Top Five Destinations of Albuquerque

It?s funny how cartoons have impacted my life. For example, whenever I hear a popular piece of classical music, I don?t think of composers wearing wigs or symphonies filling auditoriums with glorious music. I think of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck and what they did in their animated adventures while those notes played in the background. For a second example, you have to look no further than my fascination with Pismo Beach and Albuquerque. I hear those city names and the first thing to pop into my mind is ?I knew I should have taken the left turn there.?

ABQ!

My first trip to Pismo Beach came on a long road trip from Colorado to Portland, Oregon by way of Southern Utah, Los Angeles and the Pacific Coast Highway. As I drove north on the PCH, I saw a sign for Pismo Beach and Bugs Bunny popped out of a hole in my imagination, looked at a map and scratched his head. I stopped for a meal and to look around at a used bookstore and jumped back on the road, certain that I continued on the correct road on the way to San Simeon and beyond. Now, I look forward to heading to Albuquerque and after I finish reminiscing about Bugs, I?ll check out these five things.

See the Anderson – Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum

I can?t say that I?ve ever come across a museum devoted to balloons. (I also haven?t come across one devoted to toenail clippings, but balloons sound much less gross.) If I go to the Anderson-Abruzzo Albuquerque International Balloon Museum, then I will have come across one, and explored it.

Hike in Petroglyph National Monument

As part of a hurried road trip to return to my home in Missouri, I once passed through the outskirts of Albuquerque and made time for a brief stop at Petroglyph National Monument. Coming back to the park means that I?ll be able to hike all three canyon trails and the Volcanoes day use area. Also, now I can use my cell phone to get explanations of the petroglyphs as I hike.

Scare myself at the American International Rattlesnake Museum

If there is one way that I am exactly like Indiana Jones, it?s that I hate snakes. Hate them. They make me freeze up and I can?t breathe when I see them. However, because I?m a bit of a masochist I suppose, I also like to scare myself, so that makes the American International Rattlesnake Museum a place to stop to see at least 16 types of rattlesnakes. The snakes will still freak me out, but fortunately they are safely behind glass. Right? Yes. Right. Right. Keep telling myself right.

Eat a Gourmet Dinner during a Murder Mystery at the Spy House

I?ve never checked out a murder mystery dinner, so the Murder Mystery at The Spy House seems like a great introduction. To enjoy a gourmet meal as well as entertainment in a house with ties to Ethel and Julius Rosenberg sounds too good to pass up.

Check out the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History

To help put the espionage in context, a trip to the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History would be in order. The ?Decision to Drop? exhibit sounds like it would be the perfect one, as it explains the timeline of nuclear research from the Manhattan Project to the Cold War.

Any suggestions for things that I missed? Any additional recommendations for the area? Just let me know in the comments.