We left Friday morning, got to the campsite a little before dark and got the tent set up with no problem. (Same campground we stayed at last year – the KOA in Bernalillo) On the way down, we had realized that we didn’t pack any pull-ups for Lily so we knew we would have to get some before bedtime. Planning ahead, we asked the nice lady at the check-in desk where a close grocery store was (hoping to avoid a repeat of last years wild goose chase to find dinner). She told us where one was, but I didn’t notice that she mentioned “At this time of day…

So we drove down into Albuquerque for dinner at Carrabas, a little drive but at least we already knew where it was (we ate there last year too), thinking we would go by the grocery store on the way back. Well, of course we get there and it was closed. Not having a clue what to do next, we started driving back towards Albuquerque. Finally landed at a convience store about 20 minutes later, which didn’t have pull-ups but the nice man there told us where there was a Walgreens in Bernalillo, about 5 mintues from our campground. So the traditional Friday night goose chase was not to be avoided, but we finally got those ever so important pull-ups!

Part of the excitement of the Balloon Fiesta is getting up at 4am, well okay not really but it is part of it anyway! We quickly dressed in the tent and went to catch a train which would take us to a bus which would take us to the Balloon Fiesta Park. It is always still very dark and quite cold when we arrive, but it wasn’t too long before the Dawn Patrol show started. It is pretty cool to see the balloons taking off in the dim dawn sky.

Once they were off, the real action started and soon the sky was filled with hundreds of balloons. The weather was perfect, which of course meant it was also very crowded. Sometimes it felt like being in an endless sea of people, and there were so many balloons it was impossible to see even a small fraction of them – the launch field is the size of 54 football fields! The sky just kept getting fuller and fuller.

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After leaving the park, we fetched the car and went to the Rio Grande Zoo – always a favorite in Albuquerque! We saw Polar Bears, Hippos, Sea Lions, and many others. The zoo also has a large Chimpanzee exhibit – it is fascinating to watch them, but as Brian pointed out – also a little unsettling. They are SO much like us, it is almost like watching humans held in captivity, so people can come by and gawk at them. But at least exhibits like these help make people aware of these familiar creatures, and care about them when otherwise they might not even know they existed.

That evening we went to the Hinkle Family Fun center, where Lily rode in Bumper Boats (and got quite wet), played on the indoor playground which included a kid size zip line, and rode the go-carts. Then it was time for much earned sleep back at the tent.

The next day we went to the RIo Grande Aquarium and Botanical Gardens. The gardens had a “Children’s Fantasy Garden” which was a castle with various large sized things in it – like a humongous pumpkin you could go inside, a giant vegetable garden you could walk in, and a maze inside a giant tree stump. There was also a rather elaborate model train set up in a different part of the garden.

After all our adventures it was time to head home – what a fun-packed weekend! We can’t wait until next year…