I showed up at BWI early on Wednesday morning for our flight to Albuquerque, NM. For some reason, we had to connect through Chicago-Midway. The flight to Chicago was wonderful. The plane was about 1/3 full so I got an aisle seat with my work friend Bob in the window seat. The flight was relaxing and nice and short. Once in Chicago, I got a bag of freshly popped popcorn for a snack and some water and then (after finishing the water because that's sooooooo dangerous to take on a plane...) boarded our flight to Albuquerque. I again sat near the back on an aisle with Bob in the window seat but there was a guy between us now (this flight was full) and he was a big, broad, guy. I was uncomfortable the whole way out. I did get three of the four Sudoku puzzles done, which was quite impressive. After that flight, we got our car and headed to our meetings at Sandia National Labs.
First, however, we stopped at a local New Mexican restaurant for lunch. I got one enchilida and one taco, covered in red chili. In NM, the waiter always asks "red or green?" That refers to the chili that covers your good. Red is usually hotter and NM is known for their green chili but the red really is better. :) Anyway, that food was quite good. I ate my delicious food and then we had meetings for a couple hours that afternoon. We then headed to the hotel, the Airport Wyndham hotel (here is their TripAdvisor page).
Before we left, Don (co-worker and friend) suggested I signup for "Wyndham By Request" where you could pick some things to come with your room for free. Sure enough, I selected my favorite drinks, snacks, and so on. When I checked in, I had the quickest check-in that I've ever experienced. I got to my room and, sure enough, when I got in there was a bottle of Corona Extra and a bottle of water on ice and a fresh fruit plate, which was delicious. Now that's service! The only downside is that there was no in-lobby Internet access for free (they did have free wireless but I didn't bring my laptop) - you had to pay $.49 per minute! Oh well. This hotel was wonderful and I highly recommend it.
After we checked in, we headed out to dinner, at a place called The Quarters. Here is their TripAdvisor page. They have two things - meat and beer. Sweet. I got a rib sandwich (five ribs stacked on a roll) and a number of beers. It was quite good and this place was quite nice. Good selection of beer on draft too.
After a decent night sleep, I went to some more meetings and then a good NM-style lunch (again with an enchilida and a taco with red chili) at a local place. Then we had more meetings and then dinner at some hole-in-the-wall place with a guy we know and his family. I really wish I could remember the name but I cannot. It had the word "naco" in it and it was in a stripmall. After that it was back to the hotel for another decent night's sleep.
After waking up early, we headed to the airport, turned in the car, got some breakfast (I had a bagel), and then fley back to BWI. Uneventful flight with another fairly large, annoying man between me and Bob. That's it - it was a pretty uneventful trip. Albuquerque has wonderful food - I just wish I could remember the names of all the restaurants we went too. :)
