Ruidoso Recap

Well, that was probably the last vacation Tim and I will take as a couple for quite some time, and it was a good one. We headed up to the mountain on Friday morning and arrived in time for lunch. We stopped at a local Mexican restaurant (of course) where the dogs could join us on the patio. After lunch it was time to check in so we headed to the lodge. Our hotel was a few minutes away the hustle and bustle of the main scene, which was nice since it was pretty busy for the holiday weekend. There was a golf course, dog park, and walking path behind the lodge that we utilized for the pups all weekend--and they LOVED it; well, maybe not the dog park so much. Zu is generally scared of other dogs, even her own size, so she kept jumping up on the tables and benches to stay with the owners while Wilma remained a little more social on the ground with the other little dogs. Before dinner, we stopped to play a round of mini-golf (which Tim won) and then he raced the go-karts (and won again). We ate dinner at a really nice Irish pub, although I ordered Italian food and it was better than Tim's typical Irish meal. After dinner we stopped for the required dessert meal at TCBY and I discovered that cinnamon rolls are just as good for dessert as they are for breakfast! 

On Saturday we had a yummy pancake breakfast at the hotel and then took the pups for a long walk. There were a ton of people walking and everyone was so friendly; I miss that about living in Alabama. One lady told us her life story including the adoption of a couple stray dogs and the tragic loss of her daughter, which they turned into a blessing by opening a grief center in her memory. They've been active in helping military family members who have lost a soldier in war, some even from Fort Hood. After our walk we spent the afternoon browsing the shops, eating lunch, and snacking on carmel apples and fudge. The holiday weekend brought out the local talent and we listened to an acoustic singer at lunch and a men's group after visiting the sweets shop. We took the dogs back to the dog park for the afternoon and they were the anti-socials ones once again, except for loving on the humans. For dinner, we headed out to the Inn of the Mountain Gods Casino for a buffet dinner and a quick gambling session in the smoke-free slot room. Tim was sweet to walk around the building with me and slip into the back door so I didn't have to breathe in all the smoke from the casino. We played just 20 bucks, split between keno and video poker, walked out with 20 bucks less, but had fun doing so. It's surprising how long Tim can make that money last in a slot machine! We topped off the night by watching the Wildcats win their first football game. 

And yesterday was our last morning on the mountain. We had another wonderful pancake and omelette breakfast at the lodge and then packed up to head out of town. Before leaving, we went to a park to play disc golf. Being in the mountains it was not the easiest of courses and I was surprised at 7 1/2 months pregnant that I could handle all the up and down, creek crossing, and throwing, but I didn't push it and we stopped after hole six. We were able to let the pups off their leashes since we had the park to ourselves and they had a blast chasing after the discs and playing in the creek. Below are a few pics from the weekend. Click to enlarge.