Excellent !

I have good and bad news..... the good news is I am joining a Sweet Adeline Chorus here in Denver. The bad news is I am not going to be able to go to Albuquerque in October. I have a wonderful opportunity to stay with two old friends from my Michigan Chorus at the Sweet Adeline convention in Las Vegas this year.... and it is the same week as the ballon fiesta. I was so torn to make this decision but I have wanted to get back into Sweet Adelines for some time now. I hope you still have a great time with those who can go and I hope you can understand my decision. I love all of you and it breaks my heart to not see you guys for this long. I hope it will not be long before we can get together again.

Good and bad news...that expresses it exactly. Well, I'm very pleased for you to have this great opportunity to connect with the Sweet Adelines. They are a great organization and I've enjoyed seeing them in performance. I'm sure you will have an amazing time.


On the O well side, you will be missed. But I think you can count on having a bunch of giant Margaritas hoisted in your honor.

Sorry to hear you can't make it Jojo but you shouldn't pass up a 'one time chance' to reunite with past friends and activities. I will personally hoist one 'giant' Margarita.....more than that will be the responsibility of 'others'.....

Well, I was planning on coming, but:

1. I just can't afford $240.00+ per night for a hotel room.
2. It's a non-smoking hotel.

I'll try to figure something out.

We've had Albuquerque vacations where we stayed at different hotels. Have you tried travelocity , trip advisor or trivago for some ideas? Maybe Banjo could give you some thoughts if you message him with what area and price range you are looking for (keep in mind all the prices in town go up during the balloon fest) but there are cheaper options available, I'm sure. I looked at trip advisor and La Quinta looked like it was $171 a night.  Don't give up yet!

Yeah, the Marriott Pyramid is probably the most expensive on the north side of town. I haven't looked at La Quinta prices lately but I doubt they are that expensive.

http://www.wsmr.army.mil/PAO/Trinity/Pages/Home.aspx

Seeing as how some of you will be here by Oct. 7th,  unknown how many yet,  I recommend this visit. Obviously the only place on Earth like it. I've been there 3 times. Easy to drive down to, about 100 miles. There is also a bus tour, rather expensive, $65, don't know how fast reservations fill up.

That does sound interesting...but the only thing for sure I know is that my group would like to go up in a balloon this year. I'll try to make reservations ahead for that but I have to let the credit card cool off after some recent trips.

Jero, if Space Pilot or Penny are interested in coming (and I don't know that one way or the other) maybe you guys could share a room?

Rainbow Ryders are the only company contracted to give flights from the field during the Fiesta, which you probably already knew or saw on the Fiesta site. Don't know how fast their reserv. fill up...

https://www.rainbowryders.com/

Maybe Berry can invite Shiri...cough, just sayin!

Think Shiri is going to be pretty busy with the new series she just landed a role in. But it will be nice to see her onscreen again.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5973364/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_1

I admit it's not looking good but I'm not giving up.  I'll have a better idea once Craig starts his dialysis. He hasn't yet.   Need to know what days we've got to be there and how to work everything else around that.  Sure...simple, right? 

I'm thinking if we do this we will be in by dinner time to be with everyone there and leave after breakfast the next morning. Yeah, very short but Craig wouldn't be able to do the Balloonfest although he would try so I try to keep him focused what's most important and that would be seeing all of you.

I'm so glad that you are hoping to work something out. I totally agree that having a communal dinner would be the highlight of the trip for all of us.

Berry wrote:Think Shiri is going to be pretty busy with the new series she just landed a role in. But it will be nice to see her onscreen again.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5973364/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_1

Sigh...(mopes around office)

Ah, well, you'll always have the Alien Festival in Roswell!

Well, since Brendan actually lives here maybe he could be 'rung up'.  Of course he ain't as purty as Shiri so that's a consideration....

It's not looking good but I refuse to give up. No help at all from Craig's family not even for a 48 hour turn around.     Craig's fistula is healing on the outside but there are problems with the inside. We go back to the doctor in about two weeks and if it's not healed the doctor will have to reopen it. In the mean time the kidney doctor says that Craig is holding his own and has not started dialysis yet.  This is good news but also puts us in a later timeframe to get used to going to dialysis 3 times a week and could keep me from coming since there would be no one to take him. I'm going to with-hold my feelings and keep looking to see if friends might try to help or if I can change Craig's mind about driving the distance. I don't think he could handle a plane trip and truthfully he doesn't do well with more than two people at a time so, I'm working on trying to get him secured with someone who will give him the proper food, his pills etc. for a two day trip.  Prayers are appreciated as I need a vacation in the worst way.

Best of luck getting some help AR. Sure hope you can make it. I saw that "no help from the family" situation from afar many years ago. Still can't understand it.

Unfortunately it doesn't look good for us.  Craig is not on dialysis yet.  His veins where his fistula is are not enlarging as they should. We have an appointment next week and they will probably talk about doing a balloon procedure. Then that will have to heal and hopefully he can maintain his numbers on his blood work until the fistula is ready. This may not be until October and even without this problem money is very sparse right now. I'm trying to establish myself as a freelance writer. Like everything, it takes time but since I can't leave Craig because there is no one to watch him then this will have to do.

I'm so sad that we can't come, but I know you all understand.  Hope you have a fabulous time and take a lot of pictures.

Too bad you can't make it Deb but your plate is understandably way too full. We will take pics .