the vortex or paseo paseo


last
Wednesday
I flew from Newark to Atlanta to meet my friend Mary 
and 
connect to a flight to Albuquerque 
apparently ABQ is considered an international airport 
but
 you cant get there from here 
without
 a connection
 actually
 I think its better to have two short-ish flights
 than one really long one
okay moving along
when we picked up our rental car 
there was a shortage of compact cars
 to save time
 the agent 'borrowed' one from another company
apparently 
3 companies are owned by the same megacompany
 we got a Chevy 
oy and vey 
no pick up 
would be an 
understatement
nevertheless it got us where we wanted to go

We were driving along on 25
 (not sure if it was a route or an interstate) 
when we spied our first sign of New Mexico's
 'enchantment'
 a dust devil
 it was so weird
 alas 
no photo because
 (a) camera was still packed in carry on 
(b) we'd gotten some momentum up and didnt want to lose it

we did stop at Santa Domingo Pueblo 
where the local Indians sell crafts and tamales
I got some of both
and
 possibly
 a touch of the 'Santa Domingo Cleanse'
a distant relation of Montezuma's Revenge

The exit we were to take off 25 was closed for repairs
so we drove to the next exit 
where
 I believe 
we entered 
the 
vortex
every left was actually a right
every right actually a left
all roads
 seemed 
to lead to 
Paseo de Peralta
 (I renamed it Paseo Paseo because it kept repeating)
after some U turns we drove into Santa Fe

as soon as we drove past these
 I yelled 
STOP 
Mary did
 I hopped out to get my first shots


Santa Fe Railyards are now a hub for both the
Railrunner
and
Santa Fe Southern Railway
lots of shops 
restaurants 
and 
the weekend Farmer's Market

(this train photo is for Suldog)

this is our hotel
The Chimayo
on Washington Street


this is the lobby


this is the walkway to the little casitas and loft rooms


we had a loft room


 it had a sweet little terracita
(with two small tables and 6 chairs)


after we unpacked
we headed out to get the lay of the land
St Francis Cathedral


where we stopped to rest
as 
do many birds and flying insects
(I missed a great shot of a hummingbird because I was so astonished to see one I froze!)


after more walking window shopping we looked in on La Casa Sena
it looked so nice we did some more wandering before returning for some refreshing drinks and some delicious 'small bites'
(that's the vegetarian sampler)


While we were relaxing 
Mary leaned back 
thinking her chair was going to tip
 she grabbed the table
 it started to topple over 
I grabbed it on my end
 saving my camera and wine 
but
 her margarita went sloshing 
everywhere
 suddenly
 three men were there righting the table
 cleaning up the spill 
 laughing with us
 that's how we came to meet Richard and his two partners
and
 were invited to attend Thursday evening's Diva Night 

our plan for that evening 
(Wednesday) 
was
to drive out to the 
Opera House 
and
 get some sunset photos
 because
 those early clouds boded well for a colorful sunset


well, the best laid plans dont always work out
waiting for the sun to begin to set we decided to grab an hour's nap
no we didnt over sleep
we got up refreshed 
drove out to the Opera House and got lost
yup
turned around again
by the time
we got to the Opera House
 the gates were locked
the sky was black

back at the hotel 
I decided to call it a day
the bed was so inviting I quickly fell asleep
 but 
Mary was hungry so she went in search of food

Bright and sunny and cool 
that was how
 Thursday
 began
 with 
a large inexpensive delicious breakfast at 
The Burrito Co. 
(just 2 doors away from our hotel)


the light
 in 
Santa Fe
 is amazing
 I totally understand 
why
 it is a mecca for artists


we did a lot on Thursday
we shopped 
at 
Mira


bought amazing chocolate 
made from recipes hundreds of years old
at 
Kakawa




got to visit San Meridith's gallery 
 on West San Francisco
San is a blogger 
okay 
so she hasnt blogged
 in a while
 I think these are a good excuse
she used to do only abstracts now she's into sunsets


 I knew San wasnt going to be there
 because 
we emailed before I left NYC 
but
 I decided to stop by and peek in the window 
I got to do that 
and 
I got to meet her son Oakley
 who I felt as if I knew from San's blogging 



outside the gallery Mary spotted this license plate


we also browsed the Indian 'market' that is across from the main plaza


we wandered Canyon Roads many art galleries 





all before
 heading back to the hotel
 freshening up for 
Diva Night

that's me with Bella Gigantia (aka Richard)

after
 Diva Night 
which was such fun 
every one of the performers had Broadway quality voices 
we went to a park that overlooks the city
(at Oakley's recommendation)
and got the sunset shots we were after
then we decided to do a little driving 
we ended up
having dinner
tapas


the sunset


just to prove
 how 
enchanted
 this place is 
I got a moon shot! 
 Toonman said to title this 
Shine on Sliver Moon


Friday 
we breakfasted 
at 
did a little more shopping 
before 
heading back to Albuquerque 
and 
flying home


I spotted these tee shirts at a small shop just past Burrito Co.


here it is being modeled by Toonman



and
to wrap up the trip 
here's Kokopelli
go on 
say it
Kokopelli


I love Kokopelli
love saying Kokopelli

I took a lot of photos
 this recap
 in as short a form
 as I could manage
 check out 
for all the photos 
over the next week or two

I bet you need to stretch after all that
go ahead
I understand
thanks for wading through the verbosity!