August 7th

Another day of hanging out in Los Alamos. The mornings are clear and bright, and in the afternoons the clouds roll in over the mountains. We had lunch with Ray and Connie and went for a hike in the canyon later in the afternoon.

That evening we went to a party hosted by Lynne's boss from the CDC, Linda Wright- deAguero and her husband Andres. They both turned 50 and threw a big bash at their second home in Santa Fe. Tonight was a reception at the Palace of the Governors on the Plaza. It was good to see some of Lynne's CDC friends and also the museum itself. We hadn't been there since we were kids! Our friends Brad & Kelly, Kate, Mary, Michael & Kathy and others were there from Atlanta. Brian and Sarah were there too (see San Francisco pages).

At around 9:00 we drove back up to the hill to meet Amy and Laura. Amy just flew out from San Francisco the other day so we have a second chance to hang out with her this trip! We all headed over to Ray and Connie's backyard and had a nice campfire under the stars. There was almost a full moon out, which made it almost bright enough to read! We laughed and told stories until 2am. It was fantastic seeing both of them together. Amy McNamara + Laura McNamara = UniMara.

August 8th

This morning we went over to the Sampsons to eat breakfast and say goodbye. Dad got some egg and green chile burritos from his favorite place (Chile Works) and we chowed down. Mmmm fantastic. Culinary note: in Atlanta we found a few places that had fairly decent Mexican or even some almost New Mexican food. However, the East is still not really ready for the transition to eating this food for breakfast.

Anyway, the burritos were great. We then proceeded to load up on some goodbye goodies. They sent us on our way with some daffodil bulbs from the yard (for planting later on this fall in NC), cookies, a banana bread, and a quilt from Lynne's grandmother. Thanks, Mom and Dad!

We said goodbye and headed to Ray and Connie's, where we packed the car and said goodbye to them as well. They were busy packing thier own car because tomorrow they are headed to South Dakota for a cross-state bicycle trip. Check it out HERE.

We left around 3:00 for Santa Fe and Phase 2 of the big birthday bash. First was an open house hosted by Andres and Linda. It was beautiful in Santa Fe, as it usually is this time of year up there. Big clouds changing in the sky every half hour. We had a nice time visiting with more CDC friends and eating delicious food. Linda made it all herself too -- wow! Sara advised her to hang up her Sociologist hat and ty catering for a while...

We had a few hours to kill in Santa Fe before the next "event" so we headed over to Jackalope to do some shopping. It wasn't as cheap as we had expected, but still pretty reasonable. We met up with Brian and Sarah and decided to get a bite to eat. Ristra's was next to their hotel on Agua Fria so we went there and had mussles, salad and tamales for appetizers. We had been fed so well at the open house that we really didn't want a full meal so the appetizers were perfect. We also ordered a round of Kir Royales and toasted the fact that Brian and Sara have set a date for their wedding next spring. Congratulations!

We all headed to the La Fonda hotel on the Plaza for the dance. It was wonderful. Again a lot of friends from Atlanta were there and it was great to visit with them. At one point the band did La Marcha -- a traditional Spanish wedding march. They announced that it was for Linda & Andres, Michael & Kathy's anniversary, Brad & Kelly who just got married a few weeks ago, and even for us and our 14 years together (as of Aug 9th!). Andres' Aunt and Uncle led the march. The men all line up on one side and the women the other. The procession marches along and makes tunnels and loops for the other dancers as it goes. Loads of fun.

	Arlene and Lynne
	Lynne and her Parents
	Arlene's flowers
	Ray and Connie
	Robby, Ray and Connie
	The courtyard at the Palace of the Governors
	Lynne inside the Palace of the Governors
	Sarah, Lynne, Brian and our host Linda Wright-deAguero at her house in Santa Fe
	Newlyweds Kelly and Brad Barthelow, co-workers of Lynne's at the CDC