Family, Milage, and Experiences

The past couple weeks have worn me down a bit. And put a lot of milage on my car! Last weekend, the family and I loaded up and drove up to Farmington, NM. Family, and church. We actually ended up going a bit further north, with a stop in Durango, CO. That was very nice. And finished off with a run out to Navajo Lake State Park. 

I hadn't been that way in a long time. In Durango, it was also my first time at the Bar D Chuckwagon. Now I was already familiar with them and had heard some of their music from CD's that other friends and family had in the past. My son has been up there before with his grandparents. So it was indeed a treat. If you're not familiar with them, let me share a bit about it. The Bar D is an experience. You drive up into the mountains, park, and then you make your way up the hill and it suddenly opens into this little ranch with shops, a playground for the kids, a train ride, and then some. When dinner time comes, the signal for everyone to come to the dining area, which is outside. They do have a canopy that can be closed for inclement weather. Then they have everyone get in line by table and send you through the food line. Beef or chicken, with beans, and basically a ranch/cowboy affair. The food is really good. Afterwards, the Bar D Wranglers go up, and entertain you. And I mean entertain. They play music first and foremost, but they also joke, tell stories, call out people's birthdays, family reunions, and whatever else they're aware of. It's a really good time. Afterwards the shops are open a little longer, and you can meet and greet the band. So truly a highlight of the trip. 

Of course, I love checking Veteran Memorials. Imagine that. So, we headed over to the All Veterans Memorial Plaza in Farmington. It's a great park, I've been to several times. However, it was high on my to-do list this time because I missed out on a huge event there last year. The Woody Williams Foundation added a wonderful piece to it honoring the sacrifice of not only fallen warriors, but their families as well. It truly honors the loss while bringing home the fact that their families have to deal with the struggle as well. My mom got a little misty eyed out there. 

While at church on Sunday, it was a nice surprise to run into a friend working there I hadn't seen since Covid started as well. We had gone to seminary together. He's working at that church now! It was good to see him and catch-up face to face. 

There were other things, however I'm not sharing about them here. We came home, and it was brief for me. As I then turned around to head back on the road for Las Cruces and Mesilla, NM. Now, while it's been a short time since I was last in the Farmington and Four Corners area, it's been YEARS since I was last in Las Cruces and Mesilla. Just driving past the university was incredible to see how much has changed since I was last there. I must say, construction aside, it looks good. Plus sharing in fellowship with fellow Veterans and talking about God is always a good thing in my book. Smiles all around. I was gifted with a new challenge coin for my collection as well. That was a nice treat from the Marine Corps League Detachment that hosted the event for us. Now, I get to stay home for a couple days before I go back to work on Wednesday to start gearing up for the new school year. 

Thoughts on my mind.

Had a moment tonight I was missing my brothers and sisters in arms back in the USMC. Specifically the ones I served with in Okinawa, Japan. And then this thought wandered into my mind.

The life of a drinky girl must be hard. They're kinda like that first slice of bread in the loaf. Everyone has touched them, but nobody really wants them. And those who say they love them, are usually not in their right mind.

Andy, I really hope you're puking over the thought of a banana right now.

Family Healing: Road Trip

Well, last weekend ended on a bad note. On the upside (always have to look for that) the family and I went to Zuni. Needed to start some healing. It was good to see some family we don't get to see very often. A quick trip, but still needed. Here's some pics. This will be a short blog entry. I'll give a little info along the way.

So the trip in was nice. These are going to Zuni along NM-53.

Next up Zuni.

That's it for this time.

Adventures in Life

A lot of things change as we get older. When we're kids, we didn't necessarily have a lot of choice in how we spent our nights. But staying at a friends or relatives was usually great. Camping even better. But it was whatever was alright with the folks. Then we finally got that freedom to do as we pleased. Oh man, it's like dropping a tone of raw meat in a shark tank.

I think back to some nights before I enlisted and some of my early years in the military, and I shudder to think of some of the stuff I would do. A great night out was loading up some of the guys, and going down to Mexico for a night of booze, loud Mexican music, soggy chips, salsa, and then making the trek to Denny's after drunkenly testing the fates and coming back home. Yeah, I'm glad the folks didn't learn of that until years later.

A night out in Ishikawa, Okinawa, Japan.

Then came my service years. The first part of it, you could easily find me at an E-Club, or a local hole with some booze, loud music, or even some karaoke. This was usually topped off with the Okinawa offerings of yakisoba, taco rice and cheese, or one of the biggest corn dog's you ever imagined. There was usually more drinking to be done after returning to the barracks as well.

Gate 1 outside of Cp Hansen in Okinawa. Nothing but restaurants and bars.

The next phase I'm not sure how it came about. Either as my time as an MP dealing with drunks, dealing with drunks in the barracks, or just generally being tired of boozing it up. But for me at that time a good night, or weekend for that matter was SCUBA diving, sight seeing, or even just hanging out at the beach. I'd go out to the various restaurants, different beaches to lounge or dive, the various sites from the aquarium to waterfalls. It didn't matter where or what, just that it was there to be done and not in the confines of a bar, or barracks.

Playing with Nemo and his cousin in the East China Sea.

Posing with the A&W Great Root Bear in Nago, Okinawa, Japan.

Then I came back to the States, a little older, and a little wiser hopefully. And again things changed. Bars still do nothing for me. Clubs are a joke in general. There for a while a nice night out became a meal, and a movie. But even that changed quickly. There for a while I knew I wanted to do something, but I didn't know what. Going to the zoo is still a treat. A few years ago my youngest and I were treated to watching a giraffe being born.

A giraffe being born at the Albuquerque Bio Park around 2009. You can see the hooves under the mothers tale.

Sometimes going out is still the answer. Some place that isn't too rowdy, a restaurant here and there. The zoo a rare treat. But outside of taking a road trip someplace, or camping, there's one thing that I can do pretty much every night that makes me happy. Sit out on the porch with my wife, a cigar, a drink, maybe some music, and just stare off into the sky. Who'd have ever thought that a good night would become a night at home? Guess it's true. You can take the boy out the country (sometimes literally), but you can't take the country out of the boy.

You can see my bench  a little on the far left.

It's funny how things change.