Amazing Race Part 6

We headed straight to Wal Mart for a quick re-stock of groceries and then to our hotel. A hotel was a nice option as we had been camping for 3 solid days at that point, We did our laundry there too...which was great since most of our stuff was nasty from the storm in Palo Duro and we wanted to wear our Team Harvell shirts again! While I did laundry the kids and Adam went to the pool but were quickly scared by a homeless man who jumped the fence to jump into the gated pool. We had no idea but we were not in the nicest part of Albuquerque, (after being home and looking up crime rates I am not sure there is a nice part).

However the kids were very excited over our suite which allowed them to sleep in one room and us in another. The boys opted to sleep in the living room on the pull out couch and watched a "make your own weapons" show while Ribbit joined us in our room to watch Food Network.....no one lasted long after dinner and showers though...we were out!

We were quite smitten with the changes in the landscape as we drove.

CACTUS EVERYWHERE

Our first hike up those mountains!

I woke up early the next morning after a great nights sleep and went down to the fitness center...it too was very neglected and so instead of my long run that I was sooo looking forward to I did a strength routine and 100 burpees scattered in between it to get my heart rate up. Everyone was still conked out when I finished but I was too scared to leave to go on a run as there was SEVERAL homeless people hanging around our hotel. So, I put on some music and ran the stairs right beside our room for 20 minutes until I heard familiar voices :). I only mentinon my workout because I tend to love a challenge and this was it. I love that you can do something every day even if you don't have access to a gym!

We sang " This is the day" as we watched the city wake up!

I saw this cut out in the cactus and had to get a little artistic with my camera!

When we had finished breakfast we headed back upstairs and found our next clue in the toiletry bag--thsoe race folks--they are sneaky!! Our next clue sent us to the Candy Lady in downtown Albuquerque but she didn't open until 10. With plenty of time to kill we headed off to the TRAM to get some scenic views of the mountains all around us. We spotted a great hiking trail right beside the tram station with some boulders that looked very appealing to the kiddos! We immediately read signs that said watch for cougars and snakes....and since we were the only ones on the mountain we took it very seriously.....and good thing, because coming back down I spotted a snake!!! During the hike we found a great rock for us all to fit on...we sat there and sang some praise songs and talked about everything we could see. Then we went into the tram station to look around and got headed back into town to the Candy Lady.

WOAH

They love each other....even if its not always obvious. 

Some teenager tricks.

We wanted to visit (or should I say the Race wanted us to visit) the Candy Lady for 2 reasons..I read rave reviews about this shop all over Trip Advisor AND she makes the blue candy drugs from Breaking Bad. Adam and I watched the first couple of seasons and were hooked so this sounded fun. We had no idea just how awesome it would be. From the moment we walked in until we left we were treated like stars!!..Our kids showed the nice lady behind the counter the clue that said they had to try a Red Chili Truffle and so she started whipping them out....they were kind of big so I told them to share and she said "no, they don't need to share!!". From there she said we all needed somthing to cleanse our pallet from the spicy chile so she got some orange creamsicle fudge out. Well then we needed to try her peanut butter snack......AND then she took us to the back to pose with the blue candy drugs and her cutouts of Walt and Jesse from the show. THEN she brought people out from the back who were owners and bakers and introduced us and told them about our race. She was a HOOT. We finally convinced her to let us buy something (even though at that point we were in a sugar coma) and so she told us all about their candies and treats. All three kids chose chocolate covered caramel coated marshmallows. Adam chose a white chocolate coffee bar and I got a dark chocolate coconut bon bon. We also bought 10 bags of the famed candy drugs for souvenirs for our friends who also watched the show. EVERYTHING was heavenly and we thought were done but she followed us outside and made several recommendations for more stops and took several pictures of us. THEN, Little man had to go poop so she took him back to the staff bathroom and 20 minutes later we were on our way with FULL BELLIES and happy hearts as she blessed us while we were getting in the van.

Just hanging out with Jesse and Walt!

They were quite happy with their choices...I think they got the marshmellows because were the biggest single serving :).

One of many pictutes she took of us out front!

From there we saw two cute stores that we really wanted to shop in so in we went....Old downtown Albuequerque is quite cute and if we ever go back that is where we will stay. Ribbit found a small carved stone animal that she wanted and after asking the owner to show her every single one he owned (a good 30 minutes) she wore him down in price ....hehe...he was ready for her to make a decision.......it sooo reminded me of the first time she saw the buffet choices on our cruise and about had a meltdown when given sooo many choices. I found a nice souvenir for a family member there as well and off we went to our next location which was waiting for us in the clue in Ribbit's booster seat when we got back from shopping!

TOO MANY CHOICES!!