Monday in Santa Fe

As previously mentioned, we decided to spend an extra day in White Rock and explore Santa Fe today. Unfortunately, things didn't start off as planned.

After sleeping in a bit and having some breakfast, we drove to the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture; located on Museum Hill in Santa Fe. About halfway there, we realized that the camera was still back in White Rock. OOPS! Therefore, due to technical difficulties, the pictures that you will see in our album will be stock photos (and will be updated at a later time).

When we got to the Museum, we were a bit surprised that the parking lot was fairly full. Surprised, that is, until we found out that the museum was closed on Monday and that they were doing an information session for Docents. We later found out that all of the museums in Santa Fe are closed on Mondays until Memorial Day.

We then headed to the Plaza area where we walked around window shopping and looking at the different Indian vendors selling their goods. Ilana bought a frog that was created by one of the Martinez family. Ilana collects frogs, and loves Martinez pottery, so she is very excited about her new acquisition. We then went into the Loretto chapel and viewed the "Miraculous Staircase." This is a mysterious staircase that was built by an unknown carpenter in 1877. It has no support structure, and has perfect 360 degree turns. We also visited the church of San Miguel, which is the oldest church in America, and is also located next to the oldest house in America.

After our adventures in downtown Santa Fe, we were ready for some lunch! Ilana's dad had recommended a local spot called the Cowgirl Grill. The food was quite tasty...we had an appetizer of "Texas Caviar" which is a flavorful salsa made with black-eyed peas, and we each had a buffalo burger. It was a nice day, so we sat outside on the patio, and had some great people-watching time as well.

The rest of our day was quite mundane. We found the Wal-Mart in Santa Fe, and restocked on some necessities for the trip. We also stopped at the Visitor Center/Gift Shop on the Pojoaque Reservation to ogle more pottery and to pick up some souvenirs for family and friends. We spent a quiet evening at home, which included a homemade chicken salad dinner, and the Heroes season finale (of course!).

Today we will be getting breakfast burritos at ChiliWorks, a local favorite, and then heading west to Arizona. See you from the next state!

Ilana and Jeff