Albuquerque a2k roundup, May 14-19, 2008

Hi!

Is there anyone online who can tell Dys and Dianne to check their phone messages? I am at the Newark Airport, trying to tell them my flight is running five hours late, and that I will be arriving in the middle of the night.

If there is such a helpful soul -- please contact them for me. Thanks!

Shall I PM them, Thomas? Would that be helpful? No? Then I got nothing.

I already did, but thanks for offering, Tico!

When is your flight leaving, Thomas?

Thomas, I have their phone numbers. I can call either them or BBB and get her to relay the message for you if you still need it.

I'll check back here in about 30 minutes to see if you saw my post. If you do want me to relay info to them through BBB for you, send me a PM with the details and I'll call her.

I'm hoping he's in the air, or at least on the plane.

Well! I got to the Flying Star and saw four lovely ladies sitting by themselves - no men in sight. BBB, Osso, Diane, and Eva. Eventually the men showed up, then the PDiddies and we were let's see - RJB, Roger, the four I mentioned, Walter and myself. Oh, and Dys, of course! 11 at dinner. Shewolf's sick, so hopefully we'll see them tomorrow. And Thomas, of course.

Then Diane and I drove BBB home and got back to her place via a convoluted series of lefts and rights and running commentary guaranteed to confuse an already navigationally-challenged person. I left shortly after with an excellent map which I promptly turned inside out and got lost, found myself, got lost again, and did finally get to my room.

Tomorrow some are having breakie and doing a tram thingy, but Eva and I are meeting in Old Town to do a walk-about and a bit of shopping, no doubt. I have a few pics but will take lots more over the next couple of days. We're all hooking up for a BBQ at D&Ds I think I'll buy a new map! I'm so glad I came. These guys are fun.

More tomorrow night. No pics till Tuesday, though.

Thomas did reach Dys and Diane. Damn airlines....

Roger and John and I went on the biannual Trader's Joe's Wilderness Trek before making it cross town to the Flying Star. Dys and Walter seemed to have disappeared into the late afternoon light, WHERE ARE THEY?, but finally showed up having run into many blocked streets, streets not usually blocked.

The Flying Star turned out to be a good choice, whew; as Diane was trying to figure out how to pull some patio tables together, some women figured out what she was up to and offered to move so she could commandeer their similar set up, as they were almost done, and that was perfect. Beautiful weather, not windy, not chilly, great sky.

I have a few pictures so far, but it takes me forever to get the film developed, get disc on computer, pics on photobucket, double check with people (ms. priss), and then post.

I've made a few photos, too. But I won't post them .... at least not until I'll be home again (which will be in about two weeks).

Thomas is in the air bz now - actually near Kansas, right now.
His flight started with a 260 minutes delay, the arrival is bit less. (I'll try [see dys' and Mame"s driving experiences above :wink: ] to catch him up at the airport shortly.

I'll be off to do the tram and later for a trip to Madrid and Santa Fe with Mrs. and Mr. PDiddle, starting at about 8:30.

Thomas arrived safely (but tired).

[And I found the way to airport and back, too. :wink: ]

BBB
Got a big hug from Eva when she and Diane picked me up to drive to the restaurant. Missed her husband and son as they went camping in Oklahoma instead of coming to Albuquerque. Eva is as vivacious as ever, maybe even better since her last visit. Her hair really is as red as in her goddess avatar.

Mame arrived a few minutes later at the restaurant. I was so excited to meet the chronicler of north country adventures. She's even more beautiful and bursting with vitality than I anticipated. Mame managed to navigate Albuquerque's "quaint" streets because she can actually read a map. What a talent!

JohnBoy survived his side trip to Trader Joe's grocery store with Osso and Roger. He arrived just in time to order the biggest salad I ever saw for his dinner. He is a charming tall man with a beautiful head of wavy hair. He described the changing political climate in Virginia and how it will effect the November election.

Walter and Dys arrived. Walter was packing---a bag full of big cameras. Now I know how he takes such wonderful photos of the Land of Enchantment. Walter and Dys will be taking a trip in Dys' RV before he returns to Germany. That will mean more outstanding photos to post on A2K.

The PDiddies found the restaurant without difficulty. Mrs. PDiddle is one lovely woman; husband ain't bad, either. They sat at the other end of the table but we will get to talk when they visit my home in a day or two to meet Dolly and Madison.

Interesting thing about the restaurant is the outside table set up. They allow dogs to join the diners. One very large dog sat next to his family's chairs and behaved himself perfectly. Fun to watch. I can imagine Dolly and Madison running around to greet and play with everyone in the place. Silly dogs.

Looking forward to the hot dog barbeque Saturday afternoon with D & D. and meeting late arrival Thomas for the first time. Hope Shewolf is feeling better and able to join us. Can't wait to see the Bean. The weather should be just right as the rain moved south to Texas.

We all agreed that A2K is filled with wonderfully interesting people. We don't know how that happened, but we sure enjoy the experience.

When I got home, I was relieved to find that Dolly and Madison had left the house intact because I had left them inside. I knew Dolly would be OK but I didn't know how silly 6 month old Maddy would behave because he is always chewing on something.

BBB

Any cars going to just the tram thing and back this morning?
My phone #505-843-9500. Room 343.

(working on it)

Looks like you all have a marvelous time together, I am pleased to hear
that, and am so looking forward to the pictures (after osso's approval )

I hope shewolf is feeling better so they can join you soon.


Did anyone notice the strange accent Mame is sporting or is it
overshadowed by Walter and Thomas?

Calamity


Accent? I didn't notice any strange accent by Mame.

BBB

Never mind. It's a running joke we have...

BBB
We got to giggling at the restaurant last night. I noted that it only took over 18,000 posts to organize this latest Albuquerque gathering. It's like trying to herd cats.

BBB