We awoke in Santa Fe, and although we had originally planned to make an early start to Albuquerque, our surroundings were just too inviting to leave.

Reluctantly, we checked out at noon and bid farewell to La Fonda.

Albuquerque is exactly 1 hour south of Santa Fe. First stop…The Frontier diner of course!

If you are ever in Albuquerque, a meal at The Frontier is an absolute necessity. Following our delicious meal, we continued the nostalgia tour by giving the boys a tour of one of Chuck's alma maters, UNM.

Finally, we arrived at my wonderful friend (and former coworker) Judy's house, just a few blocks from the UNM campus. One look at this kind, radiant face and you can tell that Judy is the kind of hostess who makes two complete entrees – one for the adults (green chile chicken enchiladas) and one for the kids (spaghetti and meatballs). Both were delicious!

And her thoughtfulness didn't end there. She and her fantastic husband Jerry helped us catch up on every last piece of laundry, clean out our very stinky car, and brought out puzzles, board games and cards for the kids. Best of all, they introduced us to their lovely daughter (Lily), her friend (Wendy) and their brilliant granddaughter (Dayna).

Dayna enthralled the boys with her knowledge of Dungeon's & Dragons, her superior wit, and her iPad mini. 🙂

It was exactly the kind of nurturing, grounding day we needed after three weeks away from home. A huge thank you to the entire Jennings clan!!