We got back from New Mexico on Tuesday night. Our trip wasn’t nearly long enough; from the time we landed to the time we took off again, we were in the state for less than 72 hours. But it was more rejuvenating and enlightening than a weeklong vacation at home. The best trips are those that lift you up out of your life and place you back in it slightly askew. That’s how I feel after New Mexico.

I have an overwhelming impression of blue — the beautiful deep blue sky overhead almost the entire time.

This wasn’t so much a sightseeing trip. As I mentioned last week, the reason for the trip was a memorial service for Matt’s grandparents. Matt’s grandfather passed away in 2007 and his grandmother last fall. They lived most of their lives in New Mexico, and Matt’s parents both grew up there. I got to meet Matt’s extended family — people I’d heard about for a long time but had never met. Cousins who live in New Mexico and Oklahoma.

Saturday night was a get-together at a cousin’s house in Albuquerque; Sunday was a trip to Old Town Albuquerque, followed by a drive to see the house where Matt’s grandparents lived for many years; at night there was a gathering in a private area of a Mexican restaurant, and then a bunch of us went to Sonic for ice cream.

I’d never been to a Sonic before.

On Monday morning we had the memorial service, and then we all drove up to Santa Fe for a short service at the Santa Fe National Cemetery, where Matt’s grandparents were to be interred. (His grandfather was a WWII vet.) If you’ve ever been to Arlington National Cemetery, it looks similar — endless rows of gravemarkers of identical height, except there are desert mountains in the distance. It was beautiful. We gathered in a small pavilion where two soldiers formed an honor guard on either side of the urns; taps was played; the soldiers unfolded and then folded an American flag and presented it to Matt’s mother and aunt. After 45 minutes, we were able to visit the actual interment site — a long marble wall of rectangular markers.

Afterwards, we drove to the Santa Fe Plaza where we walked around and window-shopped for an hour or so, and then we all went out to dinner at — of all places — Denny’s.

I’d never been to a Denny’s before.

After dinner, we drove back to Albuquerque and all hung out at the hotel pool for a while; then it was time for bed. We woke up early on Tuesday morning and flew home.

The first leg of the trip home was from Albuquerque to Minneapolis, and during the last 15 minutes we had awful turbulence. It ranks among my worst turbulence experiences ever. A guy across the aisle from us actually used his barf bag — I’d never seen that happen before. And we were in the last row of the plane, so when we finally landed it took forever to get off that metal tube of death. We got off the plane at 12:20 and our next flight was scheduled to take off at 1:05, and I had zero desire to get on another plane right away. Fortunately, our second flight wound up being delayed for an hour — and on that second flight, we had bulkhead seats, in the front row of coach, with about 12-15 inches of extra legroom in front of us. It was awesome, and the flight was mostly smooth. Thank god.

Again, it was a great trip, and I only wish it had been longer. Someday we’ll have to go back, spend several days there, and do some sightseeing.

Boy, it sucks to be back.