My Birthday con't. Luna Mansion 8/5/09

This had to have been one of the most memorable birthdays ever. One of the others was when I turned 60 and my kids gave me 60 gifts. What fun that was! Another was a scavenger hunt for a mother’s ring that had all the kids and grandkids birthstones.

Right after we moved to Los Lunas, NM in the late 70's the Luna Mansion was opened as a steakhouse restaurant. Over the years it had its ups and downs until it was closed several months ago.

A local family recently bought it and totally renovated it and this showplace of Valencia County was reopened the end of July. When we heard this I knew that was where I wanted to have dinner on my birthday. And let me tell you we were not disappointed.

It is hard to read the sign, but it was original the hacienda of the Luna family and is built of adobe. It is very unusual to see a 2-story adobe building. (Adobe is brick made with mud, dried in the hot NM sun and used a building bricks).

The décor is black on white. It sounds stark but really is warm, elegant and very inviting.

The red velvet drapes in the curved bay window are outstanding. Gene and I shared a steak dinner that melted in our mouths. During dinner one of the family members came by our table and thanked us for being some of the 1st patrons of their new venture. http://thelunamansion.com/index.htm

(The Torres family also owns the New Mexican restaurant right across the street that serves outstanding New Mexican food.)

I had mentioned it was my birthday and that resulted in a beautifully presented and fantastic piece of cheesecake with strawberry sauce and a candle.

After dinner, with Gene’s son and wife, we went to see them play beach volleyball in a nearby park.

While we were there the full moon started to rise over the Manzano Mountains.

After the games we went for pie at the Village Inn and got the call that a friend had a baby at 10:21 – Evan William.

What a day! Rail Runner to Santa Fe and the plaza, dinner at the "Mansion", volleyball, and Evan. And it wasn't over yet. After we arrived home a Lobster gram was delivered with live lobsters and clams. OMG was that good and the subject of another blog.

Day 2 RV Travels 2/5/09

Us in the field with the slide out out.

After a great nights sleep we worked some more in getting settled in. Gene's son and wife brought us breakfast/lunch of homemade breakfast burritos wrapped in homemade tortillas. Very yummy - Gene was in 7th heaven eating the food he grew up with.

After we ate it was time to get to busy filling the fresh water tank and hooking up the Direct TV receiver. After several tries Daniel (son) went up onto the roof and see why the satellite dish was not turning. There was no way to check it before we left and Gene was definitely not climbing up there for any reason.

It is stuck so we will have to get it fixed. More than one person has recommended we get a tripod with the dish on it that stands on the ground. We thought it was duplicating what we already have and wanted to try it first. When we get to Florida we will contact Direct TV and have them help us get all set up.

In the meantime we have a very good analog antenna and it will work just fine until we get the other squared away.

DIL - Eileen - and I went grocery shopping and went home to fix dinner. Frito pies with red chile and beans and hot dogs. And a great dessert - vanilla wafers. instant banana cream pudding and bananas layered in a dish. Chilled and just scooped out. No real recipe. Eileen is an excellent cook.

The meat for the chile and beans was venison. The family are big hunters and have a freezers full of antelope, elk and deer. Even Eileen's 9 year old nephew shot both an antelope and deer this past hunting season.

We spent the evening visiting with the family including Genes daughter and grandson and Eileen's mother. We came out to the RV and the gals went crazy looking at and choosing the woven Peruvian earrings we have listed on eBay. They have a friend who is going though chemo and wanted some of our scarves, which are just the right size to cover her head. They took Pink Ribbon scarves in 3 different background colors and a pair of pink ribbon shoelaces.

We went to bed undecided which way we were going to continue east. Back up to Albuquerque and then east on I-40 or south on I-25 to Las Cruces NM where it turns into I-10. The decision was left for the morning when we could really see the 5 day weather reports.