Albuquerque Part II

On Wednesday, we braved the Sandia Peak Tramway. If we look a little panicked in these photos, it is because we combined our fear of heights with a rapid ascent to 10,000 + feet.

   It was worth it for the views!

Following our mountain hike, we spent the morning exploring the
 Anderson Abruzzo International Balloon Museum.

We learned about flying balloons

and even got to go inside one of the big balloons.

They had many interactive exhibits to teach visitors about wind patterns and forces.

We were famished after learning all about hot air balloons and their history, so we

headed to Frontier to eat.  It is an old, very popular, cafeteria-style restaurant.

Harper chose a giant breakfast burrito!

After some shopping in Old Town, we went to Electric Playhouse.

They offer a huge variety of fully immersive, interactive games. 
Harper loved the Paint Splatter game

and the Asian cooking simulator.

Several of the games  felt like a throwback to the age of Pong

and Tetris.

It was a tough game of Air Hockey until Harper pulled a dirty trick.  She took advantage of my photoshoot and fired the puck into my goal!

Another favorite game was throwing dodgeballs at cans of soup.

After an intense gaming session, we headed to the Sawmill Market for a well-deserved treat.  We tried authentic paletas (Mexican ice pops).  While the mango was delicious, our top pick was the chocolate version that was dipped in melted chocolate and topped with Cocoa Krispies.

We went back to the hotel to relax for a bit.  When it was time for dinner, we decided to take what we thought was a shortcut to the hotel parking lot.  Spoiler alert: it was not. We went out a door and found ourselves on the hotel roof.  Then, it started pouring rain.  We decided to go back for our rain jackets, but the door was locked. Eventually, we found a way down near the horse stables. We climbed over some slick boulders, sprinted through the wet grass, and finally made it to the parking lot.  As I looked back to see if Harper was keeping up with me, I saw the most beautiful double rainbow!

We love making memories when we travel!