Lubbock, Texas!

I swear I am getting worse and worse at staying on top of our adventures. This past weekend was something of a repeat of the weekend before. We didn't technically have a "surprise" date as we had travel/family plans. Late Friday afternoon we started the trek to Lubbock which was about a 5 1/2 hour drive. The drive through New Mexico is actually one of our favorites. We stopped once for gas and pistachios in Carlsbad (home of the legendary caverns). Once we got outside of Lubbock it down poured, which made the last leg of the trip a little slower.

Chris' stepmom's parents own a farm outside of Lubbock in a small town called Crosbyton. The farm is supposedly one of the largest in the state at over 1,500 acres combined. It was a very welcome change of pace compared to the rat race of El Paso. It almost felt like being home for me :) We got to tour a little bit of Lubbock, went to a brew pub in town, attended a birthday party/family gathering, and even went to a water park on Sunday. It was a packed weekend, but we both had a really great time. The weather was great, we met some really awesome people, and got to explore a new part of the country. We couldn't have asked for anything more!

SLC...and Moab

So this past weekend probably doesn't technically qualify as a surprise date, but it sure was an awesome one. Chris and I drove up to Salt Lake City (about 14 hours) for a family get-together to send off Uncle Brandon as he gets ready to deploy. We both were able to get both Friday and Monday off, which really helped. Friday we made the drive up through New Mexico, Colorado and Utah. The drive was absolutely beautiful. On the way, we drove through Moab, UT and decided we would have to stop on our return trip. The weather was beautiful. Chris did most of the driving, save about 3 hours. Chris hadn't been to Utah in almost 20 years, and I had never met his mom's side of the family. I can't begin to tell you how awesome they all were. I felt right at home immediately. I also decided that Utah was amazingly beautiful. The whole trip was a complete surprise for Uncle Brandon. The weekend culminated with a barbecue on Saturday night. Chris drove me to one of the house's he grew up in. It really was an awesome trip.

As everyone was taking off on Sunday, we decided to begin our trip and drive 4 hours back to Moah, UT. Moab is something of an extreme-sports-off-roading-adventure enthusiast's mecca. It was definitely in the desert, and really hot, but we managed to snag the last cabin in a campground with AC! Once we were settled in, we walked downtown and did some shopping, then headed to Moab Brewing for dinner. It was a pretty cool place, and we had lots of great beer. Surprisingly, Utah beer has a relatively low alcohol level due to state laws. It still tasted great though! We capped off the night with a campfire at our camp site. We rounded off the trip home on Monday with a detour to the Four Corners Monument in Teec Nos Pos, AZ. We walked from Arizona to Utah to New Mexico to Colorado in less than 5 minutes! We managed to pick up a couple souvenirs here too. It was an exhausting, exciting, incredible adventure! We both can't wait to go back to Utah!

From the Top

This past weekend was Chris' turn. He went all out and surprised my with tickets to a show at the Plaza Theater downtown. Before the show we grabbed some drinks at the Dome Bar in the Camino Real, and after the show we grabbed dinner at La Huerta, also in the Camino. The show was called "From the Top" and featured young, classical musicians from around the country (and world). The music was incredible, and the artists were really inspiring. Aside from being amazing musicians, most of them also contributed to their communities in some way, and many of them had won scholarships to continue practicing their arts. Past alums of the show went on the teach at the New York Philharmonic, star in blockbuster movies, and appear on Broadway. The show was actually live recorded for radio, so we had to be relatively quiet to comply with the producer. It was really interesting to see the back end of a radio production. A 13 year old played a clarinet piece, a 19 year old played an organ piece, an 11 year old played the harp (our personal favorite), a local 16 year old El Pasoan played the violin, and two teenagers (one from Thailand), played a piano duo piece. It was really entertaining. If you ever get a chance, we highly recommend it!

Wine Fest!

Alright, back it up to last weekend. Last weekend was Chris' first back from the field, and it was a long one! We both had four days off, and they flew by. On Saturday, we had the pleasure of attending a wedding of some friends at La Vina Winery right across the border in New Mexico. This was followed by a barbecue at their house. Sunday was filled with errands and dinner and a movie. Monday was the wine fest! The fest was held at the Southern New Mexico fairgrounds (the same place as the beer fest!). The show ran from 12-6 with a military discount for Memorial Day. There were dozens of wineries and vineyards in attendance, as well as vendors, food and music. It was a hot one, and Chris and I are still reeling from the sun burn. We had some delicious wine, listened to some awesome music (and danced a little), and I
even found a Detroit Lions apron that I had to have. It was an awesome day, albeit a long one. We stopped at High Desert Brewing on the way home, and I think we crashed out for the night as soon as we got home :)