different isn't bad...it's just different-sunday, 6/18/06

DFW is a huge airport, one you have to take a shuttle train to get around. negotiating it with the backpack and carry on stuff wasn't bad, but it was interesting. only problem? pam spilled coffee all in her pocketbook. lesson learned...don't have a drink when trying to check through security in the airports. that and the fact that your ass better be quick...otherwise you are crashed into by everyone else's junk in those apparently jet-propelled plastic tubs we are forced to disrobe into. i didn't know whether to put my shoes on, grab a couple of my things, or wack the person behind me. not her fault. we were all just on top of each other trying to get our stuff. no wonder pam spilled the coffee...in any case, there wasn't enough time on either end of the trip to do any more than sit in the DFW airport, although both of us would have liked to have explored dallas.

on the plane we dragged out the maps and tour book stuff that i had in my backpack. i had made a booklet of the wacko things i wanted to do and see in new mexico, most of them involving eating and having my picture taken in front of unusual sites. once we had the car out of the parking lot in alburquerque, the map was out and we went to THE FRONTIER restaurant on central avenue, directly across from the university of new mexico. we had our first new mexican meal and pam had her first taste of spicy new mexico cuisine. she was on a weeklong quest for the best enchilada. the first one set her face on fire! lesson learned: no more red sauce. i decided on green chile stew, which was spicier than i expected since it was green and NOT red. THE FRONTIER is a local greasy spoon known for being open 24 hours a day and its interesting decor, including a huge picture of john wayne on a wall. the food was so-so. after pictures taken at the entrance to UNM, we were off down central avenue looking at the remaining buildings left over from the glory days of route 66. we had a map showing us where they were, and the art deco designs were fun to look at, although most of them were run down and closed up. we did all of the eastern part of central avenue. pam inadvertently discovered one of the last lumberjack men, which are these wacko giants that dot the U.S. i had planned for us to "visit" one in farmington, n.m., and had shown pam a picture of it. she recognized the alburquerque one on the side of central avenue in a vietnamese restaurant parking lot! i knew it was there, but had decided not to pursue it, thinking we would see the one in farmington (and we actually missed farmington, so it worked out great!) we went on into town to find one of the 12 MADONNA ON THE TRAIL statues that stretch across the united states. the first one is in betheseda, maryland, and they cross the country. the statues were put up to honor the mothers who accompanied their men across the u.s. in the pioneering days. this one was in a tiny little square in the middle of an industrial nowhere part of alburquerque. after the statue, it was off to spend money and beginning the QUEST FOR JEWELRY...:)