10/3/14 - Albuquerque and Santa Fe

Hello.  Today Priscilla and I, Dianna, are in charge of the blog entry.  We have looked forward to this trip ever since we made the reservations for the hotel on 10/13/13.  Jim and Joe looked glad to see us when we got off the plane yesterday and they have been telling us all about their exploits.  The odd thing is that they have spent so much time together in the car that they are starting to finish each other's sentences.  I fear we may be interrupting their routine, but they don't seem to mind.

This morning we had a little hotel breakfast, packed our bag with essentials and turned the rental car toward Santa Fe.  We took the rental car to give the T-Bird a much deserved rest and not tax it with the high altitude until tomorrow.  We are trying to keep it out of the shop and off the lift so it can get to the car show on Sunday.  I am wondering if the pressure of a car show gets it all upset and something falls off, so I, for one think we should just let it rest and be calm.

Old town Santa Fe, for those of you who haven't been there, is on the Santa Fe River, which is what we in Oregon call a "crick".  It has galleries, shops, government buildings and restaurants and two lovely old churches arranged around a plaza where there is music and interesting goods spread out on blankets for sale.  There were so many things to buy there that it was like drinking from a merchandise fire hose.  It could get overwhelming.  Joe looked at custom made hats and had his head measured precisely,  I checked out about 3,000 earrings, considering each one.  Jim bought 4 bottles of specialty balsamic vinegar and had them shipped home, and Priscilla found some cute things for Hazel and Aria.  We refreshed ourselves from time to time from the cafes.  The French creperie was my favorite. 

One interesting sight was the Loretto Chapel.  It features a spiral wooden staircases to the choir loft that was built without nails and was sturdy enough to support 8-10 singing nuns at a time.  Jim and I visited the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum and learned a bit about her life.  There were several of her paintings on display there that had so much more depth and texture in person than they ever do in print.

We met some nice people who while we were ogling a 1963 Thunderbird parked on the street.  They asked about our Thunderbird connection.  It all ended with them getting our card and sharing our shock at having to rise way before dawn to experience the hot air balloon assent in the sunrise tomorrow.  Is it worth it...is it not.  I wonder if we will see them there tomorrow, that is if we can get our eyes open that early.

On the way back to Albuquerque we took Hwy 14, the Turquoise Trail, named because of the turquoise mined there.  AND we found ourselves close to the singing section of Route 66 and were able to video it.  Video to follow.