Albuq...Ah, forget it.

After another rather bleak continental breakfast this morning and a fresh waffle, Susan and I headed off for Albuquerque to spend some time.

The city wasn't a very far drive, only about two hours from Gallup. After looking up potential things to do the night before, we decided to try the local aquarium and botanical gardens. Both played out exactly as I figured they would, but lets just say I wouldn't go again to either if I had the chance. The good news is admission was only $7 for each of us and it got you into both places.

The aquarium was lacking when it came to information on the fish in the tanks, and placards in general to describe things. Most of the time we were left guessing on which fish where which and how they lived, which generally opened the door to me just making things up as we went along. Don't get me wrong, it all sounded pretty good, but I have no idea if I was remotely close to the target.

The bright spot of the visit to the aquarium was happening to catch feeding time in the shark tank by sheer luck. Unfortunately the sharks were fed earlier in the day, but we saw huge sting rays with wing spans as long as my own, sea turtles, and some big fish all going crazy when the divers entered the tank and going crazy for some fish and squid.

Afterward we headed to the botanical garden for a quick glimpse of things. We came across a butterfly enclosure we could walk in and around which was pretty cool. The place was filled with about a dozen different butterflies all fluttering about, sitting on plants, and trying to find places to land. Next we walked around some of the gardens, including a cactus garden. This time though, Susan steered clear of the plants and we left that part rather quickly.

By the time that was all done, we were hungry and wanted to grab some food before hitting the road. We walked around old town Albuquerque, which is filled with plenty of touristy shops, jewelry, hats, and cowboy attire but didn't find anything we liked. We wandered around a little bit more, gave up and started to make our way back to the car. By chance, we stumbled across a small restaurant on the way back and Susan decided we should eat there because she was getting "good vibes."

Whatever it was, she made a good call.

The place was in an adobe style building, with the support beams and ceiling beams visible, giving the place an authentic feel and an old suntanned women whom I was afraid might keel over while showing us to our table. The food was really good, and big portions as well. We shared one dish, steak fajitas between us, and it was plenty. We also tried some traditional Mexican desert, which was essentially triangle-shaped fried dough resembling turnovers. You then drizzle honey on top of it and eat it (which instantly made me enjoy it due to my unquenchable love for honey).

Overall we had a really enjoyable experience there and were glad we took a chance instead of grabbing Subway as to our original plan.

On the way to Texas we hit some major storms, as has become the norm for our drives. The best part about it was leading up driving into the cloud, the sun behind us and the rain in front of us created massive rainbows in the sky. At first they were faint, but as we continued to drive, more became present until we could see the entire semi circle. The colors were vibrant and spectacular. It was pretty special to look at.

Now we are set up in Amarillo, Texas for the night, crossing into central time and inching closer to New York/New Jersey. Tomorrow we plan to stop at the Cadillac Ranch and then either head south through Dallas or due East through Oklahoma City and Little Rock. Part of our decision making process lies in recommended places to eat from food.com...Seriously...

But it all starts tomorrow with what the woman at the front desk calls a "big" breakfast tomorrow. I quickly became interested due to the lack of options the past couple mornings and I'm ready for something other than waffles.

We've only been in the state a couple hours, but from what the woman said, it sounds like it's already evident that everything is bigger in Texas.