Day Ten - Albuquerque Aquarium

Well, several thousand people came to the Albuquerque Aquarium today. Among them some classes from Double Eagle Elementary School. (In the pic they are gathered around the Travelin' Tide Pool.)

In addition to my cousins, I met with an old school mate, Paul Flaherty and his wife Diane. His Mom was there, too. They live in a great place in the mountains outside of Albuquerque. Haven't seen Paul in thirty-five years. We both have gotten much handsomer since the last time we were together. He is anxiously awaiting his son's return from a second tour in Special Ops in Afghanistan. Thanks for your service Sean.

Tomorrow we leave for the wilds of Amarillo, TX. It should be a fun trip. The battery problem appears fixed for now and the critters should enjoy a cool five-hour trip.

Good bye Albuquerque. It was fun.

Gary

Day Nine - Albuquerque

Happy Birthday to me! (Happy Birthday to Rob W., too.) I was worried about not having a school to present at in Albuquerque (the only city in which this was the case...all others are booked) and we were not successful in booking one. However...we will be featured tomorrow (April 7-Happy Birthday Ronnie R.) at the Albuquerque Aquarium. We will be at the entrance to the Aquarium and should attract quite a crowd. A great opportunity - Thanks Catherine (Hubbard, the Director of the Aquarium) for hosting the TidePool Cruiser. It will be an honor. Today's picture was taken at the Albuquerque Zoo (boy I wish we were doing this in Hatch; much easier to type) .

DAY Eight - On the road to Albuquerque

April 5 - This pic was taken in Hatch, NM. Other interesting places encountered this day: Radium Springs, Truth or Consequences and Elephant Butte (or was it Butt?) Anyway...uneventful trip. Arrived around 2:20 pm and met up with my cousins, Lesley and Terry Poe. They both grew up in Albuquerque after starting out in Louisiana. Everyone should visit Albuquerque (at least once).

Later...

Day Seven - Still in Las Cruces

Took part in "Keep Alameda Beautiful" event at Alameda Elementary School. The turnout was a little disappointing..so "Come on you Alameda Panthers...get it in gear and help keep your school and the environment cleaner and healthier, by participating once a month in this clean-up."

The rest of this day will be spent in trying to fix (did I tell you we're having a couple of problems with the battery power) the problems we're having with the battery power.

Beautiful, sunny, but very windy day in Las Cruces. Till tomorrow...Peace.

Day Six - Alameda Elementary

Two posts today because I fell asleep yesterday.

A real live bat star making its debut in southern New Mexico. The kids (141 of 'em) at Alameda Elementary School were cool. Dorothy Marshal (our contact at the school) treated us to dinner and we continued to try to fix our battery power problems. We're getting closer and I think a solution is right around the corner. Keep your collective fingers crossed.

Tomorrow (Sunday) it's on to Albuquerque for a day or so...staying with my "Poe" cousins, Terry and Lesley. Haven't seen them in a couple of years and I'm looking forward to it very much.

Day Five - Travel to Las Cruces

After a terrific breakfast at the Waffle House (or "a" Waffle House) in Tucson we headed out on a 271 mile voyage to...you guessed it (see above). Tomorrow we see seven classes of fourth and fifth graders at Alameda Elementary in Las Cruces. The TidePool Cruiser's first visit to the Land of Enchantment.

A little ways into NM we came to a sign that said Gary Exit 1 mile. We lost a LOT of time until we realized the sign was instructional and not a directive. Oh, well. We FINALLY got back on I-10 and made it to Las Cruces.

We are still having some glitches with the battery bank and charger but "there are no problems...only opportunities for innovation!" (Yeah, right.)

Until tomorrow...Best wishes and Peace.

Day Four - Tuscon, AZ

What a day! Instead of 140 kids we got to teach 254 very enthusiastic, eager to learn, intelligent elementary school kids at Brichta Elementary. The sea stars, sea urchins and kelp snails got a pretty thorough going over. They were "icky," "cool," "gross," slimy" and "really great!" according to the kids. Bob and I received Green Crusader certificates that proclaim: "We at Brichta strive to help raise globally responsible, environmentally aware citizens. Thank you for helping us open minds and raise consciousness!" We were honored. Thanks everybody. (Above left gooey seaweed comes to the desert.)

Tomorrow...Las Cruces, NM