Vacation Time

As you can see, we did take a vacation, though somewhat abbreviated, and I still have more than a few gripes with US Air/Air West. They gouged us unmercifully and I’m not forgetting it. Please, don’t fly on this airline…

With our bags packed and with brave hearts, we arrived at Sacramento Interdenominational Airport on time for our afternoon departure. But first we had stopped at Fry’s to buy Laurae a new digital camera, a Canon A430.

It was after 8 that evening when we touched down in Albuquerque and close to 9 by the time we had secured our bags in the extremely small luggage area of our rental car, a pearl white Nissan 350Z. Then it was time to head north to Santa Fe. Fun!

We had forgotten how difficult it was to find your way around Santa Fe and we had never tried it in the dark before. After many wrong turns and repeated drive-bys of the Plaza, we gave up and called Kitty and Dean to get us out of our predicament. Luckily, we were not that far away and it was only a few more minutes before we were safely parked at our weekend home, a small condo that was just about 5 blocks up the hill from the Plaza.

When we woke up the next morning we found that it had rained over night but it was quite pleasant, sunny, and the forecast was for a 75 degree day. We headed into town for breakfast and then began our walking tour of downtown Santa Fe; a place that I really enjoy visiting. And walking slowly was recommended; 7,000 feet is the altitude and none of us were used to that.

One of the first places we toured was the long line of artisans that sit along the wall of the Governor’s Palace and sell their art (Jewelry). I was looking for something special to take back with me, but although a few items tempted me, I didn’t see anything that I couldn’t live without. But later, in a nearby store, I found a great pair of earrings and bought those.

It was a great day…we toured many, many art galleries and stores; we found a Trader Joe’s and stocked up on essentials; we had a great lunch and an even better dinner. And by 9 that night, we were all ready for bed.

Saturday was going to be our day to tour Taos and since we already had the fixing for our breakfast, courtesy of Trader Joe...it didn’t take long for us to get on the road. It’s only an hour drive to Taos and we were there before any crowds showed up, so we had time to stroll slowly and to enjoy a cup of coffee. Once again the weather was perfect, about 70 degrees and with a breeze that kept white clouds sailing across a perfect blue sky.

OK, I really like Santa Fe. But I love Taos! Art is everywhere! I was like a kid in a candy store. Unfortunately I had a limited budget and so I had to content myself with just looking at a lot of the art and trying to commit it to memory. And while I was strolling alone, I ended up in a jewelry store, The Mesa’s Edge, that had many one of a kind pieces in it; all quite expensive but fascinating. Within half an hour I walked out with a very nice (and somewhat reasonable) new silver bracelet. I had done it. I had some very beautiful items to always remind me of this wonderful trip to New Mexico.

Right across the street from that store, we saw a very nice hotel and decided to see what it had to offer. The Casa Benavides, a bed and breakfast inn, would be a perfect place to stay if we are able to return to Taos someday. I certainly hope we can.

After a long day, we headed back down the canyon alongside the Rio Grande River and back to our rooms. And after dinner we were back in bed quite early, resting up for one more day of art and more art; in Santa Fe once again.

We spent the morning in the area around the Plaza, seeing all sorts of things that we missed the day before and then we decided to move our explorations over to a different part of the city; Canyon Road, Wow! Who knew that there were even more galleries in this part of Santa Fe? Within a few hours we all had gallery “burnout” and decided we had seen enough for the weekend; it was time for dinner and then time to pack for our return on Monday.

We’re back home now and my mind is still filled with the images of the artwork that had really moved me during this weekend. Fantastic stuff! Now I need to get it out of my mind and onto paper, in the form of sketches and notes.

And I can say that if we had no ties to where we currently live, New Mexico would be high on my list of places to move to. It’s a magnificent state. In fact I’m a big fan of their governor, Bill Richardson. As I’m writing these words, I have no idea as to his political affiliations; I just think that he makes sense when he talks.

Imagine living in a state where the sun always shines on a vista that includes earth and sky and nothing else. No buildings, no roads…limitless viewing of the beauty of this world.