Back... from the Murphy's Law vacation

I'm going to cheat here. I'm going to post a copy of the email I sent out to my friends explaining about the vacation. I'll probably go into more detail about the whole thing later on, but for now, this will have to suffice.

Well, I'm back!

 

Back from the wilds of New Mexico and the vacation where Murphy's Law was in full force!

 

First, let me tell you all the "malfunctions' that happened:

 

1. Hubby didn't quite remember his vacation dates; as a result, he couldn’t get the time off to match up with the plans that had been made.
2. We had two cars break down on us in New Mexico, one of them when we were 20 miles from home.
3. The toilet at my IL's house got clogged up and couldn't be unclogged.
4. Parking at the cowboy museum was torn up and it was a long, hot walk to get to it.
5. I forgot my most necessary medicine.
6. My FIL's license was found to be expired when he went to pick up the rental car.
7. I caught a cold.
8. Hubby's flight was slightly delayed.
9. The Petroleum Museum was closed when we wanted to tour it.
10. The TSA (Transportation Security Administration) gave us a hassle over our nine-year-old's toy guns at the security checkpoint.
11. And, as icing on the cake, Hubby lost his car keys as we were coming home.

 

How did we deal with these things?

 

1. The kids and I went on without my husband, who joined us for a day or two at the end of the trip.
2. My FIL called a friend to come and get us then sent his van to the shop. He arranged for a rental car for Saturday. We managed to limp home with the other car and a friend of FIL's took us to the hotel where we swam in the pool and stayed overnight. We got the rental car the next day.
3. Well, the boys were staying at my IL's and they used a bucket... for anything else, we went to the local motel where the girl and I were staying. Their sewer pipes need a good cleaning out, I'm afraid.
4. We walked, and saw the museum, which was nice and cool inside. http://www.nmculture.org/cgi-bin/instview.cgi?_recordnum=LCC
5. My hubby was allowed to leave work and get the medicine from home then his supervisor sent it out Express Mail. I also got an interim prescription from the local K-Mart, who called my doctor for it.
6. My MIL signed for the rental, a 2005 Suburban, and since she wasn't up to driving, she put my name and license on it and I got to drive it all weekend! Woo Hoo!
7. I still have the cold, but I'm getting over it.
8. Hubby did get to New Mexico and not too much later.
9. We didn't get to the Petroleum Museum http://www.petroleummuseum.org/ , but we did get to the Commemmorative Aircraft museum near the airport. Very worth the time! http://www.commemorativeairforce.org/
10. We put the toy guns in the nine-year-old's carry-on bag, then checked the bag for the cargo hold.
11. Our cat sitter was able to get my keys from the house and bring them to the airport... and Hubby's keys were found in the rental car and are already in the mail to us.

 

Despite all the malfunctions, it was a wonderful vacation and eye-opening in many ways. The terrain was, as our girl put it, "alarmingly flat" even for being over three thousand feet above sea level. It was also much greener than expected; they had had a lot of rain during the spring. We were in the heart of oil country; there was an oil pump just one block from my in-law's house and the air smelled of it when the natural gas plants were burning off unwanted gasses (that's what my MIL said it was). We stayed at a nice hotel for our swimming, and spent lots of time with the grandparents, playing games, watching TV and generally goofing off. It was a mother-daughter slumber party every evening for my girl and me until my husband arrived. We got to see a couple of interesting museums and best of all, Carlsbad Caverns!

 

I can't adequately describe this beautiful place. Outside, it was hot and arid, and we were far enough up so that we could see for miles and miles over a more desert landscape than we had seen before, covered with yucca plants and cacti. We took the elevator 750 feet beneath the ground for the "Big Room Tour", a self-guided tour on a path, over a mile in length, that wound through this huge cavern. Think of the biggest cathedral that you can, and multiply it by three or four, at least. Lights were placed throughout the cave, spotlighting various beautiful formations; stalactites and stalagmites, all looking like they were covered in a slick, snowy icing. The path was guarded by rails, both to keep people on the path, and to give support in places where the path was steep. The size of the place was both amazing and awe-inspiring. It was cool and moist inside, and I surprised myself and my family by making the whole circuit. A wonderful experience and one I'd repeat in a heartbeat.

 

The kids were excited by the prospect of seeing more and different wildlife, though we really only saw a lizard, some rabbits, and believe it or not, a peacock! We did a lot of driving at 75 mph down long, straight, and mostly monotonous highways. The trip was the first time flying for my sons, and the first time in a long time for my daughter. They came through like troupers and enjoyed the flight both to and from their grandparents' house. Still, we were all very happy to get back home to our cats and our own beds.

 

I'm sure I'll catch up with some of you in the next few days; I was able to look at my email and write to a few people, but not many. And my FIL does not have any IM programs on his computer, so there was no chatting, either.

 

Hope this helps answer you questions about our trip! Now to get over the time zone change! And to finish Masquerade chapter 17!