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New Mexico

The Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Santa Fe, NM

We flew into Albuquerque, New Mexico and headed to Explora Science Center and Children’s Museum. On the way, we stopped by Lowe's Corner Market to pick up some water and discovered they had hot meals ready to go. We got enchiladas, burritos, and pozole. It was our first time trying pozole and everyone except our youngest liked it (it was a tad too spicy for him). In the cut fruit section with cantaloupes and honeydew was jicama which looked like Asian pears. So we all tried it for the first time, and the verdict, well, it was just okay. Maybe because in our minds we’re thinking of a sweet, juicy, Asian pear, and jicama was more dry and not sweet. Glad to try it though. We tell our kids you don’t have to like it, but you should try it. 


Explora (an ASTC museumcheck out my Wisconsin blog post for more info) was packed full of interactive exhibits, creatures, and fun. A favorite was the bubbles station!
Axolotl


Afterwards, we drove about an hour to Santa Fe which we learned is the oldest capital in the U.S. It’s also America's second oldest city, founded between 1607 and 1610. Maybe because our kids haven’t been to many deserts, their first impression was that it looked similar to Palm Springs (without the palm trees).

Santa Fe Plaza

IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts

City of Santa Fe Cathedral Park

We walked around Santa Fe Plaza and got some ice cream at La Lecheria. Our youngest discovered that he’s not a fan of Mexican Chocolate (not spicy but had a strong cinnamon taste). He instead got chocolate sea salt ice cream which he was a fan of. My husband and I really liked the coffee ice cream which may be the best coffee ice cream I’ve ever had or at least that I can remember.

Then we drove back to Albuquerque to the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History (a Smithsonian affiliate and another ASTC museum). It was interesting to learn about the development of nuclear weapons, and our sons especially liked the outdoor fighter jets.

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