A Last Minute Decision Equaleda Happy Week-End in Santé Fe

“Momma… you really need some time off and I can meet you for the week-end” my daughter said. Fortunately, I had enough airline credits to cover a trip and a chance to spend time with my San Francisco daughter is a rare treat so a quick decision to meet in Sante Fe (which I had never visited) was made. Very early Friday morning, I shared the Connecticut limo to La Guardia with an interesting young man, born in Puerto Rico but educated in Connecticut, who was leaving to live and teach in the Dominican Republic. He spoke several languages and had traveled extensively. Although he said he would miss some modern American conveniences in the Dominican Republic, he liked the slower life pace and the neighborliness which he felt was disappearing in America. Wishing him well, I departed at La Guardia, boarding pass already in hand as I had downloaded and printed it via my computer. I also was bringing just a carry-on as almost all airlines now charge for any checked luggage. I wore shoes and a sweater that were easy on-off items going through security but despite all these precautions, I find that for
senior travelers, these are no longer “friendly skies”. There are long lines everywhere and most airline personnel seem too busy to be very helpful. Many of the airports like the Dallas/Fort Worth airport where I changed planes, are huge and require a great deal of walking. Flight attendants are not supposed to help with your luggage so I constantly felt like Blanche du Bois in “A Streetcar Named Desire”, dependent on the kindness of strangers to heft my bag into the over-head bin. Usually, some nice gentleman came to the rescue but only after I had blocked the aisle and my fellow passengers, while waiting for some help.

The warm late afternoon air of Sante Fe greeted me, following an hour’s ride from the airport which is in Albuquerque. The scenery was an immediate contrast to what I had left behind in Connecticut. Instead of greenery and cheerful daffodils and cherry blossoms, all was brown; sagebrush , cactus, and buildings of terra cotta. While you do see the Sanbia mountain range in the distance, the immediate landscape is vast and flat. I also found my allergies came out in full force; like many of the residents, I learned I am very allergic to their juniper trees. However, the hotel was adobe style and charming… decorated in soft, desert colors and accented with brightly patterned Navajo rugs and pottery. A small balcony gave me a view of the near-by town plaza where most shops and restaurants are located. Marianne and I had dinner at a new place in town where the kitchen is open to the dining area and you can watch as your dinner is being prepared. Delicious! Breakfast buffet at the hotel the next morning, however, and I was in trouble. The scrambled eggs were made with red and green peppers and chili was also on the menu for breakfast. Featured prominently on the buffet table were Tabasco sauce, catsup, black beans and mustard. Santé Fe excels in museums but in deference to Marianne who is not the museum addict I am, we visited only one the following day… the Museum of International Folk Art.
Folk art is art that is made with materials that are at hand and usually by self trained artists. There were an amazing variety of absolutely beautiful objects made from simple materials such as wood, wool, clay and straw. A large part of the collection was donated by Alexander Girard, a New Yorker who was famous for his unique designs for Herman Miller furniture, Braniff Airlines and the now closed La Fonda del Sol restaurant in Manhattan. The playfulness and sense of color he found in folk art became part of his life and his distinctive designs. In the afternoon, we enjoyed an open-air tour of the entire town; viewing the many elegant art galleries lining Canyon Road and seeing Loretto Chapel, perhaps the oldest church in America. Sante Fe is a shopper’s town and features one of a kind, handmade items (most quite expensive) from unusual patch work leather or fabric handbags to eye-popping turquoise and silver belts, brooches, bangles and rings. I exercised great restraint and only bought a colorful basket to add to my kitchen wall collection.
The final day of my three day excursion was spent in Albuquerque with former Long Island neighbors who I hadn’t seen in almost thirty years. It was wonderful to renew our friendship and to enjoy their beautiful home which has a view of the mountains by day and the sparkling lights of the downtown by night. However enjoyable my visit, I somehow always felt I was out in the middle of no-where and learned that this part of America would never be a place, I would choose to live. The long weekend had been a much needed respite and change but I was grateful to head back to the greenery of New England, Connecticut, and home.

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