The second night of our 3rd annual trip out west we had a hotel booked in Roswell. This was/is super exciting to me for two reasons...
One – when I was in middle school I was obsessed with aliens. I read every book I could find on them. I had all sorts of alien accessories, and probably wanted nothing more than to actually see some. While I’m not as into them as I was then, I definitely still believe in aliens and there is special place in my heart that loves all tacky alien related things.
Two – Roswell has been somewhere I have wanted to go for yeeears. A long time ago, toward the beginning of The Dainty Squid, I was working with a company and the person in charge of their social media stuff, Kiran, was super friendly. I remember making small talk with him, and he mentioned something about how he had just gotten back from a roadtrip and how cool Roswell was. He sent me a bunch of photos of silly alien stuff and from the second I saw those photos I knew I had to go to Roswell. It would be years before I ever made it out west, and then a few more years before I made it to Roswell but Kiran put the bug under my skin to want to travel. I know I’ve talked a few times about how I felt stuck in my pre-Cleveland life, and traveling anywhere just seemed like something I’d never do. To finally get there felt amazing, and way more special than I could ever explain.
We drove into Roswell, and immediately checked into the our hotel room. I wasn’t too impressed with what I saw on the drive through but felt like I needed to give it a real chance. So that evening, while Jeff napped, I went out with just my camera and wandered around Roswell by foot. It didn’t take long before I was completely enthralled. Every where you look is something alien related. It’s incredibly tacky, in the best way. The town has a handful of alien gift shops, and a UFO museum but even the “regular” businesses had aliens sprinkled into their advertising. There was a furniture store with little aliens relaxing on their couches!! The thing that surprised me the most was that no one has cashed in and made an alien themed hotel. I mean, even McDonalds is shaped like UFO there! As soon as someone builds one, I’ll be back!
If you aren’t into aliens, or didn’t go through an alien phase at some point in your life, you probably wouldn’t think Roswell was all that special. While they definitely could do more to make it a better tourist trap, it’s still a lovely little town. I’m so happy to finally be able to cross it off my list.
xoxo