Merry Christmas Santa Fe!

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We began this Christmas like we have the past few years: waking up early, scrambling to make sure we’re packed and have our boarding passes, and then rushing to the airport. The drive on Christmas Day is lovely because so few people are on the roads. Even the freeway is quiet and we are one of maybe three cars out that early.

This year we chose to fly Southwest. Given that Matthew and I are both airline snobs, it was a bit difficult to choose Southwest. While they used to be the cheapest flights we’ve found that is no longer the case, generally, and of course seats aren’t assigned and the planes are always old and dirty. But for this year, it turns out that was the best option to get to Santa Fe. Thankfully, Christmas Day is quiet, or at least quieter, and our plane wasn’t quite full. We had a delayed start leaving Portland, a brief stop in Salt Lake City to pick up additional passengers, and we finally arrived in Albuquerque just after 2:30PM (local time). A quick trip to the rental car hub to pick up a little Nissan Versa and we were on our way. Santa Fe, here we come! Wait…maybe we should look for something to eat first.

Albuquerque is a college town and a relatively large city (for New Mexico), so finding an eatery is not a problem. Finding one open on Christmas Day, however, is another story. After driving for a number of miles down a fairly major road and seeing that everything – including all McDonald’s – closed, I was pretty convinced that there were no Jews living in New Mexico. If there were, there’d at least be a Chinese restaurant open, right? But no such luck. Even most Denny’s locations were closed (leaving me to assume that there are also no single fathers responsible for Christmas childcare here). We eventually found one Denny’s open and one Carl’s Jr., so we made the sensible choice with fast food and ate as we drove to Santa Fe.

The speed limit in NM is 75mph. It is absolutely lovely! But since I don’t know what is considered acceptable driving here, I tried to keep it close to the speed limit. Driving about 80mph on the highway meant that I was passing a number of cars. This just confused me because when we went through construction zones one would think that maybe everyone would slow down. This was not the case. I slowed, and everyone else kept going about 70. I am pretty convinced that drivers just set their cars on cruise control and pay no attention to signs. I’m okay with that…as long as I know what to expect.

We arrived in Santa Fe while it was still light outside. I was surprised, being used to the near-constant darkness at home. Perhaps being 7000’ above sea level in a high desert area with few clouds has its advantages. The weather is beautiful, clear, and cold. This is without a doubt one of the most beautiful capital cities in the US.

We checked in to our little B&B and found a very nice room awaiting us. Casa Pacifica used to be a care home and then about eight years ago the owner decided to switch and run a B&B instead. Now it seems she is selling the place. It’s a bit run down or rough around the edges, but quaint and friendly and very conveniently located. (It also allows dogs, making me wish that I had my Lotus Baby with me – she would love walking for miles every day!) The room has a sauna, a fireplace, and a little kitchenette (which proved convenient later in the evening).

Knowing that most places would be closed but that there might just be a crowd on The Plaza this evening, Matthew and I went out for a bit of a walk. The Plaza was hopping with people, even though everything around was closed (except a few high-end jewelry places). We walked a number of streets and took some pictures. One of my favorite buildings (just because of its historical significance) was the Governor’s Palace. It’s not a “palace” by any stretch of the imagination. The one-story long adobe structure looks out of place surrounded by the high-end shops and 20th century hotels, but it is the oldest continuous-use public building in the US, having been in use for 400 years. Amazing!

After walking for a bit we decided to get in the car and head to Walgreens. We passed one that was open on our drive to our B&B and we knew by this point that it would be our only hope for food or drink this evening. Unfortunately, we were out of luck with the “drink” part, and this Walgreens was filthy, so we left. I happened to see a CVS on the way back and we stopped there and learned that it is illegal to sell alcohol of any kind in New Mexico on Christmas Day. So we left the wine, bought two instant mac-n-cheese cups and some tapioca pudding and called it good. Thank God for the kitchenette in our room, right?

It was a long day, so after looking at the plans for our Sunday and watching Love, Actually as I looked at pictures from the day, I called it a night. Breakfast is at 7:30, so it’d be an early morning!

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Photos

Scenic Drive
The drive from Albuquerque to Santa Fe was beautiful!