November 2020 Road Trip: Roswell, New Mexico

When we realized that Roswell was just a short detour on our way home to Colorado, we decided to make it a night-stop. Roswell might be the most heavily themed small town in America. It seemed like every business played along with the alien theme.

My favorite was the Dunkin’ Donuts Alien- we ate breakfast hat Dunkin’ after spending a night at a local Hilton Home2 Suites.

Since we were really trying to get home by the evening, we had just enough time for a quick visit to the International UFO Museum. Unfortunately, due to Covid, we could not take a more extensive tour of the Roswell crash site, however, the museum proved to be quite entertaining.

It started in the parking lot…

and continued to the front of the building…

Inside we were greeted by an alien with a gentle reminder that masks are mandatory. We really appreciate the businesses that enforce mask policies and other safety measures during this pandemic.

Tickets were only five dollars, which makes the International UFO Museum one of the best value for money places that we have ever visited. We definitely got our five dollars out of this place.

As a side note, we learned that emotional support animals are welcome when the woman in front of us enquired about her very adorable support rat. Hey, anything goes here, just keep that mask on! I adore rats, so I was happy to see a cute critter at 9am.

One of my favorite pictures of the road trip!

I’m not into conspiracy theories and I’m not obsessed with aliens. I do believe that we are not alone in the Universe, but I’m not sure how much I’m willing to accept the reality of what was proposed at the museum. That said, it was all very entertaining and the exhibits were professional. We spent about an hour and could have easily spent longer, if we had the time.

The exhibits included witness accounts of the incident in Roswell, other alien encounters, how aliens are shown in pop-culture and the alien autopsy. Remember back to the late 90’s when the “Alien Autopsy Video” was all the rage? I remember buying a copy for one of my friends who was obsessed with it!

I get really excited when I see mention of my hometown of Glendale, California. This guy, Andres Gil, had a UFO sighting in the 60’s, and not only is he from Glendale, but I realized that based on the dates there is a possibility that he knew my parents or my aunt. I need to look through their school yearbooks.

I’m glad that we visited Roswell, but this will likely be a one-time experience. It was a detour and although the alien aspect was entertaining, the town has little else to attract us. If you’re big into aliens or near Roswell on your travels, it is worth a quick visit.

2020 Wrap-Up

What can be said about 2020 that hasn’t already been said? It was a rough year, but we had it better than most. The biggest impact was we had to cancel two vacations with my step-kids: their summer trip and a fall trip to England. It was depressing, especially as we had not seen them since the summer of 2019 and they are still young. However, they are with us now for the winter holidays and we are extremely grateful. Vacation disappointment aside, we are most grateful that all of our family ( and friends as far as I’m aware) have stayed healthy. There has been job loss and hardship, but people are healthy.

We spent most of the year sheltering in our home, which we bought in November 2019. We are settled, but it still feels new. We have met many of our neighbors, who are wonderful and are new friends. It was even possible to have some socially distanced events with them in the summer. I’m constantly reminded about how lucky we are to have ended up in Sterling Ranch. I love it here.

We had our garden completed in the spring, including a gate to connect with our neighbor’s yard. I tried to plant flowers and I managed to kill half of them. I do not have a green thumb, but I like to try!

We took a few trips, two to Florida ( where we nearly bought a vacation property), a California/Nevada/New Mexico road trip, and several shorter vacations around Colorado. We visited Breckenridge, Vail, and Colorado Springs. In Colorado Springs we biked down Pike’s Peak, which was one of the most thrilling and perhaps dangerous things I have ever done.

At the end of this year, we will be taking a road trip to Florida. I’m still not sure of our route, but before the end of the year, I will see a few more new-to-me states. I believe I will see Texas and Louisiana! I want to eat in a real Texas road house.

Other than Covid, the presidential election was a big event. I was thrilled that Biden/Harris won and I feel hopeful that life will be better in 2021.

I was published in Intima: A Journal of Narrative Medicine, which was a really big deal for me. I also joined a writer’s group where I feel a bit intimidated, but it is good for me.

I didn’t read as much as I wanted, but I improved my cooking skills. Before Covid, we were on a successful workout schedule, but when the gyms closed, we started on evening cocktails and cakes. We are getting a home gym in March, so I’m anticipating a return to healthy habits in 2021. In the meantime, I’m being forgiving of myself. I’m going to enjoy all of the chocolate!

There isn’t much more to add. It was a low-key year and one to feel thankful for all we have. I don’t take for granted our health or fortune in life. I hope that 2021 will bring us back to a sense of normalcy.

Florida 2020: Congo River Golf

We love mini-golf and decided to try to play at every course in Orlando. Probably the best course was Congo River Golf. They have many locations, and we played the East Orlando course. We arrived late at night on a weekday in September and practically had the place to ourselves.

Congo River Golf is split into two courses: Stanley and Livingstone, each giving us the story of the famous explorers. I’ve probably never been to a better themed mini-golf course. It has waterfalls, rivers, caves, a crashed airplane, boats, et…every aspect is highly themed.

In addition to playing mini-golf, we were also given a list of items to spot as we walked through the course. For example, we needed to look for a mask and for spears, when we found them, we were to note the hole on our score cards. Since we were playing through so quickly, we didn’t keep up with the game, but I think it would add an additional fun factor when the course is crowded and the waits are long.

The holes had spinner games to add additional challenges to the golf. Due to covid, we thought it best not to touch the spinners, but I like the thoughtful touches to add additional elements to the mini-golf experience.

My favorite hole was waterfall themed, where you had to hit the ball over the edge of a very steep hill. There was no way to control the ball or utilize any sort of skill, but it was fun to send the ball over the edge.

After playing mini-golf, we got to feed the baby alligators, which was the best part of the evening. I could spend all day feeding the gators. They are adorable and so gentle.

Congo River Golf is one of the best, if not the best, mini-golf course in Orlando. The theming is top-notch and the course is a challenge. I look forward to exploring their other locations.