Social media has often been accused of creating false expectations by presenting overly optimistic postings. These upbeat posts can lead readers to be depressed if their lives are not so rosy by comparison. This post is not guilty of that accusation. I will reveal the bad (briefly) while reporting the good.
Frank and I were on vacation travel to Albuquerque NM to meet up with college friends Wednesday February 19 to Wednesday February 26, staying at a Vacation Rental By Owner (VRBO). The reunion had an auspicious start. Frank & I had a scheduled 50-minute layover in Las Vegas to transfer flights. This layover stretched out to 4 hours since the arrival of our incoming flight was delayed by weather. Such was the dubious start to our "vacation"... a minor perturbation. The "official" start of our reunion also began a day late when Margaret delayed leaving Tennessee to care for a sick granddaughter and ailing daughter-in-law. Again, no big deal. We would be able to rest for a day after traveling instead of hitting the ground running.
At the tail end of our reunion, on our seventh day, Frank & my departure date was extended to
Sunday March 2 with a not-so-minor perturbation Four days of that unanticipated five day extension were due to Frank's emergency room visit and subsequent four day hospital stay. Yikes. This
was a big deal!
Executive summary
- WEDNESDAY Frank and I had a 50 flight transfer in Las Vegas that stretch out to 4 hours since the arrival of our incoming flight was delayed by weather.
- THURSDAY Frank & I and John & Sue rested up from travel in pleasant catch-up conversation and few episodes of Sequence playing. We also used this time to create a schedule for our planned list of activities while we awaited Margaret's airport arrival. Then we all went out to dinner.
- FRIDAY afternoon we rode the tram to Sandia Peak; the high altitude and cold air wreaked havoc on my breathing difficulties and low energy level. Later that day we all cheered on an evening Ice Wolves hockey game.
- SATURDAY we relaxed in the VRBO, starting a jigsaw puzzle and engaging in an Escape Game.
- SUNDAY was time for church and a matinee performance of Les Miserables.
- MONDAY we had wisely decided to scale back from a suggested side trip up to Santa Fe. Instead Frank & I, and Margaret explored the Wheels Museum while John & Sue checked out Old Town Albuquerque. We all convened in Old Town for a late lunch.
- TUESDAY all hell broke loose. John & Sue and Margaret set off to the hot air ballon museum as planned. After they left, Frank had a slow fall incident into an awkward position that that left him unable to get up due to arm weakness. Frank & I were participants in a 911 call, a fire rescue episode, and a subsequent ambulance ride to the ER room at Presbyterian Central Hospital culminating in a four day hospital stay. Frank was diagnosed with a Myasthenia Gravis flare. Plus both he and I had Flu-A.
- WEDNESDAY Dan flew in from Colorado first thing in the morning to help us by being a much needed source of physical and moral support
- FRIDAY evening Frank was released from the hospital
- SATURDAY Dan flew home; Frank & I rested a day at the Hotel Parq Central
- SUNDAY Frank and I flew back to California on two no-issues flights
Now that you have read the executive summary, here are some photos. There are limited ones of the good times and even fewer of the bad times.
Wednesday 2/19/25
Frank had been having some leg pain due to arthritis and so we brought along his rollator to lean on and mitigate the discomfort. It came in handy. It allowed us to find seats away from the gates, overcrowded from flight delays, and park ourselves along the more sparsely populated walls of a corridor. As we were sitting there across from a door marked "M.R.Whitsett" we wondered about the cart and people traffic moving in and out from whatever was within. Curious we asked ourselves who Mr. Whitsett coudl be, who was so important to have an office of his own. To make the time pass we chatted with Robin as we waited and watched. She managed to google and find out for us that M.R. Whitsett was not a celebrity person but rather merely a company that serviced the airport terminal. The mystery was solved but the resolution was a bit of a letdown. At least the query was a distraction to alleviate the long delay for our second leg of the flight.
John & Sue had kept track of our flight arrival time in Albuquerque and adjusted to pick us up and take us to the VRBO only about 15 minutes away. Although, John
did have to circle the airport multiple times to find the cell phone lot. He never did. There were signs for it but that was about all. When he inquired with a security guard in the pick up area he was told the lot had never been established - only the signs! When I check out a
link for the lot, there was this statement:
Coming Soon: New Cell Phone Waiting Area Coming Late 2024. Guess there is still a wait for waiting.
Thursday 2/30/25
We spent a leisurely Thursday morning an afternoon since Margaret has rescheduled her flight for a day later in order to stay and care for her sick granddaughter and ailing daughter-in-law. We used the time wisely to plot our plan for the various excursions. A New Mexico Ice Wolves hockey game and a Les Miserable musical were the only activities with pre-set times. The following map shows the location and extent of our intended ventures. The three activities that were the most north were the Balloon Museum, the Outpost Ice Arena for the hockey game and the Sandia Peak Tramway ride. Other activities, Wheels Museum and Old Town were in the southwest not far from the VRBO at Marquettte Avenue. Les Mis was performed at Popejoy Hall on the Univeristy of New Mexico campus and is an unlabeled circle. Also added to the map after the fact, as a surprise location, is Presbyterian Central Hospital. The airport is at the south.
After Margaret's arrival we all went out to dinner at a restaurant with good food, but loud, LOUD music. All the patrons needed to yell to be heard. We restricted our communication to chewing and hand signals and would reserve our catching up until later.
Friday 2/21/25
Based on their distance to the north and their proximity to each other, we planned to ride the sky tram to Sandia Peak and attend the hockey game on the same day. Although sunset is recommended as the optimum time for the tram journey, we went mid afternoon so as to allow us enough time to enjoy the views and attractions at the peak and still have an adequate margin of time for getting to the evening hockey game. We boarded the tram at 6,559' elevation and would exit at 10,378' elevation
In the next photo Frank and Margaret are waiting to board our tram car. Each trip is called a flight. At this same level is the gift shop. We anticipated a sort of ranger station with facts and figures about the experience but there was none. Perhaps there would be one at the top. There are vast scenic views along the route which takes about 15 minutes.
The logo for the Sandia Peak Aerial Tramway is in the next photo. I found it interesting how the sun glimmered through the metal work sign of the logo and projected an image on one of the wooden walkways. Level platforms were connected with shallow ramps.
Once at the top the air was so thin and so cold. I struggled to breathe and was barely able to negotiate the incline of the ramps, having to take frequent breaks. The rest of the crew were not breathless but they were cold even though we'd dressed for and expected a 30℉ drop in the temperature from the lower start point of the tram. Bummer, but I developed a hacking cough that I could not shed for several days. Nevertheless, I insisted we take a picture of everyone admiring the view. Then what? There was no additional ranger station and since we were neither skiing nor hiking we had some time to fill. We decide to sit inside at the casual portion of the restaurant called
Ten 3, so named to reference the
ten thousand,
3 hundred feet elevation.
Sandía means watermelon in Spanish, and is popularly believed to be a reference to the reddish color of the mountains at sunset. Aha! That is why there was watermelon ice cream offered at the restaurant along with the following menu items we ordered. After getting warmed up and with full stomachs we took the tram ride down.
- FaultyLoop Wrap lightly marinated grilled chicken / local tucumcari cheddar cheese / spinach tortilla / lettuce / tomato bacon / ranch
- Apple Cider Zeppoles covered with cinnamon sugar served with salted caramel & cream cheese dipping sauces
On the way down, John recorded this one-minute video of part of the experience. My! That is steep slope.
Friday 2/21/25 (cont.)The ice hockey arena for the Friday night game is located at the base of the mountain whose peak we had just visited. The team is called the New Mexico Ice Wolves and their logo is very well thought out and symbolic.
We had seats fairly centrally located and high enough up that we barely cleared the protective plexiglass in place to safeguard us against random flying pucks. This was my first hockey game ever and it did not disappoint. It was fun and fast paced with enough skirmishes to keep it interesting. One major fight broke out but I missed it because the woman in front of me decided she had to stand up to get a better view, totally blocking me. I yanked on her coat and told her to sit down - which she did but only after I'd missed the climactic part. I did see the key offender (one of our guys) ejected from the ice and out of the arena, not just into the penalty box. Per
Wikipedia The rulebooks of the NHL and other professional leagues contain specific rules for fighting. These rules state that at the initiation of a fight, both players must definitely drop their sticks so as not to use them as a weapon. Players must also "drop" or shake off their protective gloves to fight bare-knuckled, as the hard leather and plastic of hockey gloves would increase the effect of landed blows.
I learned that throwing punches is ok but if the gloves do not come off to throw a punch, that action is cause for immediate and irrevocable ejection from the game. The Ice Wolves had to play for ~10 minutes being down by one player as a penalty. We lost to the Jackalopes but the game had been close until the very end when we were at an outnumbered disadvantage.
One very enjoyable aspect of the game was the audience participation each time the Ice Wolves scored a goal. Outside in the lobby before the game I purchased six rubber wolves for $5 from a fund raising table. Frank is holding one of these wolves in the lower right corner of the next photo. The idea is that every time the Ice Wolves score a goal, fans are to cheer and toss a rubber wolf into the rink. Then support skaters swoop around with wide arcs on a stick and scoop them off the ice, to be re-sold and re-used at another game. The trick is tossing the wolf high enough to get it over the plexiglass shield. Frank & I both failed at gaining enough altitude with our wolves. Only John succeeded in firing one over the barrier and onto the ice. It was fun.
Saturday 2/22/25
After a two-activity day, we planned to take it easy back at the VRBO with some tabletop activities and TV breaks. We began a 1000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle by White Mountain titled Field of Dreams. This puzzle choice was quite fitting since John coaches youth baseball; plus he & Sue are avid national parks fans.
BASEBALL & NATURE COLLIDE: This 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle captures the enchanting intersection of baseball & nature, showcasing a field of dreams set against the breathtaking backdrop of Yosemite National Park. Experience the magic of this unique combination.
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK: Marvel at the awe-inspiring beauty of Yosemite National Park as it serves as the backdrop for the baseball field. The majestic mountains, lush greenery, & cascading waterfalls add a sense of wonder & adventure to the puzzle.
Margaret had brought along an escape game.
The Escape Room Game - Mars Edition by Talking Tables. An asteroid is hurtling towards Earth with just 24 hours until total destruction. Can you and your teammates solve the puzzles and prove your worthiness of a seat on the last shuttle to Mars?"
Lateral think is at odds with five MIT brains trained to the utmost in logical thinking. We kept getting hung up on the measurement units being inconsistent. Alas, our team was not deemed deserving of a seat on that departing shuttle. Our destinies doomed us to die a dastardly demise due to a devastating asteroid. Drats!
We also relaxed with some TV time. We watched a couple episodes of Celebrity Jeopardy. Fortunately the contestants were not too obnoxious; the clues are also a bit dumbed down and more answerable - actually to be precise, more questionable. I happened to find the movie My Cousin Vinny, a classic that is always good for a chuckle so we watched that one afternoon. I'll admit, it was just me who could not sleep in teh wee hours of the night so I distracted myself with the movie Big.
- My Cousin Vinny 1992 classic for which Marisa Tomei won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar; as a child, Marisa's mother frequently corrected her speech as to eliminate her heavy Brooklyn accent.
- Big 1988 starring a very young looking Tom Hanks
Sunday 2/26/25
We had tickets to a matinee performance of Les Misérables presented at Popejoy Hall on the University of New Mexico campus. Our seats were in the balcony, a price point for which we were willing to expend our cash. We could still hear and feel the music although the words were not always enunciated clearly enough for us to understand.
The theatre was best accessed by a remote parking lot on campus and then availing ourselves of a shuttle that took us to the door of the theatre. Once at the theatre there was a small glitch. The elevator was temporarily out of service so we had to walk the flights up to our balcony seats. Our hiking friends had no difficulty but I was huffing and puffing. The elevator was fixed for the end of the show but not for the restroom break at intermission. I soldiered on - the urge to pee outweighed the urge to breathe - and the show was worth the effort.
One mistake I made was not looking up the show before we went. I had sung some of the songs when I was a member of the Broadway Chorus so those were familiar to me. I had not read the book nor seen the show before so I had trouble following the plot. The cast did a great job but the theatre had low lighting and the stage was broodingly dark to suit the mood of the production. I myself was in the dark literally and cognitively. I immersed myself in the music and allowed myself to be OK with not understanding everything. It was a challenge for me to let go of the comprehension side of things, but I managed to do so and enjoyed the time with friends.
Monday 2/27/25
Frank & I spent a few hours with Margaret at the Wheels Museum while John & Sue went to Old Town. The museum was an eclectic collection of anything having to do with land transportation, from covered wagons to trains, from classic cars to circus cars, from milk deliveries to ice cream sales.
Wheels Museum is a nonprofit organization in the Albuquerque Rail Yards dedicated to collecting, preserving, and creating educational exhibits about the history of transportation in Albuquerque and New Mexico with emphasis on the impact on the development of the area. Our collections embrace the history of the railroads, the impact of the rail yards on Albuquerque, as well as automobiles, horse and wagon, and other modes of transportation.
Route 66 was a prevalent theme among displays and wall murals.
These elaborately decorated circus wagons were quite intricate and lovely to admire.
Let us not forget the importance of wheels to the dairy industry. Here were displays of milk deliveries and mobile sales of ice cream.
The docents at the facilities were enthusiastic, knowledgable retirees who clearly loved their job. They were filled with model train and rail yard information that delighted Frank. Margaret and I roamed as Frank was deep in conversation with some of the other rail buffs. Frank left the museum with several books in hand to pour over at his leisure.
The docents had great report with the kiddos and clearly got a kick out of giving them train rides.... and not just the kids. Frank, Margaret, and I each had a few giggles and grunts as we were whisked away on not-at-all-padded seats of that indoor train that jarred our bones. The docents sense of humor was prevalent. Note the hitch hiker on the cow catcher on the front of the train's engine.
Frank & I and Margaret then took an Uber about 2½ miles north to Old Town and joined John & Sue for lunch at a place called the Church Street Cafe. I admired the mosaic tiled tables but the best surprise of all was the offering of soppapillas.
A sopapilla is "(especially in New Mexico) a deep fried pastry eaten with honey or sugar or as a bread". I remembered them fondly from my business trips to the area when I was working as a mechanical engineer. Albuquerque and Los Alamos were the only places I'd ever had them so it was a coincidental delight to re-discover them here.
Tuesday 2/25/25
In the morning Frank fell across the threshold between our bathroom and bedroom at the VRBO and could not get up due to no arm strength. He'd had this occur once before; a bit of rest to regain the muscle strength had rectified the situation. With the team work of John, Sue, Margaret, and me, we got Frank up seated in a chair and he transferred back to bed. Frank and I were opting out of the hot air balloon museum trip with our friends but they set off leaving us behind to rest at the VRBO.
After falling back to sleep for a while, Frank rose again to use the bathroom. While standing in place to pee, he slowly started to lean over and could not support himself. He wound up slumped over the edge of the bathtub, head pressed against the far tile wall and his body wedged between the tub and the toilet. He called out to me for help and I called 911. When I told them my husband had fallen and could not get up they dispatched fire rescue. When it seemed interminably long for them to arrive, I called again, and urgently iterated that because of his awkward positioning I believed his breathing was being compromised. A unit arrived quickly. The fireman put a sling under Frank's arms beneath his chest, extricated him, and carried him down to a waiting ambulance. The paramedics put on a neck brace as a precaution.
We proceeded to the nearest hospital but the urgency did not merit use of lights and siren. The medical personnel let me ride along in the ambulance to
Presbyterian Central Hospital. It is a
huge multi-winged hospital about 15 minutes away to the west of our VRBO. We suspected Frank was suffering from a
Myasthenia Gravis flare. Several blood tests later while lying in the Emergency Room he was confirmed to also have Flu-A which is believed to be the exacerbating cause of the flare up. The doctor looked at me and said, without test confirmation, "If
he has Flu-A then
you have Flu-A." Great. Perhaps that was a contributor to my extreme exhaustion and breathing problems at Sandia Peak.
Each week, the CDC releases a map of influenza activity across the country. Here is the one for the week we arrived. Note that New Mexico (for those geographically challenged just to the left of the Texas panhandle) is the darkest colored state with flu activity very high. Frank and I were doomed, both of us being compromised by the medications we are on.
Frank's treatment would require intravenous infusions of immunoglobulins (IV-IG), i.e., donor antibodies, over a span of several days to offset his immunocompromised metabolism. I stayed with Frank in the ER until late afternoon. I realized I need to grab an Uber back to the VRBO, pack, and find a hotel room for myself during his stay. We were schedule to return home the next morning and I knew there was no way I could carry our suitcases down from the second story by myself even if Frank could go from the hospital onto a plane. I called Robin and Dan letting them know of the situation unfolding. I said I could manage on my own but Dan decided that he would come out and help. He was so right and I am so glad he insisted.
When I got back to the VRBO, John & Sue and Margaret were already there. I set to packing and asked Margaret to research and find a hotel for me near the hospital. She and Dan spoke directly to each other on the phone and selected the
Hotel Parq Central, booking Dan and me two rooms there. Then John & Sue carried my bags downstairs and into the rental car, drove me over to the hotel, helped me unload my bags and set them up in the room, and then drove me back over to the hospital. It was evening and Frank was still in an ER room getting his first infusion and waiting for a hospital room to become available.
The drop off at the ER entrance was an adventure in and of itself. I got out of the car and walked up to the sliding glass door to the ER entry. I was told I had to wait in my car that I could not come in just then. I said I was just dropped off, I do not have a car to wait in. John joined me by the door to see what the issue was. All of a sudden we heard yelling "Hands up! Down! Down on the ground!" Three or four uniformed men carrying long black guns like SWAT teams from the movies were surrounding a guy they had cornered and forced to the pavement. John and I both crouched down, hiding ourselves behind some low lying concrete lighting, doing our utmost to stay out of the way. Sue watched from inside the car, a surprised and concerned look on her face. It was all over in a few seconds and then I was let in and John & Sue pulled away. Way too much excitement for one day... !
Wednesday 2/26/25 to Friday 2/28/25
Dan arrives to our rescue. His light from Denver got into Albuquerque at 9:40 am. He had not checked any luggage, so he was at the hotel by around 10:30 am. I was so relieved to see him. Too early for him to check into his room, he dropped his bags at mine. We used the hotel shuttle to take us to the hospital and we got out at the Emergency Room entrance. Frank had been transferred to a room shortly after midnight so we trekked over to the fifth floor in the main hospital section. Due to the Flu-A, Frank was at the end of a long hallway on an isolation floor. I was glad Dan had the foresight to grab a wheelchair for me at the hospital entrance. I was too wiped to have walked that long distance. Did I mention? I was soooo glad Dan was there.
Dan got meals for himself and me and wheeled me down the long corridors and into different banks of elevators to save me the energy I could barely expend walking in my low energy, flu-infested state. He brought his laptop and was able to fill work demands and attend virtual meetings while being there in Albuquerque to support us. He would walk back and forth to the hotel s needed to do what he had to for his job; he parallel processed work and personal demands with great aplomb. We were grateful - and proud!
We were originally informed that the IV-IG process would take about five days. Realizing we were from of town, the medical personal checked if Frank could tolerate the infusion treatments and then compressed them to four days - Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. On Friday the staff set Frank up earlier in the day and really upped the infusion rate. The hospital was able to discharge Frank Friday evening. Dan helped us transfer and get settled into our room at the Hotel Parq Central. The view from our window at night was actually quite pretty and somewhat uplifting.
Saturday 3/1/25
Dan had a morning flight back to Colorado. He was pleased he'd been able to see us through the hospital discharge and move to the hotel. Frank & I spent the day resting in our hotel room. I watched two Hallmark movies in a row lying on the bed. I know... ironic to fly over a thousand miles from Oakland CA to Albuquerque NM and spend several hundreds of dollars only to watch Hallmark movies. The situation was especially ironic since we were also unable to fast forward through the commercials! At least the movies were engaging and not at all saccharin as many Hallmark movies can be.
Frank found a vintage postcard postmarked 1931 enlarged, framed, and hung on a wall in our room interesting. As I was composing this post I looked up the history of Hotel Parq Central. It is No. 6 on the list of the
10 most haunted Hotels in New Mexico. Following the next photo is a
brief history of Hotel Parq Central
Opening in 1926, the building was named Sante Fe Hospital, and was used for the treatment of the employees of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway company. In the ’40s the hospital was renamed AT & SF Hospital, and later, in the ’80s, it was purchased by a group of psychiatrists and renamed Memorial Hospital. For the next 3 decades, it was a place where children and young adults suffering from mental conditions were treated. It wasn’t until 2010, after a huge $21 million investment, and support from the city and the Huning Highland Historic District Neighborhood Association, that the Hotel Parq Central opened its doors. A one-time psychiatric hospital and continued cultural icon in the area, the Hotel Parq Central has decades of history, with many reports of the paranormal throughout the years. Several of these incidents occurred during the time the building was known as Memorial Hospital. Many patients have had their own experiences including the sighting of apparitions.
A map of the Santa Fe train routes hung on the wall in a lounge area off the main lobby. Frank and I strolled down there to explore parts of the hotel. The train affiliation appealed to him. Exploring upward, the roof of the hotel held a bar area. Saturday night we sat up there to share a charcuterie board for dinner and enjoy the views. Dan had convinced us to stay a day to rest up before flying back home. He was so right to convince us not to go directly from the hospital to the airport.
Sunday 3/2/25
Frank and I headed home on two thankfully non-eventful and on-time flights. The second flight was 100% filled (seemed like 110%) but we were just so glad to be heading home. Frank warned me that when we got to our front door I should not be worried if he fell to his knees. He would only be bending over to kiss the ground in gratitude and thanksgiving.
Once home John & Sue and Margaret sent us some of the pictures from their cell phones. We got a glimpse of the balloon museum we'd missed and saw Margaret miming a mock flight. Although the missed experience was a bit of a bummer, I had been in Albuquerque on business many years ago at the time of the annual hot air balloon launching in October. I'd had the opportunity to walk the launching ground among the balloons the night before. On my own plane flight the next morning I'd been thrilled to look out my window and see many balloons dotting the skies, from a vantage point and timing that was truly memorable.
A tradition on these Suite Six trips is to take a photo of all our feet around some feature we visited. I was a bit sad that I had no such picture on my phone from this trip. Although not fully populated, John & Sue and Margaret kept up the tradition in a somewhat limited scope at the balloon museum. Frank & my feet are absent. We were otherwise occupied at the hospital, making different memories.
