Prior to 2008, New Mexico was probably best known as a place for great views, incredible art and a perceived hotspot for illegal immigration. But 2008 brought about new attention to the city of Albuquerque via a new hit show, “Breaking Bad.”
That show was the main reason I decided to make an overnight stop in Albuquerque - I had looked up the addresses for several spots associated with the show. While only one of them - The Candy Lady - seems to have embraced the Breaking Bad theme to attract business, the sites are mostly recognizable for those familiar with the series.
I originally planned the trip around being able to take a tour that was available on Saturday but not Sunday. However, the more I looked at time constraints and knowing the locations were available for those not wanting to take the official tour, I decided to hand pick a few of the locations and take a self-guided mini-tour.
To me, no Breaking Bad stops would be complete without including the car wash, the location of Saul Goodman’s first office, Los Pollos Hermanos, and of course, Walter White’s house. The car wash and the fast food joint had different names but looked the same and the office was in a strip mall with no specific office number to verify which business was the exact location.
Walter White’s house had two grumpy-looking people sitting in the front yard presumably waiting to yell at anyone who tried to get too close for a pic. I grabbed a couple of quick shots and continued on my way, so as to not make any enemies as I closed in the backstretch of my vacation.
Albuquerque didn’t have much else to offer other than a couple of statues and some historic buildings. I’m sure as a destination for a longer period of time, I could have more plenty to do for a few days. However, for this trip, I was happy to fit in the Breaking Bad sites with a couple of other stops at historic locations and then move on.
The great thing about this particular trip to Albuquerque is that it was a location in New Mexico I had not seen before. In previous trips to the state, I had mostly been in the northern half of the state either en route to Colorado or while spending time in and near Red River. So, it was nice to explore a part of the state I had not previously seen.
And given that this was my last night/morning of the trip, I wasn’t exactly unhappy to be having the opportunity to sleep in my own bed later in the day. So, on to Texas and then Oklahoma for the final leg of this amazing vacation.
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