Twitter road trips USA: Texas to New Mexico day five - as it happened

The first stop on our tour with Jaramillo was obviously Walter White's house. When we pulled up, there was already another car sitting outside. I noticed someone watching us from behind the blinds, so I knocked on the door.

Fran Padilla owns own of the most recognizable homes on television, and her experience with being a tourist destination has been mostly positive. Mostly.

"We've had a couple of jerks throw pizzas on the roof," Padilla said. "I don't mind people taking pictures, but now they're stealing rocks." 

But overall, Padilla and her neighbors enjoy the attention. Last month, she counted over 175 visitors. Sometimes, they put on a show. 

"My crazy neighbors came out in hazmat suits and dry ice when the trolley came by. It was hysterical." 

We're on our way to fill a few reader requests, starting with @molinafacts: "the crack house where Jesse rescued the kid and the ATM falls on the guy."

On the note, only on a Breaking Bad tour would you hear, "let's start at the crack house and work our way back."

We've just finished up lunch at Duran Central Pharmacy, a no-frills diner in town that is known for some of the best Mexican food in Albuquerque, at least according to our readers. 

The food is delicious – Donna Garcia, our waitress, ordered for us and served up a Ruby Special of chicken, green chili, beans and cheese, plus a Mexican combination plate of red and green chili. On top of that, she served up some of the best chips and guac I've ever had. The total, plus John's chili cheeseburger, came to $18.

In addition to being well-known as one of few local restaurants to make its own flour tortillas, the staff is comprised of all women. When we were there during the lunch rush, it was like dinner plus a show; the crew was having fun with – and poking fun at – the diners and, in turn, they warmed up to us.

We asked Donna about New Mexico.

Known for: "Our red and green chilis"

Best thing: "It's the weather. And not to be partial but I think Duran's is one of the best restaurants in New Mexico. We don't have men in here. They can't handle us! We're all Hispanic women. Except Ruby, she's from Corpus Christi."

Props to our commenters for the latest in a string of excellent
recommendations.

Next up: We're meeting a local blogger at our hotel
for a tour of Breaking Bad filming locations.

Coming back from Turquoise Trail, we're feeling a little ragged, but we're also seeing the power of this #twitrips thing. We asked for a hotel and readers responded right away with a handful of suggestions. So thanks for helping a few sunburnt travelers out. 

We ended up going with Hotel Andaluz ($159 tonight), which received high marks from you and, apparently, from Conde Nast Traveler. As Zora O'Neill wrote for the Guardian in her Albuquerque hotel guide, this hotel has a bit of lore attached to it:

"Zsa Zsa Gabor slept here. Well, not when it was the Andaluz, but way back when it was husband Conrad Hilton's first hotel in his native New Mexico." 

The hotel is beautiful, clean and comfortable. We'll be sure to check out the patio bar later, but first things first: food. we've decided to go with Duran Central Pharmacy for lunch, as recommended by @MeganEaves ("my all-time favourite restaurant"). 

To come this afternoon after we recharge a bit: @BrBadLocations has helpfully sent along a list of Breaking Bad scene locations, which several of you requested we visit. On his list: Walter's condo, Denny's restaurant, Crossroads Motel, and A1A Car Wash. (I'm scared to expose myself as someone who doesn't watch this show, but is all gibberish to me. If you tell me which places are most crucial, we'll try to swing by.) 

We're very grateful to gratefulred78, who spared Katie and the team a night in the air-conditioned box with these hotel suggestions and watering holes. They booked into the Andaluz.

They remind us that gay pride weekend starts in ABQ tomorrow., so it should be lively for our lot who have been following white lines down the middle of the road for the past five days.

Any more drinking recommends most welcome

gratefulred78

28 June 2013 6:52pm

Lodging:
Los Pobanos Inn and Cultural Center is on a lavender farm in the bucolic north valley.
Hotel Andaluz is Conrad Hilton's first hotel and where he honeymooned with Zsa Zsa Gabor - has a wonderful Moorish-style lobby.
Hotel Parq Central is an old hospital converted to a boutique hotel with a medical theme. Check out the Apothecary Lounge with the rooftop deck's sunset views of downtown.

Downtown's Marble Brewery has a great beer garden with live music and food trucks. Always a lively place with an interesting and mixed crowd.
Anodyne and Sister Bar are worth seeing for their relaxed atmosphere and great beer selections, and then go across the street to Effex for some gay pride weekend dancing.

We've just arrived back in Albuquerque after a morning spent along the Turquoise Trail. Our last stop was the much-recommended Tinkertown Museum, built over four decades by circus and carnival painter Ross J Ward. He has since passed away but his wife, Carla, was in the gift shop taking tickets.

"We started collecting bottles," Carla said. "We became the neighbourhood recycling centre. He'd come home and work on this."

The museum is full of painted wooden carvings Ross had-made over the years, and the walls are covered in glass mosaic. You can play with ancient carnival machines - discards the couple fixed up, according to Carla - and drop quarters into giant old accordion machines to play old time music.

We had our personalities tested by one machine - Sarah and I received a verdict of 'uncontrollable' while John got 'romantic'. Admission is only $3.50 per adult, but you'll want plenty of quarters to feed the assorted machines.

We pulled Carla aside to ask her about New Mexico.

Known for: "I hope it's the wide open spaces. It's just a very unique place to live. It feels like the Wild West out here."

Best thing: "The people. I think it's because of the wide open spaces."

We're in Albuquerque now, about ready to check into Hotel Andaluz at the recommendation of gratefulred78 (see above), and @muggle505, @dlwest65 and @foodloversnm. We need wifi and a lunch break, and we're running through our list of eatery suggestions now.

Katie and the team will be staying in Albuquerque tonight. Trouble is she hasn't had any lodging recommendations as yet. So, if you Albuquerquians want to avoid having a car full of people sleeping in your Old Town, please send any suggestions to @KatieRogers, #TwiTrips or below in the comments.

We asked Moon New Mexico author and blogger Zora O'Neill to give us some suggestions and she came up with these 10. The bizarrely named Monterey Non-Smokers Motel piqued our interest. Has anyone stayed there? Had a sneaky cigarette?

Also, Katie, photographer Sarah and driver John will be in need of a goldfish bowl of beer/wine/margeritas after a long, hot and dusty week of driving. What bars should they hit in ABQ? Oh come on, it is the weekend.

Reader Casadewhack, told us about the Santa Fe Brewery's birthday, but they've just left there. Are there similarly good breweries, brewpubs in ABQ?

It's the Santa Fe Brewery's birthday today, so make sure you have some - they brew good stuff, although the brewery itself is a less than inspiring factory unit in the outskirts (unlike the fabulous Spoetzle brewery in Texas, which you missed). Friendly people there though.

It turns out our reshuffled morning plans were a blessing in disguise; we're hours ahead of schedule for the first time this week.

Several of you, including @spinner59, @elaineliner, @foodloversnm and @sethgarden, heavily encouraged a ride through the beautiful Turquoise Trail through the towns of Cerrillos and Madrid.

But it was Rick Griego, owner of Santa Fe's The Shop: A Christmas Store, who told us to go to Cerrillos. (According to him, New Mexico is most known for its mix of Native American, Anglo and Spanish cultures.

The best thing? "The people."

We've just left the tiny old turquoise mining town of Cerrillos, but its most recent claim to fame was as the setting of the movie Young Guns (about a gunslinging gang led Billy the Kid) in the late 80s.

Not much activity here, but we visited the mining museum, which doubles as a trading post and petting zoo.

After feeding some plump goats, chickens and llamas, we're on our way to Java Junction, a reader-recommended coffeehouse in Madrid, for our third serving of coffee today.

[Reader DorianHawkmoon adds: "Cerrillos is a great old mining town where Lillie Langtry used to sing (there's still the old opera house) and Oscar Wilde visited. It's one of the nearest things you'll find to a proper old wild west town. Lots of history there."]

After our hot air balloon plans were cancelled, we were feeling a bit aimless. Frontier restaurant was already on our list (as recommended by Katherine Klimt), but the flurry of tweets recommending we stop in earlier than planned for a New Mexican breakfast and sweet rolls gave us an extra nudge.

The restaurant is a classic, old school college diner; it's directly across the street from the University of New Mexico. It is adorned with a southwestern motif and is famous for walls covered in quirky art, including plenty of depictions of The Duke.

Sarah and John had the heuvos rancheros @nicholsong recommended, and I had a breakfast burrito. We tried the restaurant's famous sweet rolls, which are covered in sugar and butter. They are amazing.

We've basically had to roll ourselves down the street for more caffeine and wi-fi in order to send this post. Next stop: Since we have a few extra hours and more time with Albuquerque, we're going to drive up the Turquoise Trail to Cerrillos; known to be a ghost town, but as far as we can tell there are definite signs of life. More to come.

We've basically had to roll ourselves down the street for more caffeine and wifi in order to send this post.

Next stop: Since we have a few extra hours and more time with Albuquerque, we're going to drive up the Turquoise Trail to Cerrillos (as recommended by alderdice in Guardian Witness and many others); known to be a ghost town, but as far as we can tell there are definite signs of life. More to come.