Albuquerque

We had a good turn out in Albuquerque today! There were about ten people who came out to see us. Some from literally hundreds of miles away (but this isn't unique to this stop).

The people who came to see us, however were unique.

The first person who showed up was a Mr. Barnhill. Great name, right? Sounds like a hobbit name. He's an ear, nose, throat and shoulder surgeon. He drove up in his 1994 Built for Two, and it was immaculate! After admiring Born Frees for 25 years, he finally purchased this one used and is loving it.

I also had the chance to visit with Darrel and Marilyn Weybright. Darrel is a biologist, and works for the New Mexico conservation department where he oversees their deer and elk program. He told me stories about chasing down desert mountain goats in Mexico and capturing them with net guns ... from a helicopter! They then transplant the goats to New Mexico to bolster the population here. The stories got even better.

In his tagging and tracking of the deer and elk, he also used a helicopter. He rode in a helicopter and shot deer with tranquilizer darts and net guns - just can't get over that! Anyway, he said that sometimes a deer will hide near some brush or a tree to hide from the helicopter. When this happens, they bring the helicopter down real low, he steps out onto skid, and jumps down onto the deer! I was incredulous and said as much, but he swears it's true!

Darrel is the Indiana Jones of wildlife conservation.

Over lunch, I got to know Bill and Linda Scott and their son Will. Very nice family!

Bill started and owns Dion's, a chain of pizza restaurants! After college, Bill and a buddy of his came to New Mexico from Detroit and started a pizza place called New York Pizza. One day, Bill related, a gentleman came in, ordered a slice and sat watching them work for awhile. He did this a few more times until one day, he approached the counter and informed them that they were doing it wrong! Even at 23, Bill had enough sense and humility to recognize take sound advice when given. And so for a little while, Tony taught them about pizza. Tony was from Florida and had just sold his own pizza restaurant so that he could travel the country.

Bill said he'd like to do the same for someone else someday.

Now Bill's pizza place has grown into seventeen Dion's restaurants across New Mexico and Texas! He generously gave us some gift certificates and we headed over to their location on Central (old Route 66) for dinner.

The food was great! We started off with a family size Greek Salad, which Pop declared one of the best salads he'd ever had. It was fresh, tasty, and well seasoned. Dion's even makes their own salad dressings!

The pizza was fantastic! Their pizza menu is a nice blend of classic and more unique offerings. We ordered a fourteen inch pizza - half Napoli and half Duke City. The Napoli was a classic combination of Italian sausage, kalamata olives, pepperoni, roasted red peppers, provolone, and parmesan. It was very good - but what really excited me was the Duke City. The Duke City is turkey, green chile, cheddar, and parmesan. So good! The green chiles give it a nice, spicy flair, and though I don't think I've ever had turkey on a pizza before, it really worked!

Pop was a fan of Dion's the instant he walked through the door. They have an area where you can stand and watch the pizza being prepared - he was sold! (In fact, I'm convinced that the reason he loves the WaHo so much is that you get to watch the chef!)

Thanks, Scott for the pizza! We all loved it! Unfortunately, there aren't enough leftover slices for all of us ... this could get ugly.

Tonight is our last night in Albuquerque. We're headed to Apache Junction tomorrow, so if you're in the Phoenix area, come and see us!

Oh, and I know this will be disappointing, but Gram's 2 Cents won't be ready until tomorrow.