The end of March, Olessia and I made a trip out to Las Cruces, New Mexico to visit my grandparents. It was a just a weekend trip, although we wish we had more time. It had been probably ten years since I was in Las Cruces the last time. The temperatures in Cleveland were just starting to warm up from 40F. I remember scraping frost off the car before leaving for the airport. We arrived and it was in the low 70F. The weather was absolutely awesome.

My grandparents took us out for lunch and we got some authentic southwestern BBQ food. From there we stopped in Old Mesilla. We had fun checking out the local crafts, jewelry, souvenirs, and art. Olessia found some jewelry and I found a pretty spiffy hat (which came in handy for the hiking we were to do). We stopped at some local art galleries and discovered some great water color works done of the southwest. Olessia enjoyed them and even had a chance to talk to the artist!

Later in the trip, we hiked the Organ Mountains, visited a pecan farm, and eat at an awesome local Mexican restaurant (definitely not the same as the Mexican food found in Ohio!).

The best part of the trip was hanging out with my grandparents. They took us all over and hiked and walked. They wore US out!