Santa Fe

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COVID has thrown traveling into chaos. One of the trips that was supposed to have been done last year was New Mexico. This time around with COVID numbers slowly increased the trip was planned as a redo. Scott and his boyfriend Matan planned a cross country trip and would pick me up in Albuquerque airport. I was flying out of Raleigh Durham airport and it wasn't too busy walking through the terminal. At the gate there was a decent amount of people sitting without masks on and wasn't in the process of eating and drinking. In addition, some people had it below their noses. It was way too crowded and with the Delta variant ongoing people were just foolish to not adhere to keeping their masks on as normal. Once we got on the plane, everyone had their masks on properly which was a big sign of relief. I was flying into Dallas airport as a layover then to Albuquerque. On the trip home, it would be the reverse and then a flight into New York for my friend's wedding.

It was a little bumpy on the first leg of the flight. The first flight was on time coming in which was helpful because I had to go to Terminal D from Terminal A. I used the Skylink and to my surprise it was quite efficient and quick. I had a delay of 40 minutes leaving the Dallas airport. I ate at Brewed #143 for dinner at Dallas airport. I got a BBQ stout burger with regular fries. The service was very slow for the food so thankfully had the extra time at the terminal. The fries was the best part of the meal. The burger bun was too soft with a very ordinary taste. It wasn't the best burger I have ever eaten. I found out that it was a maintenance issue with the plane that caused the delay. The second flight was full but overall an effective flight. As you fly into the city, you see mountains and green land. It wasn't as populated far away. It was a beautiful sight on one side of the plane and very plain on my side. As you come into the city, you see more homes and civilization near the airport. The airport didn't offer a lot as many of the shops was closed at night time. There was beautiful Native American paintings as you walk down towards the baggage claim. My bag came out very quickly and once Scott/Matan got me we were on the way to Santa Fe.

It was 1 hour 15 minutes drive to Santa Fe. I found out from a Lyft driver a few days later that most drivers prefer to drive this direction as opposed to Santa Fe to Albuquerque due to population density is less in Santa Fe. I saw a lot of lightening strikes on the way and this would be a common theme that I would notice at night time in Santa Fe. It appears with the heat that the sky releases it at night time and gets cooler in the city. It was very dark out as we arrived to the Residence Inn. There was a cute lobby with cactuses scattered all around. As you walk around to the room, it reminded me more of a bunk area within a campground. There was a nice looking pool and hot tub. The room didn't scream southwestern, but was a decent size and offered a lovely fireplace. We found out from the front desk that the elevation in Santa Fe is 7000 feet so drinking water is very crucial and the weather usually is dry around this time of the year. Ironically, we found out during the trip that the weather wasn't dry and monsoon season began early.

We woke up the next morning and notice an owl hooting. It sounded like it was coming from the direction of the fireplace. The breakfast was ok. There was Mexican pastries, but was very dry. I got a breakfast burrito which was decent. There was also yogurt, oatmeal and other items that changed daily, but by the end of the trip got tired of the same things. There was a nice shaded area outside of the building that we ate breakfast We walked around the hotel and saw a tennis court combined with a basketball court, in addition to an indoor gym. We drove into the downtown area and there was a lot of cute Pueblo homes. You see mountains all over as you drive into the downtown. We booked the Georgia O'Keeffe museum ahead of time and would recommend that as many of the sessions was sold out. There was many oil and abstract paintings with themes ranging from rattlesnake bones, rocks/skulls from other animals, travels and flowers. It wasn't a large museum and it took about 30-40 minutes. It was a self guided tour and personally the art wasn't my taste.

We left the museum and went into Santarepa cafe. It was a Venezuelan cage. It took 20 minutes to get Matan and I iced coffees. It was extremely slow and the coffee was only ok. We walked into various art galleries and saw such beautiful works of art and sculptures. It was definitely some of the nicest works I had seen in a very long time. We got a recommendation for lunch and went to Tia Sophias. They serve true New Mexican food and was a hole in the wall that locals love. I got the Duo 2 chicken enchiladas chile beans with sopapilla. I got Christmas chile (red and green chile combined) and the sopapilla had honey on top. It was spicy, homey and comforting good with amazing service. The only minor downfall was it was all indoors, but there was fans circulating the air. We went to other outdoor galleries and saw more shops on the main Plaza street. We saw St Basilica of St Francis church. There was people in the street singing and dancing from Diocese of Valencia. It was a very preachy sermon, but it was cool to see people enjoying the Plaza and see happiness in the craziness of COVID.

We went to Loretta Chapel and didn't go in because of the cost to enter the church. It was very difficult to get into restaurants for dinner so I would recommend making reservations before going to the city. We went to Rooftop Pizzeria for dinner. We sat at the bar rather than wait 1.5 hours to get into dinner. I got a marble guava wheat beer. I enjoyed it as a refreshing beer. I got a personal 12 inch green chile Alfredo cojita pizza. It was spicy and tasty all in one bite. We went back to the hotel and went into the pool and hot tub. The hot tub was lukewarm. We went back to the room and relaxed before bed.

The next morning I had tamales and egg/cheese/sausage/biscuit for breakfast. There was fruit, cereal and bagels as newer items. We went inside St Basilica of St Francis church. There was beautiful stained glass with intimate detail on the columns. We saw San Miguel church which is the oldest church that dates back to 1680. We went inside the oldest house and saw some antique artifacts. The house dates back to 1646. As you walked around the area you saw trees and mountains. We walked to Canyon Road. I would recommend on Sunday to check the hours of the galleries as some of them are closed. It is a road that has 100 galleries within a 0.5 mile radius. In one of the galleries, there was sculptures that had movement that was so cool to look at. We saw on our trip various fruits growing in trees and gardens that you could eat straight off the vine. We saw apricot, blueberries, apple, pears, lavender trees/bushes and peas.

We ate lunch at Thai on Canyon. I got chicken pad see ew. It was a tasty dish and we got to sit outside. However, it started to rain towards the end of the meal which dampened the experience. The service was ok at the restaurant. We checked out more shops and galleries and then relaxed back in the room. We went to Coyote cafe for dinner. I got an elk tenderloin that was cooked to medium rare perfection. It came with bacon that wasn't great and chewy. The potato and green beans was decent that accompanied the elk. It came with delicious cornbread to start the meal off right and had good waiter service. The creme brulee dessert was amazing and highly recommended. I had been corresponding with chef Dakota Weiss on Instagram and she came out to meet us and talk to us about recommendations for exploring Santa Fe and New Mexico. She was very kind and spent 5-10 minutes chatting with us. It was a good meal, however there was a lot of confusion over the menu because Cantina has a cheaper outside menu that we thought was the real menu not the expensive menu that we had presented to us. We went back after dinner and relaxed before bed.

The next morning was a busy one that consisted of breakfast, zoom funeral for a great uncle that passed away, Trader Joe's and interview on demand that was recorded near the pool. Afterwards, I relaxed in the pool and went into the hot that was a lot warmer. I relaxed afterwards then we had a reservation for Meow Wolf. It was a $1 for these 3D classes. Meow Wolf has these huge statues outside the building and once you go inside there are so many colorful displays. It was a very trippy interactive experience with things coming out of the wall that you can touch. It felt like you walked into wormhole and appeared in Alice in Wonderland or the Matrix. It was a sensory overload with activities, such as crawling into bedroom doors, closets, refrigerators with colorful art and items in different rooms from various parts of childhood. There was interactive activity such as playing of the piano or playing drums on bones from a dinosaur. It was such a fun experience and tiring but very highly recommended. We went back to the room and relaxed before bed.

I had for breakfast a bacon egg and cheese burrito and yogurt which I really enjoyed. Matan and I went to a smallish Farmers Market by Santa Fe Railyard. It was smallish on Tuesday compared to a Saturday market. Some of the vendors was closed. It was cool to see the Rail Runner train that goes to Albuquerque at the station. We walked to a nearby park that was decent that had swings. One of the swings wasn't attached so you could swing freely. We had a great time talking to each other and walking around the town as Scott worked. We went back to the relax. After Scott worked, we went to the Cross of the Martyrs. We walked up to the top and saw such beautiful views of Santa Fe with mountains all over. It was a great views and would easily recommend. We saw nice looking ranch homes and there was a setup for a Fort Marcy that existed around the time that the city was founded. We went back to the hotel and relaxed.

I woke up and had breakfast. I had two job interviews. I went into the hot tub. The weather could be described as cold in morning, warm up in afternoon then got cloudy and looked like rain before cooling at night time. We went to the Santa Fe Opera at night time. On the drive, we saw paintings of turkey, lizard, rabbit, frog and other animals on the highway. We went to see Lord of the Cries. There was big screens outside the venue that can watch rather than going inside the opera theater. We saw tailgating with people drinking wine and having tables setup for a hang out before going inside. It was an open like theater with mask required and social distancing with seats closed off between groups inside. We saw the open orchestra and the beautiful mountains surrounding the theater. There was little screens at the seats so could follow what was being said by the actors. It was a strange and not the easiest to follow, but was a fun experience. It was a late show with it lasting 2-2.5 hours and ending at 11:30pm. We got home and went to bed.

I had breakfast the next morning. Matan and I went to the State Capitol and saw some cool artwork and sculptures. Most of the stuff to see was on the 3rd floor. In one of the rooms there was a legislation session ongoing when we visited. We went to Cakes Corner Cafe and got some delicious Iced Mexican Mochas. It was a pricey place but delicious drinks. We checked out some local shops and I got a gift for my partner Chloe. We went to Santa Fe National Cemetery. We had Del Charro for lunch. I got a nachos royal with grilled chicken. It was delicious and very spicy. We relaxed back in room and then went to the pool. Scott and I spoke to our friend Christina. One of the cooler meals we had was Scott cooked on the BBQ grills that the hotel had. Matan made delicious mashed potatoes and Scott made tasty steak. We sat outside and ate together. We went to bed after dinner.

I had breakfast and it was ok. The tamales was delicious as usual. The weather wasn't great this day so mostly relaxed in the room minus going with Matan to Walmart to get ingredients for Challah that he made. It was so yummy once he finished making the Challah. We went to Santa Fe art gallery after Scott worked. It wasn't that impressive of a gallery. We went to Lew Allen Galleries. There was cool animal realistic paintings, Native american work, sculptures and oil nature paintings. We went to Buffalo Thunder Casino and Resort. It was a no thrills casino with many restaurants closed. It was a pretty nice resort walking around to see it. The casino was very quiet with masks mandatory and glass between people that are gambling on the tables. It was nice to be in the casino but sad how COVID had reduced the capacity so much. We went into Del Charro for dinner. I got a very strong Mexican mule and bison burger with blue cheese. It was a decent meal. We split a chocolate mousse cake for dessert that was definitely good to eat. We left and went back to relax.

The next morning we had breakfast and headed outside of Santa Fe for some hiking. We first stopped at Bandelier National Monument Tsankawi trail. It was $25.00 to park at the lot. I do find that a bit ridiculous to charge for parking at a lot and other trails did have some thing going on so I guess it is very common. We climbed some ladders up at first to get to the top on the loop and at the end down the ladders. The loop trail was narrow with thin area to walk through. There was hidden caves and panoramic views of the mountains surrounding the area. It was breathtaking and one of a kind to see it all. There was a rock formation that resembled a human face. We left and stopped in Los Alamos. It was a cute smallish town with a decent amount of restaurants closed. We ate at Subway for lunch and I got a 6 inch tuna sub. We left for Aquatic Center trail. We did Canyon loop trail and at one point ended off the route. We did Kinnikinnik park then South Pueblo beach trail. There was dramatic views of rock formations and cliffs. Unfortunately it started to steadily rain on the halfway point so we turned back.

We went to Ashley Park and saw a beautiful pond. Unfortunately it began to rain hard so we couldn't walk around the pond. We headed back to Santa Fe and hit up the traditional Spanish market. It was quite big and we got to see about half the vendors before it closed at 5pm. We went to Calabasas trail and it led us to someone's backyard. It wasn't as great of a trail. We had dinner at home, relaxed then bed. Next morning, Matan made shakshuka for breakfast. It was so delicious and for the whole trip his cooking was so solid along with Scott's. We left for white water rafting. On the drive, it felt like at one point we were driving in between mountains. We saw the Rio Grande on the left side and at first it didn't look the cleanest of water to go in, however we saw many people rafting and kayaking in it so I was sure it was fine. Before the rafting, we found Rio Grande Gorge recreation area and found a smallish trail called La Senda Del Medio. We got to see the Rio Grande from a higher elevation and a lot of cactus. We made our way down just in time for the rain to start. We did a white water rafting level 2-3. We did it through New Mexico River Adventures. It was such a great tour group and would be highly recommended. We had Mason as our guide and he was very chilled and knowledgeable in guiding us down the river. It started to rain before we went on rapids. I had on sandals and was told you can't wear that or go barefoot in the boat, so I had to buy water shoes for $12.00. It was so much fun and the rain stopped during the rafting. It was so peaceful at points looking at beautiful landscapes surrounding the river. We did a great job maneuvering between rocks and the rapids. Our guide told us the monsoon season started now as opposed to August which explained the strangeness of the weather since we got to Santa Fe. Two other boats did tip over during the rapids movement but everyone was safe.

We stopped on the side of the road on the way to check out a city called Taos. It was such an amazing view with mountains and green plains surrounding. It was as beautiful of a views as I had ever seen. The one downfall of New Mexico is that things close very early so you need to get there when can. We saw a decent amount of closed restaurants in Taos. We went to Taos Plaza area. We got a variety of chocolate truffles at Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. We ate dinner at El Conejo Cocinq. It was a cute Mexican restaurant that had tables outside that had views of the squares and nearby mountains. We split a guacamole chips and salsa. It was very spicy and tasty. I got a fajitas steak and chicken duo with beans/guacamole/sour cream/rice/tomatoes. It was definitely the most spiciest of the meals that I had and the spice lingered a long time in my mouth. The food overall was tasty but very spicy. We walked to a cute little square called John Dunn House shops and as we left the city there was an amazing sunset/sky to look at on the way out. It was 1.5 hours drive back to Santa Fe and once we got home we went to bed.

I had breakfast then a job interview. I went in the hot tub with a more cooperative weather however the pool wasn't so clean so I didn't go in. I relaxed around the room. Once Scott was done with work we got bubble tea at Santa Fe Plaza. I got an avocado bubble tea that was very tasty. There was an outdoor concert in the Plaza. We saw Jenny Don't and the Spurs and Charley Crockett perform. The bands was country acts. Jenny Don't had a lot of music that sounded the same. Charley Crockett was definitely better with a faster pace beat. Some of his songs had a Johnny Cash vibe to it. There was 400-500 people outside at the square. We did find out own area so it wasn't too crowded by us, but felt good to see live outdoor music again. It took awhile to get a Lyft back to the hotel. One of the drivers cancelled on Matan. We got back to the room and Scott/Matan made a meat sauce with pasta.

The next morning I had breakfast then was able to go into a cleaner pool and hot tub. I relaxed in the room most of the day contemplating between two job offers that I received. I walked around the hotel parking lot area with thunder and light rain. We relaxed in the room for the rest of the day.

We had breakfast at the hotel. I got a Lyft to Santa Fe Plaza for family gifts. I got an american iced coffee from 35 North. It was decent cup of coffee. I got the gifts and a Lyft back to the room. Matan made Yemen bread for lunch. it was so pillowy, soft and delicious. I went into the pool and hot tub. After work for Scott we went to the Railyard area. We went into Railyard gallery. We went to Blue Rain Gallery. I loved the gallery Evoke that had contemporary and cool looking artwork. My favorite was an artist Lynn Boggess. It was 3D oil nature paintings. We went to Charlotte Jackson fine art and there was two beautiful restored cars from 1916 and 1940's. The other area there was terrible and wouldn't recommended to see it. We went to a cool African art store. We walked around town and ended up at the park with the swings so Scott could see it. We did an escape room Puzzah called Mask. You join a crime fighting team and capture criminals by solving puzzles. The first puzzle was difficult but once we solved it we caught our stride. We completed it with 30 seconds left in an hour. It was a medium level of difficulty. We had a lot of fun doing it and it was my first time ever doing the escape room. We went to Andiamo! Italian restaurant for dinner. I had a penne with spicy house made lamb sausage. It was a tasty meal. We ordered a sourdough bread that came with oil. I would recommended this restaurant as it was a great experience. We went back to the hotel and went to sleep.

We had breakfast in the morning. Matan and I went to Trader Joe's. We stopped at New Baking Company for some amazing Iced Mexican Mocha. Matan and I went to Museum of Indian Art and Culture. There was an interesting collection of items ranging from Navajo silver, bracelets, stories about the Navajo relocation from their land and other jewelry. One of the more interesting things was displays that showed how much jewelry was acquired for in 1932. Some of them was as little as 0.35 though obviously cost of inflation was different back in those days, but interesting nonetheless. There was a glass art area section, in addition to indigenous section with stunning glass blowing pieces, such as pots, bowls and other pottery. There was clay bowls and pots. The most random section was the show Rugrats figurines on display at the end of the collection. Once we left the museum you see a beautiful sculpture garden with views of Santa Fe in the background. There was a picnic area with stunning mountain views. It was only $9.00 and well worth the walk through tour. We went to Santa Fe Plaza. We had the French pastry shop & creperie. I got a banana crepe. It was tasty but not cheap. The service was impeccable at the restaurant. The crepe was soft and delicate. We walked around some more in the plaza then back to the hotel. I did laundry and relaxed in the room. Matan and Scott made this delicious chickpea couscous and vegetable soup. We relaxed in the room after dinner then bed.

I had breakfast the next morning. I packed my luggage and checked into my flight. I relaxed after doing this and went into the pool/hot tub. After Scott's work we went to James Roybal fine art. It was nice colorful paintings with bronze sculptures and statues. We learned from the creator of the museum how the bronze process was done. We went to the Sara Noveneson gallery. She had beautiful artwork with Hebrew writing throughout the pieces. It was so beautiful and I ended up getting a piece for my dad's 70th birthday. We heard a story from her that some people wouldn't buy her work once they found out she was Jewish. It was disgusting to hear stories such as that. We heard again that Santa Fe is 3rd in art sales. The one big difficult with Santa Fe is that parking downtown is a pain and can be difficult to find at times. We went to the Atalaya trail on St John's college. It was a decent hike until it started to rain pretty consistently with some thunder. We went home and for dinner had Trader Joe's orange chicken and rice. I went to bed early since had to be at the airport at 8:30AM next day.

We left for Albuquerque airport the next morning after breakfast. We had the Mexican pastries that included churros. Unfortunately it wasn't very warm and dry. You see mountains on the drive leaving Santa Fe and really appreciated nature. I ended up getting on a bigger airplane then originally stated so my seat selection changed once I got onto the plane. There was no wipes on the plane to wipe down the seat for sanitizing purposes. There was a slight delay on the first flight. I didn't have to switch terminals for the connection in Dallas. I ended up getting McDonald's for lunch and enjoyed a spicy chicken sandwich. Initially it was an one hour delay that turned into one hour 50 minutes. I found out it was due to crew availability with them having to deplane another flight then come to our flight. There was a flight delay and cancellation in Columbus. There was many people not wearing masks again appropriately in the airport or not wearing it at all which is awful with the Delta Variant out there. I did get wipes for the 2nd flight once I boarded. It was a decent flight but bumpy at the end. The flight was cut down to only 1 hour 15 minutes delay into New York for my friend's wedding. It was such a great trip with my friends and so happy we ended up doing it after waiting a year. I would highly recommend Santa Fe and New Mexico to anyone wanting to see a beautiful state.

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