Creation Vacation

OK, so maybe the title isn't completely true. We did a lot of consuming on our little 3 day mini vacation. Consuming some good food, and a lot of information from the museums we went to, consuming music while on the road. But the main goal of our trip was to create memories for our kids! When I was a kid growing up we went on a few really good trips, the first one I really remember I was only 4 and we went to California and went to Disneyland, Universal Studios, and the beach. It was an awesome trip! But I can't remember a thing I got for my birthday or Christmas that year. But like I said a few posts ago memories last much longer than things. So as you already know we decided to forgo the barrage of gifts on Christmas, save all that money we would have spent and spend some quality family time together.

After trying to decide between a couple of places, we finally decided on going to a few places in New Mexico, where my wife and I were born, but that my wife had never been to. A quick rundown of our trip is as follows: We drove to Roswell stayed the first evening, ate dinner with some friends then checked in to the hotel for the night. The next morning we were up early for the drive through Ruidoso and on to Alamogordo. We stopped and had breakfast in Ruidoso at a little bakery called Cornerstone Bakery (Facebook link). We got an amazing cinnamon roll, an apple strudel, some chocolate chip pecan cookies, and some white chocolate pistachio cookies (those were especially good).  Then it was on to the New Mexico Museum of Space History There are a lot of rockets outside to see and so many replicas of rockets, satellites and other space memorabilia inside. The kids really enjoyed this museum, and there was enough information to fill up a whole day. We went through it rather quick because the kids weren't as interested in listening to facts as looking at all the exhibits. Something we all enjoyed was the IMAX planetarium at the museum. It is very informational and gives a lot of detail into each of the planets in our solar system.

Space Museum

Next to a big rocket "Nike Ajax"

After that we grabbed a quick bite to eat, and headed to White Sands National Monument (Facebook). Unfortunately both mine and my wife's phone died upon arrival, so we didn't get any pictures while there. The kids loved playing around in the sand and sledding down the dunes. And Jessica and I got a good work out from climbing the dunes chasing the kids. As sunset was approaching we headed back East towards Ruidoso to grab some dinner. Which was teeming with people grabbing food and shopping after a busy day of skiing at the nearby Ski Apache. Then it was back to Roswell for the night.

The next morning we got up and headed to the International UFO Museum Research Center  (Facebook) in Roswell. We have always enjoyed sci fi movies and shows and like hearing all the theories and stories of "encounters". It is a neat place to visit and gives plenty of information supporting both sides of the stories of not just the Roswell crash but abductions, sightings, and other suspected crashes.

Caleb and Juliana next to a UFO crash model

After that we grabbed some
lunch and went to The Roswell Museum and Art Center. There are a lot of paintings, sculptures and other art in the museum. There is a section dedicated to Robert Goddard, who played a major role in creating rockets able to go to space. It also has big area that contains New Mexico history including many items used by the different Native American tribes from there. Upon leaving there we headed back home for a day of much needed rest after our information, and action packed vacation. I would definitely encourage you to go to an and all of these places at least once in your lifetime. Enjoy them with your family and create some wonderful memories. If you have been on a trip recently, or have pictures from a family trip that created some wonderful memories. Please share them with me on Facebook , Google + , or Twitter