Socorro, New Mexico....Days 2 & 3

Well, I have been a little busy catching up on my rest, eating and going to training. But with all that, I was able to cruise around Socorro for a couple of hours.

The weather in Socorro has been in the 70s with nighttime lows in the 50s. It is cold by Guam standards but I am enjoying the change in the weather from the tropics of Guam. The weather here is nice and dry.

The food, well when in New Mexico you have to eat Mexican food. I have eaten Mexican food in 3 different restaurants. The first evening I ate an early dinner at Frank and Lupe's "El Sombero". When you place your order the first thing they ask you is "Red or Green?". It threw me off but what it means is would you like red chili sauce or green chili sauce on you entree. You see New Mexico is the so called "Chili Capital of the World". Though the sauce is not fiery hot by Guam standards, it still packs a little punch and the flavor is fantastic!!!

Here are a few photos of El Sombero...

 

Really nice place.

On day 2, which was Sunday, I drove around town to see what was in Socorro. There is actually a lot of history to this town of about 9,000. Here are a couple of web sites about Socorro. Wikipedia and the Official City Government Web Page for Socorro, New Mexico.

Here are a few more photos that I took while driving around....

Old railway building.

The state fire academy is in Socorro.

Going to go check out the State Fire Academy.

Almost there. So excited......

Closed for the weekend!!!! Just my luck.

Plenty of big sky and beautiful country in New Mexico.

One of the old buildings in town.

New Courthouse.

Old mud adobe structure.

My favorite Mexican Restaurant, Don Juan's Cocina.

This structure is a very old, 1800s building. Used to be a hotel.

Old advertisement on the side of the old hotel.

Western wear shop.

Another old hotel. Vintage signage.

Armijo's, another good Mexican food restaurant where I had lunch.

Check out the menu and prices at Armijo's.

Inside at Armijo's.

My combination tamale, enchilada, taco, with beans and rice plate. This is like a Mexican "fiesta plate".

This is where I am staying. Nice place.

Hoping to get more photos of old town Socorro. It has been revitalized and is looking very good. Hopefully I will have some free time when I am not in training. We'll see. 

Adios for now.

Until next time....

Guam Firehouse Cook Goes to the States

Today, or should I say yesterday, I left Guam to travel to the U.S. mainland on business. Destination....the Land of Enchantment, New Mexico.

Left Guam on the Continental 6:30 am flight. The weather was off and on rain with patchy clouds. But the sun was playing hide and seek. Here are a few photos leaving Guam....

Pulling away from A.B. Won Pat International Airport, Guam.

The sun peaking out over the runway.

Gaining altitude over the ocean.

Swinging out over the east coast of Guam.

East coast of Guam looking back at the airport runway we just left.

This is the northern most point of Guam, Anderson AFB.

Flying at 35,000 feet....

After crossing the International Date Line and 7 1/2 hours later we sight Oahu, Hawaii....

Aerial view of Kaena Point, leeward (west) or Waianae side of Oahu, Hawaii.

Another view of the leeward side showing Makaha/Waianae areas.

View of the Marriott Ihilani Ko Olina Resort, leeward side, Oahu

Oahu's western mountain range. 

Central valley of Oahu looking from the south shore to the north shore.

Entrance to Pearl Harbor (background). Wharf at Hickam AFB. Been fishing there before.

Touching down at Honolulu International Airport. Flaps down....Brakes on!!!

After about a 2 1/2 hour layover in Honolulu, we departed for Los Angeles. It was about 5 am when we arrived there. After another 2 hour layover we left L.A. for the 2 hour flight to Albuquerque. We finally arrived in New Mexico at the Albuquerque Sunport International Airport ....

This is the approach. Albuquerque is located in a large valley. Very fertile on one side (west) and drys up going towards the mountains (east) from what I can see.

See what I mean. Beautiful area.

Touchdown!!!! Looking towards the east. A lot of room to grow.

Taxiing towards Sunport terminal.

The terminal was beautiful with that Southwestern motif. I'll take some pics when I depart as I was in a hurry to get my luggage and rental car.

Everything went very quickly with my luggage and rental car. My bag made it and was one of the first ones on the carousel. They have buses that take you to the rental car location. The bus drivers load your luggage for you. 

So I hopped into my rental car, had no problems getting on the freeway to Socorro, Hwy 25 and took off. Now I was a little intimidated with the speed limit of 75 mph. On Guam, the fastest speed limit is now 35 mph. It used to be 45 mph in some areas, but it was lowered due to too many traffic accidents. Anyway, it took me a while  to get used to the speed but I liked the fact that it only took me 1 hour to get to Socorro, which is about 75 miles south of Albuquerque. Here are a few photos of that short road trip....

75 mph is definitely intimidating when you are used to 35 mph. Whewww!!!!

When I first saw the speed limit sign I was surprised to say the least.

But after about 20 minutes I covered a lot of ground.

After a few more minutes the miles were flying by and the next thing I know I was in Socorro.

So after about 22 hours of traveling all I wanted to do was eat and rest which is what I did.

I'll be back with more tomorrow. I know I am going to eat good.

Until next time....