Museums
When ten days of spring break leaves you with only two free days, you gotta make due with what's available. While Des Moines is an awesome place to live, work, and play, its proximity to other midwest cities is pretty great too. The Twin Cities are just over three and a half hours north, and Kansas City is just under three hours south, making both ideal for quick weekend getaways. And both have IKEAs, so there's that.
Once again, we decided to head to Kansas City for a brief getaway filled with shopping, food, and - you guess it, IKEA. And I really mean brief; we left Thursday mid-day and came home Friday in time for our weekly bar trivia with friends.
Our plans came together quickly too; Tuesday I booked a king suite using Hilton Honors points. King suites are our preferred hotel type; giving the teenager a bit more privacy to stay up late or sleep in. They usually have a fridge which makes picking up a few snacks at the grocery store cheaper than eating every meal out.
We ate a late lunch on the road and rolled into Kansas City just before rush hour. After a quick detour thanks to Google Maps confusion, we decided to head to IKEA before the hotel. Part of the reason for our trip was to pick up a couple things for our home and for my friend Ashlen's new home! We also were on a mission to scope out dresser options for my mom, resulting in two trips in two days. #nocomplaints
So we did our usual IKEA routine, and then went to our hotel in Miriam, Kansas (a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri). After recharging for a bit - both ourselves and our phones, we decided on checking out a creole restaurant, Beignet. Located at City Market, its a small restaurant with limited seating and amazing food. 
I had only gone to City Market on sunny Saturdays in late spring and summer, and March was a very different vibe. City Market is also home to the Steamboat Arabia, which is a fantastic museum featuring (surprise!) a steamboat from 1856 that sank near Kansas City while loaded with something like 200 tons of cargo that was perfectly preserved until it was discovered in the 1980s.
But back to dinner - the food was fantastic! We sat at a table outside of the restaurant in an area that would be crowded on market days. I had shrimp and cheddar grits, James had a crawfish po'boy with a side of jambalaya, and my bonus daughter had mac & cheese with andouille sausage. As we ordered at the counter, she pointed out a jug on the counter called 'Swamp Juice'; a homemade punch with mango, raspberry, and other juices and we both were glad we tried it! As we devoured our savory dishes, an older couple exited and asked how we liked everything. We sang our praises and she asked about James' jambalaya, and he ended up offering her a bite with an unused utensil as her husband shook his head in laughter. After walking around City Market some, we stopped by a nearby Asian market and grabbed snacks. I was super excited to find cracker nuts, a treat I loved when I lived in the Philippines.
We crashed as soon as we were back at the hotel. Our hotel routine works really well for the suite set up; James and I shower and get cleaned up and then wake up the kid as we go down for breakfast, giving her privacy to get herself ready and dressed for the day. Once she joins us, then we can start our day. This time we were a bit put off by an unaccompanied kid who touched about half of the breakfast roll selection, so we decided to wait and grab breakfast at IKEA where we needed to pick up one last thing (that turned to six last things). And the Swedish pancakes were amazing! Before we left, we were excited to meet up with some friends from Des Moines who happened to be staying at our same hotel!
After IKEA, we drove out to Kansas City, Kansas to Cabela's and Legends Outlet Mall. We've visited both before on previous trips for Spring Break and when we took the Bonus Kid and her friends to Van's Warped Tour in nearby Bonner Springs, Kansas. At Cabela's we saw this unnecessary kit... I'd be happy to share the recipe - homemade is better! After Cabela's we went to Legends Outlet Mall where we all found stuff to buy. I got a new travel purse in anticipation of some upcoming travel to warmer weather, the bonus kid found all sorts of deals, and James hit the jackpot at Gap's clearance section. The weather was perfect for walking around the outlet mall, and got me excited for the outlet mall opening soon just outside of Des Moines. In the mean time, we've got the Tanger Outlet mall in Williamsburg, Iowa, about an hour and a half outside of Des Moines. 
After lunch at Zaxby's - a first for James and the Bonus Kid, we headed back towards Kansas City, Missouri to visit the Airline History Museum. It was interesting and had a couple real planes to tour, but our tour guide wasn't a great storyteller which was the only downside. The tour is about an hour and they close at 4pm, so make sure you're there by 3pm. There is a nearby museum for TWA, hopefully we'll make time to stop there on a future visit. 
After the museum, we started the trek back home, arriving with enough time to unpack before meeting friends for dinner. All in all, it was a great mini getaway for Spring Break!
Another Spring Break Road Trip to Kansas City
Thursday, March 30, 2017
When ten days of spring break leaves you with only two free days, you gotta make due with what's available. While Des Moines is an awesome place to live, work, and play, its proximity to other midwest cities is pretty great too. The Twin Cities are just over three and a half hours north, and Kansas City is just under three hours south, making both ideal for quick weekend getaways. And both have IKEAs, so there's that.
Once again, we decided to head to Kansas City for a brief getaway filled with shopping, food, and - you guess it, IKEA. And I really mean brief; we left Thursday mid-day and came home Friday in time for our weekly bar trivia with friends.
Our plans came together quickly too; Tuesday I booked a king suite using Hilton Honors points. King suites are our preferred hotel type; giving the teenager a bit more privacy to stay up late or sleep in. They usually have a fridge which makes picking up a few snacks at the grocery store cheaper than eating every meal out.
We ate a late lunch on the road and rolled into Kansas City just before rush hour. After a quick detour thanks to Google Maps confusion, we decided to head to IKEA before the hotel. Part of the reason for our trip was to pick up a couple things for our home and for my friend Ashlen's new home! We also were on a mission to scope out dresser options for my mom, resulting in two trips in two days. #nocomplaints
So we did our usual IKEA routine, and then went to our hotel in Miriam, Kansas (a suburb of Kansas City, Missouri). After recharging for a bit - both ourselves and our phones, we decided on checking out a creole restaurant, Beignet. Located at City Market, its a small restaurant with limited seating and amazing food. I had only gone to City Market on sunny Saturdays in late spring and summer, and March was a very different vibe. City Market is also home to the Steamboat Arabia, which is a fantastic museum featuring (surprise!) a steamboat from 1856 that sank near Kansas City while loaded with something like 200 tons of cargo that was perfectly preserved until it was discovered in the 1980s.
But back to dinner - the food was fantastic! We sat at a table outside of the restaurant in an area that would be crowded on market days. I had shrimp and cheddar grits, James had a crawfish po'boy with a side of jambalaya, and my bonus daughter had mac & cheese with andouille sausage. As we ordered at the counter, she pointed out a jug on the counter called 'Swamp Juice'; a homemade punch with mango, raspberry, and other juices and we both were glad we tried it! As we devoured our savory dishes, an older couple exited and asked how we liked everything. We sang our praises and she asked about James' jambalaya, and he ended up offering her a bite with an unused utensil as her husband shook his head in laughter. After walking around City Market some, we stopped by a nearby Asian market and grabbed snacks. I was super excited to find cracker nuts, a treat I loved when I lived in the Philippines.
We crashed as soon as we were back at the hotel. Our hotel routine works really well for the suite set up; James and I shower and get cleaned up and then wake up the kid as we go down for breakfast, giving her privacy to get herself ready and dressed for the day. Once she joins us, then we can start our day. This time we were a bit put off by an unaccompanied kid who touched about half of the breakfast roll selection, so we decided to wait and grab breakfast at IKEA where we needed to pick up one last thing (that turned to six last things). And the Swedish pancakes were amazing! Before we left, we were excited to meet up with some friends from Des Moines who happened to be staying at our same hotel!
After IKEA, we drove out to Kansas City, Kansas to Cabela's and Legends Outlet Mall. We've visited both before on previous trips for Spring Break and when we took the Bonus Kid and her friends to Van's Warped Tour in nearby Bonner Springs, Kansas. At Cabela's we saw this unnecessary kit... I'd be happy to share the recipe - homemade is better! After Cabela's we went to Legends Outlet Mall where we all found stuff to buy. I got a new travel purse in anticipation of some upcoming travel to warmer weather, the bonus kid found all sorts of deals, and James hit the jackpot at Gap's clearance section. The weather was perfect for walking around the outlet mall, and got me excited for the outlet mall opening soon just outside of Des Moines. In the mean time, we've got the Tanger Outlet mall in Williamsburg, Iowa, about an hour and a half outside of Des Moines. After lunch at Zaxby's - a first for James and the Bonus Kid, we headed back towards Kansas City, Missouri to visit the Airline History Museum. It was interesting and had a couple real planes to tour, but our tour guide wasn't a great storyteller which was the only downside. The tour is about an hour and they close at 4pm, so make sure you're there by 3pm. There is a nearby museum for TWA, hopefully we'll make time to stop there on a future visit.
After the museum, we started the trek back home, arriving with enough time to unpack before meeting friends for dinner. All in all, it was a great mini getaway for Spring Break!
It’s fun to take a quick trip down memory lane and revisit
some of our adventures from early in our relationship. I am the first to admit that I was not easy
to date; averaging 1200 miles between us most weeks, I’d fly home Friday night
after 9pm and fly out Sunday morning.
But we maximized our time, and planned some adventures whenever
possible. You may remember James’ visit
to El Paso and Augusta, but we also met up in Seattle and Las Vegas for quick
sightseeing trips – but more on Vegas later!
So a good friend was getting married in Seattle while I was
on a 3-week assignment to Augusta, Georgia. Instead
of flying home, I booked a flight to Emerald City from Atlanta, and cashed in
some points for my then-boyfriend’s flight from Des Moines through Minneapolis,
arriving fifteen minutes after mine.
Work had sent me to Seattle a few times before and I was excited for
more sightseeing. Although on a previous
trip to the Space Needle, the elevator got stuck about 400 feet up for a couple
hours. You know, the glass front
elevators looking over the city. The
guide stayed calm, but I wasn’t eager to repeat that experience. 
We arrived late Friday, just a few minutes apart. I turned on my phone as we taxied and
realized the plane pulling up to the gate next to mine was his! We made our way to the rental car center and
headed through Seattle after sunset (gorgeous by the way!) to the northern
suburbs. After breakfast we visited the
ground level of the Space Needle and the famous Pike’s Place public market. I had previously explored the main level, but
we explored some of the other floors and found a comic book shop and other gift
stores and stocked up on a few souvenirs.
Vacation Flashback: Seattle - August 2012
Thursday, March 23, 2017
It’s fun to take a quick trip down memory lane and revisit
some of our adventures from early in our relationship. I am the first to admit that I was not easy
to date; averaging 1200 miles between us most weeks, I’d fly home Friday night
after 9pm and fly out Sunday morning.
But we maximized our time, and planned some adventures whenever
possible. You may remember James’ visit
to El Paso and Augusta, but we also met up in Seattle and Las Vegas for quick
sightseeing trips – but more on Vegas later!
So a good friend was getting married in Seattle while I was
on a 3-week assignment to Augusta, Georgia. Instead
of flying home, I booked a flight to Emerald City from Atlanta, and cashed in
some points for my then-boyfriend’s flight from Des Moines through Minneapolis,
arriving fifteen minutes after mine.
Work had sent me to Seattle a few times before and I was excited for
more sightseeing. Although on a previous
trip to the Space Needle, the elevator got stuck about 400 feet up for a couple
hours. You know, the glass front
elevators looking over the city. The
guide stayed calm, but I wasn’t eager to repeat that experience. We arrived late Friday, just a few minutes apart. I turned on my phone as we taxied and
realized the plane pulling up to the gate next to mine was his! We made our way to the rental car center and
headed through Seattle after sunset (gorgeous by the way!) to the northern
suburbs. After breakfast we visited the
ground level of the Space Needle and the famous Pike’s Place public market. I had previously explored the main level, but
we explored some of the other floors and found a comic book shop and other gift
stores and stocked up on a few souvenirs.
May 31st through June 2nd was a whirlwind road trip to western Nebraska to visit my grandma. On our nine hour drive, we made a little time lapse video that ended right before our dinner at Ole's Big Game Steakhouse in Paxton, Nebraska. Growing up, most trips between Des Moines and Denver (where my grandparents lived) included lunch next to the stuffed polar bear or sitting under the stuffed giraffe. I hoped the boyfriend would enjoy the interesting decor, and about forty minutes later we left full from our meal (steak sandwich) and with souvenirs.
We arrived in Scottsbluff around 7pm. After stopping by my grandma's place, we checked into the Hampton Inn for our free stay (thanks Hilton HHonors Points!) and crashed hard after a long day spent in the car. Saturday morning it was time for donuts from the Gering Bakery; a well known bakery in town. This was my first trip to the bakery, but hardly my first trip to town. Usually I elect to stay at my grandma's instead of the hotel, so my folks and sister deliver rolls each morning.
We waited our turn drooling over the donuts and treats behind the glass. With a dozen rolls in hand, we headed back to my grandma's; thankfully we were able to find the type of doughnut that my grandma described - a sour cream cake doughnut. After our breakfast, we took the leftovers to her sister and brother-in-law, Evelyn & Butch. Butch is the sweetest guy and trust me, there will be a special place in heaven for him someday. Poor guy was at one point the only surviving husband of the five sisters in town.
Evelyn's daughter called while we were there and we made plans for dinner with her. Susie is a riot and one of very few people who keep my dad (her cousin) in place.
We went about our day, visiting the Scottsbluff National Monument. We drove to the top and hike about a half mile total. Here are a few pictures, click to enlarge:
 |
| Panoramic photo from the parking lot |
 |
| View from the peak, looking over Scottsbluff |
 |
| Me, at the top of the Monument |
 |
| Me and the boyfriend |
 |
| Western view, towards Wyoming |
After our little hike, we drove back to the visitors center and watched a video that made me really grateful for road trips growing up; I am not suited for a life on the Oregon Trail! We checked out the small museum and my grandma pointed out her favorite exhibit that's be there since she was a child - two dioramas of historic Scottsbluff.
After the museum and a quick stop at the cemetery where my grandfather is buried, we went to my grandma's favorite Mexican restaurant for lunch. Their fresh guacamole and freshly fried flour tortilla chips were a treat, but our entrees had nothing on my favorite places in Des Moines. We stopped by the nursing home to visit my great-aunt June, who looked the best I've seen her in a few years.
Next, we headed south to a state park. The visitors center was small, and the hands-on activities would be ideal for anyone with kids. This park is home to lots of wild animals including a heard of Big Horn Sheep.
Saturday we took our time getting ready and then spent a couple of hours with grandma before dropping her off at her bridge luncheon. She was pretty sure she was taking home some prize money from this season's tournament. We headed back home, stopping for fuel and food and enjoying NPR's Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me podcasts. It was a short trip, but awesome to see my grandma.
Road Trip: Scottsbluff, Nebraska
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
May 31st through June 2nd was a whirlwind road trip to western Nebraska to visit my grandma. On our nine hour drive, we made a little time lapse video that ended right before our dinner at Ole's Big Game Steakhouse in Paxton, Nebraska. Growing up, most trips between Des Moines and Denver (where my grandparents lived) included lunch next to the stuffed polar bear or sitting under the stuffed giraffe. I hoped the boyfriend would enjoy the interesting decor, and about forty minutes later we left full from our meal (steak sandwich) and with souvenirs.
We arrived in Scottsbluff around 7pm. After stopping by my grandma's place, we checked into the Hampton Inn for our free stay (thanks Hilton HHonors Points!) and crashed hard after a long day spent in the car. Saturday morning it was time for donuts from the Gering Bakery; a well known bakery in town. This was my first trip to the bakery, but hardly my first trip to town. Usually I elect to stay at my grandma's instead of the hotel, so my folks and sister deliver rolls each morning.
We waited our turn drooling over the donuts and treats behind the glass. With a dozen rolls in hand, we headed back to my grandma's; thankfully we were able to find the type of doughnut that my grandma described - a sour cream cake doughnut. After our breakfast, we took the leftovers to her sister and brother-in-law, Evelyn & Butch. Butch is the sweetest guy and trust me, there will be a special place in heaven for him someday. Poor guy was at one point the only surviving husband of the five sisters in town.
Evelyn's daughter called while we were there and we made plans for dinner with her. Susie is a riot and one of very few people who keep my dad (her cousin) in place.
We went about our day, visiting the Scottsbluff National Monument. We drove to the top and hike about a half mile total. Here are a few pictures, click to enlarge:
|
| Panoramic photo from the parking lot |
|
| View from the peak, looking over Scottsbluff |
|
| Me, at the top of the Monument |
|
| Me and the boyfriend |
|
| Western view, towards Wyoming |
After our little hike, we drove back to the visitors center and watched a video that made me really grateful for road trips growing up; I am not suited for a life on the Oregon Trail! We checked out the small museum and my grandma pointed out her favorite exhibit that's be there since she was a child - two dioramas of historic Scottsbluff.
After the museum and a quick stop at the cemetery where my grandfather is buried, we went to my grandma's favorite Mexican restaurant for lunch. Their fresh guacamole and freshly fried flour tortilla chips were a treat, but our entrees had nothing on my favorite places in Des Moines. We stopped by the nursing home to visit my great-aunt June, who looked the best I've seen her in a few years.
Next, we headed south to a state park. The visitors center was small, and the hands-on activities would be ideal for anyone with kids. This park is home to lots of wild animals including a heard of Big Horn Sheep.
Saturday we took our time getting ready and then spent a couple of hours with grandma before dropping her off at her bridge luncheon. She was pretty sure she was taking home some prize money from this season's tournament. We headed back home, stopping for fuel and food and enjoying NPR's Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me podcasts. It was a short trip, but awesome to see my grandma.
I initially included this with my previous post that included lunch at Whataburger and a drive through the UTEP campus, but before publishing, I thought it deserved it's own post.
After lunch and driving through the UTEP campus, we headed to our next destination, The El Paso Holocaust Museum. I'll be the first to admit that I had pretty low expectations of this museum; maybe it was the idea of a Holocaust museum in the area of the predominately Catholic and Christian Hispanic culture let alone in the middle of the desert seemed... unusual to me.
WWII and the Holocaust has always been my favorite era to study in school. Something about modern history and how recent the events were blew my mind, even at a young age. At thirteen, I visited Washington D.C. on a class trip and visited the The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. The only exhibit I remember is famous pile of shoes and in hindsight I wish I was a bit older and had appreciated it even more.
I have driven by The El Paso Holocaust Museum on every single trip; the museum sits on Yandell Drive, the road that leads to I-10 on my commute back to my hotel or apartment, but I had never gone in. The small, brick building appeared to be about the size of a basketball court and has bars over the few windows. Many times I thought, "I should check that out." but never made it a priority to visit. This weekend adventure created the perfect opportunity to explore.
We arrived at the museum shortly after it opened at 1pm and were greeted by an armed security guard. At first, I didn't think much of it, but I read in a newspaper clipping on display that the previous museum burned down. It didn't mention the cause, but I couldn't help to wonder if it was an example of the anti-semitic attitude the museum hoped to prevent.
I don't know where to begin to describe the museum. It was laid out with smaller, connected rooms and followed a timeline from the end of WWI to the liberation of the camps in 1945. Each room contained a timeline of events, a short video played and very well curated displays of priceless artifacts from daily life pre-war, Hitler's rise to power and the exile of Jews across Europe. Movie posters from Nazi propaganda followed by a fake storefront and the back story of kristallnacht led into a replica rail car used transport millions of Jews to Concentration Camps across Europe.
I can't get over how well done this museum was; the layout and lighting allowed visitors to focus on the exhibits which created such a somber and moving experience. Most visitors stood in silence as they read the placards identifying each piece. One of the last rooms had personal items recovered from a Concentration Camp; glasses, clothing, a non-functioning shower head (used to trick people into the gas chamber under the guise of showering after their long trip to the camp) and the photos of prisoners in their striped camp uniform and an actual uniform were especially moving to me.
The museum was so well done, it was emotionally exhausting to experience. Thoughtfully, the last room was all white (in contrast to the dark walls throughout the rest of the museum), with quotes from survivors and photos with mini-biographies of Holocaust survivors that later lived in or near El Paso. We stayed in there for a few minutes, the room was clearly designed to provide visitors with peace and comfort after an emotionally draining journey.
We spent about an hour at the museum free of charge, and made a donation to their non-profit organization. As we left, we were greeted by the warm but blinding sun and slowly emerged from our somber moods. I cannot recommend this museum enough; no matter your level of interest in this era of history or your current knowledge of events, you will walk away from the experience having learned an immeasurable amount and with a deeper understanding of the events in Europe between the mid 1930s to 1945 and beyond.
I would absolutely give The El Paso Holocaust Museum an A+ grade.
El Paso Weekend - Part 4: The El Paso Holocaust Museum
Friday, May 11, 2012
I initially included this with my previous post that included lunch at Whataburger and a drive through the UTEP campus, but before publishing, I thought it deserved it's own post.
After lunch and driving through the UTEP campus, we headed to our next destination, The El Paso Holocaust Museum. I'll be the first to admit that I had pretty low expectations of this museum; maybe it was the idea of a Holocaust museum in the area of the predominately Catholic and Christian Hispanic culture let alone in the middle of the desert seemed... unusual to me.
WWII and the Holocaust has always been my favorite era to study in school. Something about modern history and how recent the events were blew my mind, even at a young age. At thirteen, I visited Washington D.C. on a class trip and visited the The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. The only exhibit I remember is famous pile of shoes and in hindsight I wish I was a bit older and had appreciated it even more.
I have driven by The El Paso Holocaust Museum on every single trip; the museum sits on Yandell Drive, the road that leads to I-10 on my commute back to my hotel or apartment, but I had never gone in. The small, brick building appeared to be about the size of a basketball court and has bars over the few windows. Many times I thought, "I should check that out." but never made it a priority to visit. This weekend adventure created the perfect opportunity to explore.
We arrived at the museum shortly after it opened at 1pm and were greeted by an armed security guard. At first, I didn't think much of it, but I read in a newspaper clipping on display that the previous museum burned down. It didn't mention the cause, but I couldn't help to wonder if it was an example of the anti-semitic attitude the museum hoped to prevent.
I don't know where to begin to describe the museum. It was laid out with smaller, connected rooms and followed a timeline from the end of WWI to the liberation of the camps in 1945. Each room contained a timeline of events, a short video played and very well curated displays of priceless artifacts from daily life pre-war, Hitler's rise to power and the exile of Jews across Europe. Movie posters from Nazi propaganda followed by a fake storefront and the back story of kristallnacht led into a replica rail car used transport millions of Jews to Concentration Camps across Europe.
I can't get over how well done this museum was; the layout and lighting allowed visitors to focus on the exhibits which created such a somber and moving experience. Most visitors stood in silence as they read the placards identifying each piece. One of the last rooms had personal items recovered from a Concentration Camp; glasses, clothing, a non-functioning shower head (used to trick people into the gas chamber under the guise of showering after their long trip to the camp) and the photos of prisoners in their striped camp uniform and an actual uniform were especially moving to me.
The museum was so well done, it was emotionally exhausting to experience. Thoughtfully, the last room was all white (in contrast to the dark walls throughout the rest of the museum), with quotes from survivors and photos with mini-biographies of Holocaust survivors that later lived in or near El Paso. We stayed in there for a few minutes, the room was clearly designed to provide visitors with peace and comfort after an emotionally draining journey.
We spent about an hour at the museum free of charge, and made a donation to their non-profit organization. As we left, we were greeted by the warm but blinding sun and slowly emerged from our somber moods. I cannot recommend this museum enough; no matter your level of interest in this era of history or your current knowledge of events, you will walk away from the experience having learned an immeasurable amount and with a deeper understanding of the events in Europe between the mid 1930s to 1945 and beyond.
I would absolutely give The El Paso Holocaust Museum an A+ grade.
I've mentioned before that I'm a bit of a planner, so it should come to no surprise that this weekend adventure had an agenda; filled with recommendations from locals and places I found after combing through Yelp reviews. When I sent the boyfriend a copy of our agenda, his work buddies got a kick out of our scheduled "Scenic Drive" after Cattleman's Friday night, assuming it was code for making out. Well, sorta. Except that it is a real thing.
Full from our delicious dinner and a bit tired from his day of travel and the long drive back to downtown, we decided to stick to the agenda and we started the gradual climb up Rim road. The drive begins just outside of University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) and curves up the front of the Franklin Mountains, past some beautiful homes with breathtaking views of El Paso and Juarez. Here is a link to a map of the drive.
At the front of the mountain, there is a small park and an even smaller parking lot. As we got out of the rental Jeep, we walked towards the steps of the park and sat on the stone ledge. I pointed out downtown, our hotel, and the border that was clearly visible by the bright lights along the fence. The lights twinkled and seemed to go on forever, deep into the city of Juarez. The benches around the park were ignored by the mostly young crowd, all of whom probably still have a curfew. As the car five feet behind us left, another car pulled in and treated us to the bass from his sound system. Neither of us could identify the song, and it made me feel kinda old.
We sat close together, a bit chilled from the wind; a huge contrast from the 90 degree heat that greeted him when he landed in El Paso. We sat in silence for a few minutes, probably a combination of feeling happy and content mixed with exhaustion. When disrupted by tourists taking flash photos in the dark (seriously?) we left after the 15th (or so) flash left us temporarily blinded. We began the winding drive down the mountain to our hotel downtown.
Saturday morning, we started out with breakfast at the Good Luck Cafe, just east of downtown and had a typical diner breakfast, but with a Mexican twist. We were given the option of toast or tortillas and chorizo (Mexican sausage, like spicy ground peperoni) instead of bacon or breakfast sausage. I was very grateful to Mo for the recommendation - it was great!
Then it was time to start our museum tour. I was bummed out when I asked a few locals about the museums and no one had been to them. Setting our expectations nice and low, we (eventually) found our way to the Border Patrol Museum off Transmountain Drive. This privately funded museum sits in a morton-style building and is essentially one room divided in half by the gift shop.
The self-guided tour talked about the history of border patrol; patrolling the southern border began in an effort to stop Asian and European immigrants who were denied entry (due to health or criminal history) from entering the United States through Mexico. In addition to photos, maps, and badges they had a homemade boat that was used by a group of Cubans trying to escape to the US and two homemade motorcycles that were captured in Arizona. It reminded me of how much people are willing to risk to enter the US.
The museum also has a WWII-era Jeep, 80s Pontiac TransAm and a M*A*S*H-looking helicopter that were all used by Border Patrol. They also had on display a Model-A Ford that was used to transport drugs into the US. The sign stated that it is not uncommon for drug smugglers to pack drugs into antique goods and attempt to ship the antiques to the US. Unsurprisingly, the much more valuable Duesenburg that was seized at the same time was not donated to the museum.
All together, I'd give the Museum a B- grade; a good deal for the price (FREE!) and would recommend it to others, but probably won't visit again.
El Paso Weekend - Part 2: Scenic Drive & Border Patrol Museum
Sunday, May 6, 2012
I've mentioned before that I'm a bit of a planner, so it should come to no surprise that this weekend adventure had an agenda; filled with recommendations from locals and places I found after combing through Yelp reviews. When I sent the boyfriend a copy of our agenda, his work buddies got a kick out of our scheduled "Scenic Drive" after Cattleman's Friday night, assuming it was code for making out. Well, sorta. Except that it is a real thing.
Full from our delicious dinner and a bit tired from his day of travel and the long drive back to downtown, we decided to stick to the agenda and we started the gradual climb up Rim road. The drive begins just outside of University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) and curves up the front of the Franklin Mountains, past some beautiful homes with breathtaking views of El Paso and Juarez. Here is a link to a map of the drive.
At the front of the mountain, there is a small park and an even smaller parking lot. As we got out of the rental Jeep, we walked towards the steps of the park and sat on the stone ledge. I pointed out downtown, our hotel, and the border that was clearly visible by the bright lights along the fence. The lights twinkled and seemed to go on forever, deep into the city of Juarez. The benches around the park were ignored by the mostly young crowd, all of whom probably still have a curfew. As the car five feet behind us left, another car pulled in and treated us to the bass from his sound system. Neither of us could identify the song, and it made me feel kinda old.
We sat close together, a bit chilled from the wind; a huge contrast from the 90 degree heat that greeted him when he landed in El Paso. We sat in silence for a few minutes, probably a combination of feeling happy and content mixed with exhaustion. When disrupted by tourists taking flash photos in the dark (seriously?) we left after the 15th (or so) flash left us temporarily blinded. We began the winding drive down the mountain to our hotel downtown.
Saturday morning, we started out with breakfast at the Good Luck Cafe, just east of downtown and had a typical diner breakfast, but with a Mexican twist. We were given the option of toast or tortillas and chorizo (Mexican sausage, like spicy ground peperoni) instead of bacon or breakfast sausage. I was very grateful to Mo for the recommendation - it was great!
Then it was time to start our museum tour. I was bummed out when I asked a few locals about the museums and no one had been to them. Setting our expectations nice and low, we (eventually) found our way to the Border Patrol Museum off Transmountain Drive. This privately funded museum sits in a morton-style building and is essentially one room divided in half by the gift shop.
The self-guided tour talked about the history of border patrol; patrolling the southern border began in an effort to stop Asian and European immigrants who were denied entry (due to health or criminal history) from entering the United States through Mexico. In addition to photos, maps, and badges they had a homemade boat that was used by a group of Cubans trying to escape to the US and two homemade motorcycles that were captured in Arizona. It reminded me of how much people are willing to risk to enter the US.
The museum also has a WWII-era Jeep, 80s Pontiac TransAm and a M*A*S*H-looking helicopter that were all used by Border Patrol. They also had on display a Model-A Ford that was used to transport drugs into the US. The sign stated that it is not uncommon for drug smugglers to pack drugs into antique goods and attempt to ship the antiques to the US. Unsurprisingly, the much more valuable Duesenburg that was seized at the same time was not donated to the museum.
All together, I'd give the Museum a B- grade; a good deal for the price (FREE!) and would recommend it to others, but probably won't visit again.
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