900. Resolute

900. Resolute
Definition: (adj) admirably purposeful, determined, and unwavering
Location Placed: Albuquerque Amtrak Station, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Date Placed: 12/23/18 at 3:21pm





We did most of our traveling between cities via train, so we saw quite a few train stations. The station in Albuquerque, while small, definitely was easy to navigate both pick up and drop off. It's not terribly large, but the folks working there are the absolute nicest! Apparently the week of Christmas, Amtrak allowed their employees to wear "ugly" sweaters instead of their normal attire. And they took advantage of that to my delight!

899. Enterprising

899. Enterprising
Definition: (adj) having or showing initiative and resourcefulness
Location Placed: Albuquerque Photographers Gallery, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Date Placed: 12/23/18 at 1:58pm





Old Town Albuquerque definitely had a lot of charm. There were a number of folks selling lovely jewelry including those with turquoise! It was really nice to walk around this area and pop into a lot of local shops including the Photographers Gallery. So many lovely prints of areas of the city and state including the desert by night.

898. Centered

898. Centered
Definition: (adj) well balanced and confident or serene
Location Placed: New Mexico Museum of Natural History, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Date Placed: 12/23/18 at 11:38am





After getting a nice breakfast complete with New Mexican chile,  we headed to the Museum of Natural History. We got to take a really nice tour of dinosaur remains and fossils as well as the history of New Mexico. It was definitely a nice couple hours spent at the museum. I didn't realize there were a number of dinosaurs that were native and only found in that area. It was really neat to learn about that before we headed back to the Old Town area for some browsing and shopping.

897. Self-confidence

897. Self-confidence
Definition: (n) a feeling of trust in one's abilities, qualities, and judgment
Location Placed: Hyatt Regency, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Date Placed: 12/23/18 at 9:53am





After a solid nights sleep, we needed to make the most of our time in Albuquerque. We ended up getting in a little later than anticipated the night before due to train issues. Unbeknownst to me, the Amtrak trains run on the same lines as a lot of trains hauling goods across country. Not all the same lines as we saw some really long trains while on the train, but there is some crossover. So if one of those gets held up, or does the holding up, that can throw off other trains along the line. Train travel is definitely a really interesting and different experience. I'd recommend a day trip on a train, but perhaps not anything including an overnight. You'll want to spend a lot more time in your hotel the next night, promise!

896. Quality

896. Quality
Definition: (n) the degree of excellence of something
Location Placed: Hotel Andaluz, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Date Placed: 12/22/18 at 7:44pm





After a nearly 18 hour train ride from Kansas City to Albuquerque, we decided to treat ourselves to a really nice dinner at MAS Tapas y Vino. Definitely different than the bar-b-que we had at the previous two stops. This place was certainly quality! My favorite was the bacon wrapped dates and the brussel sprouts. The place was hopping, but thankfully we were able to get a table as we wandered in a bit early.

730. Frank

730. Frank
Definition: (adj) open, honest, and direct in speech or writing
Location Placed: Albuquerque Airport, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Date Placed: 10/5/15 at 2:33pm





All good things must come to an end. Until next time southwest US. Until next time! I really enjoyed all of the wonderful things we managed to do and see. I definitely recommend folks who haven't been out that way, to take a trip. The United States is huge and there are so many neat and wonderful things to do throughout the country!

729. Fortuitous

729. Fortuitous
Definition: (adj) happening by lucky chance
Location Placed: Albuquerque Airport Rental Terminal, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Date Placed: 10/5/15 at 12:53pm





Sadly the time on our trip had to come to an end. We dropped our handy rental car back at the return location and got ourselves together before we took the tram to the airport. I'm always impressed by the southwestern airports and how clean and bright they are!

719. Invaluable

719. Invaluable
Definition: (adj) extremely useful
Location Placed: Starbucks by St. Claire, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Date Placed: 10/4/15 at 1:44pm





I was so excited to see the Starbucks mug for New Mexico. It was such a lovely scene and a great little souvenir for the trip. We got to see the hot air balloons so it was an added bonus reminder! As I don't think I'll be headed anywhere (at least to another state) I've not already been for several months, I'll have to enjoy this mug even more. 

718. Compatible

718. Compatible
Definition: (adj) able to exist or occur together without issue
Location Placed: Genuine Southwest, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Date Placed: 10/4/15 at 1:20pm





We popped into Genuine Southwest right around the corner from the museum to see if they had any cute knick-knack items. It definitely was a cute little store with some neat items in it. There was a really neat mosaic arch entering the cute little shopping area. It was really quite gorgeous, which makes sense given its location near the museum.

717. Athletic

717. Athletic
Definition: (adj) physically strong, fit, and active
Location Placed: Albuquerque Museum, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Date Placed: 10/4/15 at 12:29am





The Albuquerque Museum was such a nice little museum. I really enjoyed visiting. They had a lot of wonderful exhibits about the local history. Having never been to Albuquerque before, and not even New Mexico, I thought it was a really informative museum. It even had a pretty awesome map in the middle of it. I definitely would recommend going to visit if you happen to be in the city.

716. Vixen

716. Vixen
Definition: (n) an attractive individual
Location Placed: Albuquerque Hot Air Balloon Festival Field, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Date Placed: 10/4/15 at 8:58am





Far and away, this was the highlight of the trip. Essentially we had planned our trip around the festival as it happened the week after my business trip responsibilities ended. What a treat it was! We had no idea just what we were in for but it was so much more amazing than we could have expected. You are actually came to go right up to the balloons and talk with the ballonists. If not for the zebras, which are ballooning referees, you could potentially get knocked out by a balloon taking off! While we didn't actually get to ride in one, it was just a wonderous experience to get to be so close to them and see so many of them inflate and lift off. Then, as you can see from the picture, the balloons in the sky. I 100% recommend anyone who can go, does. You will not regret it.