We visited the childhood home of George W Bush in Midland, TX on the 14th. One of the nine houses that the Bush family lived in the Midland area has been turned into a museum.
The guide was thorough and patient (though slightly nervous with the Clyde kid dancing on newly finished wood floors, as well as the Obama sticker on our Supermobile).
Most of the items were replicas of items once owned by the Bush family. The aqua blue Frigidare (very cool) was a donation from Laura Bush's mother who unplugged it from her own kitchen to donate.
As we left, the guide handed me a glossy pamphlet on the Petroleum Museum and all its wonders. "The boys will love it. There's a race car." "She's the one that's into race cars," I said pointing to Adeline who was dressed head-to-toe in pink.
We drove on and stopped in Roswell, New Mexico to look for UFOs. The Alien Cafe in District 51 stayed open while we toured and took goofy photographs.
We found a local, active park with play equipment and a series of baseball games going. I cooked dinner on our camp stove while the kids used up all their human energy and then some. We drove into the night and arrived in Santa Fe before midnight. Santa Fe was a welcome break. We loved our hotel and comfy beds. We loved the adobe setting and the wandering cowboys. We really loved the breakfast staff who delighted in our rambunctious kids and brought them picture after picture to color, pancakes with ears, and performed goofy dances for their enjoyment. Day One: we walked around the town and absorbed the flavor. We found a labyrinth, an Indian street market, a store with animal statues (from which I had to take Adeline kicking and screaming. The purple and black snake was cool. It was also $400).
The forecast had more than suggested rain. Afraid that it might rain the following day, we drove to Bandalier National Park outside of Santa Fe. What a good decision! The mile plus walk led to beautiful cliff dwellings.
The boys were ahead of us, but Adeline perservered and we completed the walk. She has always been a little afraid of heights and half way up the first ladder to the first accessible cliff dwelling, she panicked. I urged her on and put my hands on the rungs above her and told her to place her hands on mine. It worked. We made it up! And she was very, very proud. We high-fived a few times. She found one cave with "beds" for all of us. She climbed into her bed...hole... And said she was going to sleep there. It was naptime after all!
By the time I convinced her to leave, a long line of people had formed to visit our cave. A man overhearing our negotiations said to his wife, "I truly don't know who is going to win this one." thanks, mister. When we rejoined the boys, the kids were high, telling each other what they had each seen. Adeline was proud to tell her brothers that she had climbed, too. I know that this was a huge day for her and some part of her would always remember this place.
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