Albuquerque for My 66th Birthday on Route 66
I love to travel, but I wouldn’t say I like to travel sometimes.
I was excited to head to New Mexico to be with a good friend for my 66th birthday. My friend and I tried to calculate how many times I’d been to New Mexico to visit her over the past 16 years. It has to be between 30 and 35 times. It really is my home away from home.
I booked a morning flight so that I could arrive early in the afternoon and be at the ranch when she got off work. However, Southwest had a series of delays, aircraft mechanical issues, crew members timing out, etc. Rather than getting to the ranch by 3:00 p.m., my Uber rolled in about 7:45 p.m. My friends knew I would be exhausted and had prepared burritos for dinner. I was greeted by a menagerie of pets, which was always the highlight of my visit, and my friends.
My friends worked, so I was on my own during the day. For my birthday, I decided to drive down Route 66. My friend and I have completely different travel styles. She likes to absorb the people and the places slowly. I want to pack as many sights as possible into the day, capture the best photography, and have a great meal or two. We spent three weeks in the Mediterranean together and finally had to go our separate ways some days so I could photograph. We laugh about it now, but it was tense on the road. I’m surprised she didn’t toss my camera overboard.
I toured alone that day, which was probably a safe bet. I visited my favorite spots and a few new galleries.
I took the back roads from Corrales to downtown Albuquerque. My first stop was lunch at the Route 66 Cafe. It’s an iconic diner that captures the history of that era. The food was excellent. I had a BLT and tea for my birthday lunch. The staff was great and took some photos for me. I’m grateful to Lily Thompson, a local Albuquerque photographer and server at the restaurant, for these photos.
After lunch, I went down Route 66 to Nob Hill and finally to Old Town Albuquerque. I made my obligatory stop at San Felipe de Neri Church. It is a historic Catholic church on Old Town Plaza’s north side. Built in 1793, it is one of the oldest surviving buildings in the city and the only building in Old Town proven to date to the Spanish colonial period. I lit candles and took a moment in prayer.
I left downtown to head back to Corrales. A severe thunderstorm was passing through, and flooding in this area can happen in a matter of seconds. I asked if we could just stay that night, and we opted for a delivered dinner from a favorite restaurant, The Flying Star. Dinner was delicious, as always, and the desserts were incredible. My birthday cake was their fabulous carrot cake.
The next day, I went to the Rio Grande Nature Center State Park. I had always wanted to hike along the Rio Grande, but despite my many visits, I had never been to the river. I watched the education videos at the center and photographed hummingbirds. As I was headed out for the hike, two attendants would only let me leave with a water bottle. They were right. It was a two-mile walk in the New Mexico heat. I required some hydration. The river was very high that day from all the recent rain. While I didn’t get any great bird photos, it was a beautiful walk.
My last stop that day was the Los Poblanos Lavender Farm in Albuquerque. I wanted to photograph the lavender fields. While they may be smaller and more famous than the fields in France, this is an impressive farm. The flowers were filled with honeybees.
The highlight of the afternoon was photographing one of the peacocks. I know this peacock; he has never cooperated with my previous photo attempts. Apparently, he knew it was my birthday and gave me a major train rattling for more than 30 minutes. These peacock feathers, also known as a train, have several purposes. Males spread their tail feathers. To intimidate predators, communicate with other peafowl, and attract a mate during mating season. When a peacock vibrates his train to attract a peahen, it’s called train rattling.
On Friday, I planned on driving to Santa Fe. I was exhausted when I got up and decided to hang out at the house and catch up on email and writing. I love Santa Fe and have been countless times. I spent most of the day in my pajamas, writing, editing, drinking coffee, and eating leftover birthday cake. Sometimes, at our age, we have to take a day to relax and catch up.
On Saturday, we headed out for breakfast at Wick’s, an excellent massage, and a birthday gift from my friend.
On Sunday, my flight could have been more uneventful. There were slight delays, but nothing like the trip out. It was a perfect birthday on Route 66. Now for my next rotation around the sun.
Despite the travel hiccups, my 66th birthday was a memorable celebration filled with beautiful moments, delicious food, and wonderful friends. Traveling might be challenging sometimes, but experiences like these are always worth it.
Photos by Lily Thompson