Santa Fe

Silvia had wanted to go to Santa Fe for a long time, so she, Susan, and I went on August 13th for 3 days. We didn't get off until about 11 and stopped for lunch at McDonald's in Amarillo. It is about 4 1/2 hours to Santa Fe, so we got there about 3:30 with the time change. The Travelodge billed itself as being remodeled, but it was definitely a work-in-progress! The outside is still quite shabby with little parking. The inside was better, but the light in the bathroom didn't work. I called about it, and the clerk said she would send someone to fix it. I had to call twice more before they decided we should move to another room.

We walked around downtown for a while and ate at Coyote Cantina, up on the roof. I think Susan remembered it from last year when I let her look over the edge. The food was good: duck fajitas for Silvia and pork tacos for me. We made a stop at Border's and found some goodies. Silvia was especially pleased by the materials for ESL.

Silvia and Susan wanted to sleep in, so I went to Pascual's alone and brought them takeout. We started out with the Indians in front of the Governor's Palace. Susan and Silvia really liked looking at the things they had for sale. We went
on to St. Francis Cathedral. It has been cleaned and repainted since I was last there. It looked quite good. There is a new labyrinth in front, and the gardens were great. Inside they have a new baptismal font that people had thrown coins into. Some kids were cleaning it out under the direction of one of the guides. It was pretty funny to see them perched on the grill with their rears in the air.

We had lunch a the Whole Foods Market and did some shopping there before going on to one of my favorites, Santa Fe Quilting. Susan slept in the stroller while we shopped. They always have great stuff you don't find anywhere else. That night Susan opened up my sack and dressed as a dancing princess with long hair. We made a stop at the other Border's and ate at Maria's. Silvia says she is beginning to realize that you don't have to have beans and cheese with every Mexican meal.

It was quite hot both days, but we could see it was raining in the mountains, so we drove north both afternoons looking for cool. We never got rained on, but it was cooler.

Thursday morning we had to leave, but I had one more stop to make, High Country Gardens. It is a wonderful nursery with xeric plants of all kinds. I especially love the lavenders. Susan played in a huge sandpile, and Silvia and I took pictures of a hummingbird who just sat and let us do it. We made good time getting home. I think they both liked the trip, but Susan thinks she had to sit too long. She is used to being free in the backseat of the car in Taiwan, not sitting in a car seat.