Road Trip to Albquerque

Last weekend my husband and I went on a road trip to Albquerque, NM to see the Kings of Leon which is one of our all time favorite bands.  We almost flew over to Belgium to see them last summer for Andy's birthday.  What a fun getaway with my best friend and just what we both needed.

The drive down was so beautiful.  We got to see the southern San Juan mountains on fire with the autumn leaf colors.  Then we entered the beautiful and vast desert.  We jammed out our tunes and rolled the windows down.  Driving from Telluride to NM is such an easy drive compared to going to Denver.  The roads are pretty straight and there aren't really any mountain passes that you have to go over once you get over Lizard Head.  It took us about 5 and half hours since we packed a lunch and ate in the car.

We got a room at the Hyatt near the airport because there aren't any hotels close to the Isleta Amphitheater.  The hotel was pretty good and pretty affordable with a little mini bar downstairs, food and Starbucks coffee.  And the beds were comfortable.

We rested up for a bit.  Then we started looking at all the great options for restaurants.  I had no idea how many ethnic places that they have there.  Since we have plenty of New Mexican style restaurants  at home, we decided to spice it up with a Latin fusion restaurant called Pasion Lation Fusion.  It was just this little place that you would have driven right by without noticing.  The menu is incredible!  Such innovative items that were to die for.  I started off with a Jalapeño Margarita and Andy had a Mojito.  They also make their own house Sangria too.  We decided to get a bunch of small plates instead of entrees.  It was so hard to decide.  Here's what we went for:

Garbanzo cakes with spicy tuna

Yellowtail Ceviche

Fried Queso Manchego with a Honey Chipotle Dip

Duck Taquitos with a corn & cotija cheese & pickled red onions

We made our way to the Isleta Amphitheater which was so easy to get into and park.  We even got to park right up near the entrance.  We tailgated a little bit and then made our way in.  It's like a whole little complex in there.  Our seats were incredible!  They were super close and they only cost $80 compared to the $250 price tag that we were looking at Red Rocks.  You can also get lawn seats for $40 which are actually really good seats too.  Off to stage right and left they have common areas with lots of vendors selling food and drinks.

The Kongos and Young the Giant opened up for Kings of Leon.  They were incredible bands.  I downloaded their music.  Then Kings of Leon came on and I am telling you what - we were like two teenage girls dancing and singing and being completely silly.  We had such a fun time!  There was even talk of driving to Vegas to see the next show the next night. Haha!  That didn't happen.

After sleeping in on Saturday morning which translates to 7:30 am (Blerg!!), we decided on some good ol' comfort food to absorb all the fun.  We went to Cecilia's Cafe where they are known for their 10 lbs. burrito.  I got the huevos rancheros and Andy got the Chicken Fried Steak Breakfast.  It was just the right portions and with their own red and green chili that made it perfect.  Don't bother asking for the hot sauce because they don't have any.  Our server said that "it messes up her sister's chili".  

Cecilia's Cafe

We hit the road to go home but we seriously wanted to find a reason to stay another night.  We went home a different route through Durango, CO so we could go over Red Mountain Pass to see the beautiful fall leaves.  We stopped in Aztec, NM to see the ruins of the anasazi.  That was such a humbling experience.  

Aztec Ruins

We made a pit stop in Durango for a Cafe Mocha and listened to a little bluegrass band on the corner.

Red Mountain Pass

We made home just in time for dinner.  What a great getaway for us!  I can't wait to go back and try the Vietnamese Restaurant.  Little trips like this are so great and was the perfect little rejuvenation for me and Andy.  Plus, we were totally "tweakers by the speakers" together (you have to listen to the song by Keller Williams to understand).