Breaking Bad in ABQ!

One of my friends posted a few months ago about her summer being wide open for travel. Since Mike and I weren't able to go to Europe this year like we had originally planned, I jumped at the chance to plan a trip to Albuquerque with her!  I've been wanting to go to ABQ for a number of reasons... one of the main reasons was because Breaking Bad was filmed there.  (And checking off another state is always a bonus!) The more I looked up things to do in New Mexico the more excited I became. Soon there were 3 of us headed out west to the land of enchantment. 

Thursday: We arrived a little after lunch and started things out with Electric Playhouse. This was something I found as I was googling things to do. A friend also recommended this to me.  It's essentially a projection-based digital gameplay arena. It's interactive so there's a lot of running around. It was fun, BUT... none of the games had instructions. I think it would be nice for them to have a little plaque that said how to play the games. Also, I guess some of the walls were just digital art and not actually a game... I kind of felt like it wasn't worth the money paid, but oh well. Still a unique experience.

After running around at the playhouse we went to Historic Old Town. It is SO stinkin' cute!  I love the buildings, the architecture, and overall vibe of the town. We also stopped and ate at Old Town Pizza Parlor. IT WAS SO YUMMY! The pizza was fantastic and we loved the dessert as well. (Warm chocolate chip cookie with ice cream!) 

Friday: We started our day at Petroglyph National monument. This wasn't originally on our itinerary, but thankfully we found out about it and added it in! Petroglyph National Monument protects one of the largest petroglyph sites in North America. It features designs and symbols carved onto volcanic rocks by Native American and Spanish settlers 400-700 years ago.

We then went up to Santa Fe for the afternoon and walked around the plaza, stopped and ate chocolates at Kakawa chocolate (YUM!), and visited Meow Wolf. 

I really have no idea what to say about Meow Wolf... I still don't even know what it is. 😂 Online it's described as a "company that creates large-scale interactive and immersive art installations."  It was like a cross between the City Museum in St. Louis, an escape room, and an art exhibit. I don't really know.

After all that fun and excitement we drove part of Route 66 and stopped at a diner for dinner. 

Route 66 itself was a little underwhelming... we kept envisioning scenes from Cars and it wasn't quite like we thought. ;) Still, very iconic! And the diner was so cute!

Saturday: The day we had all been waiting for... Breaking Bad RV tour ! We loved seeing filming locations from the show and checking out the Breaking Bad Store where there were props from the show and lots of photo ops! 

If you're a fan of Breaking Bad / Better Call Saul, I definitely recommend a tour, checking out the shop, and visiting the Candy Lady. Not only did she produce the crystal blue for the show, she also makes yummy chocolates! :)

After we broke bad we went to Elena Gallegos Open Space.  Really lovely place to walk around and take photos!  It was getting late and there was a storm coming in so we didn't get the best photos, but still worth it! 

 Sunday: Our final day in New Mexico! We took the Sandia Tram and enjoyed some beautiful views before heading back home. 

ATLANTA

 I had been DYING to go to Atlanta for many many many years since my favorite show on television, THE WALKING DEAD was filmed there. I FINALLY convinced Mike to go with me in November of 2021. BEST TIME EVER!!!! I'll try to keep the TWD portion short and sweet since I know most people don't care about this. (even though they should!)

One of the first things we did was head to Senoia (aka Woodbury) and had lunch at Nic and Norman's . This is the restaurant of Greg Nicotero and Norman Reedus (Daryl). 

Nic and Norman's

We also did three (yes, three) different TWD tours. 

The first was Walking Dead Haralson Tours

This tour was SO AWESOME!! We were the only two on it and our guide made sure we got tons of fun shots! We also got to carry props and had so much fun learning about these filming locations!

We also did WaterTowerTours and our guide, Collin, was so great! He was actually an extra on the show multiple times!

Alexandria

Senoia aka Woodbury

I absolutely loved visiting the Woodbury Shoppe and museum. One of my favorite memories is posing for this sweet picture!! Still cracks me up!

This guy looks dead on like Abraham!

We took a drive through Atlanta on our own to view more filming locations.

TWD Season 1 Cover!

The CDC

This trip wasn't all Walking Dead though... we went to the World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta and then also went up to Rock City and Ruby Falls in Lookout Mtn., GA. 

I was a little disappointed in the World of Coca-Cola... I didn't find that much enjoyment in it, but I did enjoy taste testing different coke products :)

World of Coca-Cola

We both really enjoyed Ruby Falls and Rock City. Definitely worth a visit!

Ruby Falls

Ruby Falls

Rock City

I thoroughly enjoyed our trip to Georgia... mainly for Walking Dead purposes, but I also enjoyed Rock City and Ruby Falls as well. Got another state checked off my list and it was well worth it!