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 . . . and it was all kinds of Los Ojos Saloon, Kyoto Sushi & Steak House, Walatowa Pueblo, and Kiwanis Cabin amazingness.
Life is so worth living with these types of memories to be had.
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Today was the first full day visiting my folks in New Mexico and we most certainly made the most of it as evidenced by this slideshow of the Sandia Crest hike Dad and I took on and conquered nicely. Weather? Perfect at @73 degrees even though we expected colder temps, bringing jackets just in case but ending up wearing them around our waists unnecessarily. Then after landing all of the perfect photo opportunities and feeling confident about our overall hike achievement, we finished off the afternoon in the best way possible by eating Gyoza, Sushi, and Bento boxes at Kyoto Sushi and Steak House, the best meal I've encountered in longer than I can remember and one that I hope to repeat again soon. So this whole hike through the Sandian Mountainside experience was not on my bucket list but entirely should have been. So in retrospect of it all? CHECK.
 The recent destructive fire that mauled the Notre-Dame Cathedral drew me back into my photo archives to revisit the City of Lights, only this time with Notre-Dame mostly intact - scaffolding stood next to the side of the church where work was taking place during my visit. And I have a feeling the vow to rebuild will become a reality, especially with so many generous donors coming out of the woodwork. Still... very sad this even had to happen.
 I'm remembering my visit to this place on Memorial Day last year, the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, which at the time seemed like the most appropriate location to spend the day honoring service members, past and present. And unsurprisingly, seeing this photo again brings back more emotion than I can possibly post in blog form, but if it touches anyone else in just a fragment of what I experienced, at least posting it here was worth the effort.
 Park Ranger Steve was a valuable resource to me in my quest for petroglyphs on the Piedras Marcadas Canyon Trail, complete with an info session on how former inhabitants grounded up stuff on this big flat rock. But not only did I find and learn more about petroglyphs in this hugely spiritual place, but I also sent up some of the biggest prayers I've ever prayed in my life. And upon returning back to Rio Rancho, I actually saw the fruits of my labor in action.
Hallelujah! But oddly, as I hiked back down from the volcanic rubble-y covered canyon to revert back into Jeep-mode, Walgreens sat there staring me in the face. Complete and total sacrilege seeing this clash of history versus modern culture sitting there right next to one another, but I'm not going to let that mess with all those prayers waiting to be answered. Nope.  This is precisely how my life perspective got kicked in the pants today - by riding on the back of my Dad's motorcycle through the scenic desert-y sands of New Mexico, pitstop for fry bread at Jemez Pueblo included. And now I'm feeling all adrenaline rushed with no desire of coming back down again, because who would, right? And I'm also left wondering...
How have I NOT been doing this all my life??? Photos taken from my Sony Cyber-shot digital camera do not do justice to the spectacular-ness of my last visit to Italy, hence the need to return for a refresher. And I do believe in the Fontana di Trevi legend stating that throwing a coin into the fountain ensures a future return to Rome. Except, next visit? Nikon photo-taking. Totally.
 After running smack into this exquisite leather and fur jacket while in Dillards yesterday, I knew this dream item would be the perfect addition to my Christmas 2017 wish list. And why is this particular jacket so "dreamy" to me? Because I ran across a similar jacket in St. Pancras railway station while touring Europe with my folks a few years ago. We were loading on and off trains through the Chunnel and took advantage of the layover time to do a little bit of souvenir shopping when this expensive gem caught my eye. But unfortunately, I squashed my urge to buy the jacket back then and bought a toy double-decker bus for my son instead. So after giving up my dream of owning that leather and fur piece of fabulousness so long ago, it only seems right that I should dream that dream all over again.
If only Santa will agree with me on this.  For lack of anything substantial to post on Halloween, I decided to post a rarely-been-seen image of me visiting the Italian Air Base in which my Dad was the Commander, Ghedi A.B. This photo was taken while I visited Mom & Dad and had the ABSOLUTE TIME OF MY LIFE touring around Italy, the Vatican, and throughout Europe - an experience as effervescent in my brain as trick-or-treating back in the day.
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AuthorI am Brenda Swenson and sometimes I blog. Archives
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