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Hotel Review, Sandia Resort and Casino

hello,

This past weekend my Aunt had her 40 year high school reunion at the Sandia Resort and Casino, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Out of curiosity a few of us went along (the Resort is new). She and several others blocked off 11 or so rooms for about $160.00 per night (which promised partial mountain view of the Sandia Mountains, I don't know about the other rooms but we didn't get even a flicker of a view of the mountains).

The rooms were gorgeous, at a glance I would say elegant. As a woman the first thing you look at (whether it be conscious or not) is the bathroom, I have to say that Sandia has the nicest and roomiest bathrooms I've ever seen. They have a full size, contoured bath tub, separate standing shower with glass doors. Let's just put it this way, if you were watching MTV's Cribs you would have seen this bathroom in one of the houses they show. The beds are large (and comfy I might add). Large windows adorn one wall of the room almost from top to bottom for a full view of the surrounding area (whatever that may be), and the rooms come with a large, flat panel TV (which Dwayne wanted to take home), the only downside to which is they only have about 35 channels unless you want to pay $13.00 to order a movie (I suppose this is because they would prefer you to be gambling, still I would rather not pay that amount to rent the movie when I could pay $2.00 more and buy it). And local calls from the room are $1.00 a piece.

The hotel has a large, heated outdoor pool, hot tub and outdoor bar. There are plenty of comfortable pool side sun bathing chairs, but if you would prefer a shadier route be prepared to pay for a cabana complete with two chairs (I didn't bother).  There is also a luxury spa attached to the hotel with fitness room, just make sure you have called a week or two ahead to make sure you get an appointment set up first (for facials, massages, etc. not for the fitness center)

And as usual the casino comes with all the fun of a casino (gambling duh!) and restaurants, from the formal four star restaurant on the top floor of the hotel to the buffet, the lounge (which has a band every night), coffee shop, and of course a snack bar.

Overall the experience was fun, just expect to pay for every little thing. If you are interested in a look for yourself here is link to their website Sandia Resort and Casino .

For now

Lauri ;)

The place I called home

Hello all,

Have you ever had a certain childhood place that you always remember being the happiest you've ever been, and no matter what, nothing in the world could or would ever compare? Most of the time those places turn out to be a disappointment because it was bigger or looked nicer or maybe your young imagination had turned it into this wonderland that, to be quite honest, it never was. That is exactly what I was expecting (but secretly hoping wouldn't be the case) when my husband and I packed up the kids, my almost 7 month pregnant self and lots of movies and toys for the kids. We drove the 3000 mile (or so) trip for our first big family vacation (since our honeymoon over four years ago, obviously we didn't have kids then, but we were still considered a family then). We went up to Washington State which is the state I called home as a kid and in some ways still do, stopping not only in my old hometown, Longview/Kelso, but also Seattle, Kent/Auburn (where I finally went to my first drive-in movie, pitiful I know, but it was great!), Wenatchee the apple capitol of the world, and my favorite Vacation spot as a kid, Seaside, Oregon. I have to say it was even better than I remembered it, yes my old hometown and street weren't as impressive as they used to be, and the old hill at the end of the street where I lived wasn't nearly as high as I remember (my friends and i used to ride sleds, cardboard boxes, skate boards, bikes and whatever else we could find down that hill and I remembered it as a giant), but the house looked better actually, who ever bought it has done a great job with the upkeep. All looks aside, it had been 16 years since I had been back and home had never felt so good just remembering all the things that had happened and the friends I used to know. But the best part of our Vacation (when it came to old memories) was our stop in Seaside. It looked so much better than I remembered, almost ethereal from the water evaporating from the beach as the sun still sat low in the sky, to the moonlit walks on the beach. I love the smell of the ocean, and the sound of the waves, wild strawberries, wild blackberries and all the green.  I live in the desert now and to be honest being back made me wish I could stay forever.

for now, I'm out :)

Lauri