Friends from Seattle

On April 1 I had the great pleasure of picking up my dear friend, Patricia, and her daughter, Aria at the airport. They braved our high winds to come visit for a few days and escape the gray, wet Seattle weather. The day they arrived was cold, windy and overcast... hmmm... maybe they brought it with them....

Anyway, I picked them up and we had lunch in Old Town Albuquerque before heading on home. The wind by that time was amazing!!! The dust blew in obscuring Rio Rancho to the west and the Sandia Mtns to the east. I've never seen it like that, what a welcome to our (usually) wonderful state.

On Thursday was perfect weather so we took a drive up to Bandelier National Monument and roamed around there for a few hours before heading into Santa Fe for a late lunch and some shopping. We hit a few of the high spots (San Miguel church, Loretto Chapel, Plaza, Capital) before Aria pooped out (poor 14 year old wondering around with us "old folk"). (OK, so maybe the 'old folk' pooped out too but its better to blame it on the kid) On the way from Bandelier to Santa Fe I insisted we stop at Camel Rock... It is sort of a tradition for me, but I think they thought I was nuts but being the good friends (and good sports) they agreed to get out and have their photo taken - course I'll get in trouble for posting it but... what are friends for?

Friday dawned windy but sunny so we braved the wind and went to the Petraglyph National Monument in Albuquerque and did a few of the shorter hikes. Eventually the wind won out and we headed indoors to the Page One bookstore on Montgomery. What a great store - largest independent bookstore in NM offering new and used books (had to get a plug in there for them). One of Aria's friends had told her that she HAD to go to El Pinto Mexican Restaurant so we headed there for dinner. I still find it slightly amusing that a 15 yr old would recommend this as a 'must-see' place.

Anyway, Bryan & I had a great time visiting with Patricia and teasing Aria (what a great sport she was to put up with it). I only wish they would have been able to stay longer and we would have a bit better weather - the wind, whew! Friday night was horrible!!! Hannah & Maggie was a hit with both of them, despite scratching Aria to pieces as she giggled the whole time. They loved her. And this morning, after I returned from dropping them off at the airport, Maggie & Hannah searched the house looking for their new friend. They've been a bit subdued today, I think they really miss her.

Patricia, Aria & Raymona
At Bandelier National Monument

Aria & Patricia heading up a ladder to view a caveate

Bandelier National Monument

Raymona & Aria looking at the window of a caveate

Patricia & Aria at Camel Rock, NM

St Francis Cathedral, Santa Fe, NM

San Miguel Church, Santa Fe, NM
(oldest church)

Oldest house, Santa Fe, NM

Miraculous Staircase in Loretto Chapel
Santa Fe, NM

Aria in Santa Fe, NM

Aria at Bandelier National Monument
Albuquerque, NM

Aria, Patricia & Raymona at
Bandelier National Monument

View of Sandia Mtns from Bandelier National Monument

Bandalier National Monument

El Pinto Restaurant

11/29 - Touring Mom Around Santa Fe

Saturday we took Mom (Irene) into Santa Fe. It was clear but fairly cold - especially when the wind was blowing... in the shade. We could see the fresh snow in the Sangre de Cristo's - so beautiful. The ski resorts should be getting excited!

Our first stop was at the Santa Fe Farmers Market. This market is the largest in New Mexico and hosts over 100 full time vendors and assures that 100% of the vegetables, fruits, and nursery plants available at Santa Fe Farmers Markets are grown right here in northern New Mexico. This is also true of the crafts that are sold there - at least 80% of the ingredients and materials used to create the crafts are grown in northern NM. The Market is now housed in the newly renovated Railyard area. (http://www.santafefarmersmarket.com/)

Santa Fe Farmers Market

After our stop at the Market, we headed to the Plaza. It was a brisk walk around the Plaza, that was unfortunately under a lot of construction, as it was pretty chilly. We visited a few shops and peeked into the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi, commonly known as Saint Francis Cathedral. The facade of the cathedral was under scaffolding and plastic wrap for renovations, what a bummer that Mom wasn't able to see the beauty of this church. And there was a wedding happening inside so we weren't allowed in any further than the vestibule/gift shop where we could peek in the back windows.

The Cathedral was built by Archbishop Jean Baptiste Lamy between 1869 - 1886. It was built an older adobe church called, La Parroquia (built 1714-1719). La Parroquia in turn was built on an even older church built in 1626. The cathedral was built around the original adobe walls for support, once the cathedral walls were stable, the adobe was removed through the front doors.

We spent some time in the Palace of the Governors, originally built in the early 17th century as Spain's seat of government for this region. This Palace is the oldest, continuously occupied public building in the US. The building now houses the New Mexico History Museum. We joined the tail-end of a tour and then walked through the exhibits on our own. As Santa Fe celebrates it's 400th birthday (yep, 400 years!!) there is a special photographic exhibit on display. Try to visit this museum if you get a chance. It's small but really nice historical account of New Mexico's history.

From there we visited the famed Loretto Chapel with is miraculous staircase. In 1873 the construction of the chapel was started and completed 5 years later in 1878. The 'miraculous' staircase was builtby an unknown carpentor sometime between 1877 and 1881 - it took at least 6-mos to build and has two full 360-degree with no visible means of support. The Loretto Academy was closed in 1968 and deconsecrated as a Catholic chapel in 1971. It is now a private museum.

Loretto Chapel
Alter at Loretto Chapel
The "Miraculous" Staircase Loretto Chapel

The last church we visited is the San Miguel Mission. This mission was built between 1610 and 1628 making this one of the oldest, if not the oldest mission in the US. During the Pueblo Revolt, the ceiling was burned and the church rebuilt in 1710 and several more times in its history. The alter and sacristy are so simple, but that's what makes it so beautiful.

San Miguel Mission

Alter in San Miguel Mission

Bryan & his Mom in San Miguel Mission

After our day of sightseeing in the capital city we headed south to see the River of Lights (http://www.cabq.gov/biopark/garden/educationlights.html) display in Albuquerque. We stopped for dinner at the Sandia Resort & Casino, Thur Shan Buffet. It was surprisingly good. Mom really seemed to like it and Bryan and I just ate too much... After dinner, we sleepily made our way to the Botanic Gardens to see the Christmas light display. We got stuck in the Twinkle Light Parade along Central Ave. After missing our turn into the Gardens and having to backtrack back through the traffic to try again, we called it quits and headed home. Hopefully Bryan and I can go see the lights sometime soon.

Irene headed home this morning (Sunday) for Dallas.