While the rest of my family was spending the day cross country skiing in the mountains, I decided to go off on my own expedition….I adventured to one of the top ranked spas in the United States, Ojo Caliente. As I changed into my bathing suit, I noticed a sign on the wall that read “Iron and Arsenic Springs”. Apparently, these natural hot springs would “heal” my body and “cure” my skin. So, I said to myself, “Why not?”. I went into the extremely hot water, and I must say, it was a great experience—contrary to my initial belief. I spent over 7 hours at the spa, and by the time my parents picked me up, I was as mellow as a marshmallow!

The next day, I took my long awaited trip to Albuquerque to play in the Magic tournament. I hopped on “The Rail Runner”, (a new train running through New Mexico) in Santa Fe. After a few hours, I arrived in Albuquerque. I paid a dollar to get on the bus and, after a long 2 hours, I reached my final destination. I wasn’t disappointed. As I expected, Magic was big in all parts of the world (I have been to Madrid and played).

Here I hoped to take my Magic to a whole new level. I was undefeated going into the final round of competition but I think the heat got to me. I lost in the finals. Oh well, I still got a lot of prizes for second place. After the tournament, I was lucky that a friend I met at the tournament offered me a ride to the hotel I was staying at for the night. I had no desire to take the bus again! The next day my Dad picked me up and we were on our way back home.

*If you are planning on getting around in Albuquerque by bus, rent a car, its worth it.