As Doug mentioned in his post (which I've prematurely scooched down), I went to Santa Fe with my friend Kristen. We've talked about it for a few months now and it finally happened this weekend.
Doug took Friday off and we left around one. It took almost 5 hours--pretty much a straight shot down I-25. I'd never been further south on 25 than downtown Colo Springs, so, as they say, it was a whole new world. And not much worth mentioning until you get closer to Santa Fe!
We got to our hotel around 6. The room was nice--very Southwestern in its decor and the bed was perfect. So comfortable. I think I might need an upgrade at home! We left the car parked the whole weekend and walked everywhere. And I mean everywhere. When we arrived we walked to dinner at a great little diner with a fantastic dessert ("wicked cocoa." Uh huh!). Saturday we walked to the farmer's market, which didn't disappoint. Next we went to the Georgia O'Keefe museum. And then we walked all over downtown Santa Fe shopping and eating. My favorite purchases were three handmade ornaments--Mary with Baby Jesus, Joseph, and Jesus in a papoose. Couldn't resist that one!
After a full day of shopping we had dinner at a nice little restaurant called The Shed. Since we were walking so much, we figured a little Haagen Das couldn't hurt. Then we headed back to the hotel to read our People, Shape and Real Simple magazines and then fall asleep knowing that we would have no one to tend to in the middle of the night, nor would any of our little ones be crawling into bed with us.
Sunday morning we lounged in our beds talking and reading until we felt like getting up and getting some breakfast. The hotel had a nice hot buffet on the patio that I really enjoyed. So nice to be able to just lounge around! After breakfast we headed off to Trader Joe's (insert choir of angels...). If I remember correctly, Trader Joe's was sort of the impetus for this trip. Kristen and I were talking about how we missed it since there isn't one in Colorado (i'm a wee bit more obsessed with it than her, but she definitely appreciates it too). We saw that Santa Fe had the closest one and that became a great idea for a girls' weekend. As we headed into Trader Joe's part of me was hoping that I'd get in there and be like, "What's the big deal? It's not as great as i remember." Oh, no such luck. I was in heaven (insert angel's choir again). I added a few new items to my cart that will no doubt make me miss it even more once I try them. I asked the store manager what it would take to get a TJ's in Colorado and he responded, "Not gonna happen." He said the feedback from Colorado doesn't warrant a store there and they are focusing their stores elsewhere. My question: How do you get feedback from Coloradoans who've never had the opportunity to shop in Trader Joe's? He wasn't the typical happy TJ kind of guy. Sounds like there's a Colorado liquor law that doesn't sit well with the TJ company. Isn't there the same thing in Maryland? You can't sell liquor in grocery stores in MD, right girls?? Yet there are MULTIPLE Trader Joe's there. Hrmph. He said maybe in 5 years. So sad. So, I shopped excessively and $319.45 later, we loaded up the car and the cooler and headed back to downtown Santa Fe.
There's a chapel there, the Loretto Chapel, that Kristen has wanted to see for a long time with a legendary "miraculous" staircase. You can read about the staircase here. It was a beautiful building and the staircase was quite amazing.
It's outside of that chapel that we took our only picture! Too busy shopping I suppose!
Santa Fe was beautiful. The weather was perfect. The narrow streets and sidewalks and flowers growing everywhere reminded me a lot of Puerto Rico. It was a treat to spend a weekend with Kristen and get to know her better. We talked a lot, and managed to talk about a lot more than just our children and motherhood! I was able to relax and enjoy thanks to a very capable husband at home. Thanks to Doug, Matt (Kristen's hubby) and Kristen herself for a great weekend! We'll have to do it again soon!
5 comments:
I have GOT to do something like this!! :) Glad you had such a fun time!
Yay! That sounds so fun. I love girly trips. Good for you.
What a fun time!! You are definitely the biggest TJ fan I know - how sad they are against a CO one!! So happy you got to have this great get-away!
I can't believe you did that!! I LOVE IT. I want to go to Santa Fe with you someday too :)
HOORAH!!!!!!! (isn't that how the choir of angels ends each celebration?) i love the baby jesus set..... can't wait for my trip (as i told doug in his post)-- LOOONG overdue. :)
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