Monday dawned bright and early in Santa Fe. Well, maybe it wasn’t so much early. I usually wake up between 6:30 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. during the week in San Francisco, so it was already 8:00 a.m. in Santa Fe, due to the one hour time difference. Bright still applies, though, if only because there was a skylight in my bedroom directly over part of the bed. My first matter of the day was to shower, then figure out how to pack all of my purchases in my two carry-on bags. Failing that, I’d have to start an all-out search for an inexpensive duffle bag to pack the overflow into. I squeezed as much as I could into my two bags, but knew that it wouldn’t all fit. Not that I bought all THAT much stuff, but… I’d worn a leather jacket and boots when leaving San Francisco. That’s because it’s always cold at SFO and because I’d been worried that it might get chilly the night I was at the Opera. There was NO WAY I’d be wearing the same clothing on the return flight to SFO. So, yeah, the boots and bulky leather jacket were taking up 1/3 of the available space! My one bulky purchase was a reversible Incan poncho fashioned from alpaca with a beautiful blue-green design on it. Alpaca is lightweight, but surprisingly warm. The price was right, too, thus I couldn’t pass it up. Those three items were the cause of my packing distress.
I made it out of the casita around 9:45 a.m. I was downtown in the Historical Plaza area by 10:00 a.m. Heavenly Boutique was just opening. I’d already been in there twice, once to see if she had ladies’ underthings (she did, but not what I was looking for) and another time to buy some high end jeans that she had on sale. The owner, Kim, is a sweetheart – friendly and as helpful as possible. I asked if she had any suggestions as to where I might find an inexpensive duffle bag in the Plaza area. Her first suggestion was the Five and Dime Store; neither of us could recall if we’d seen duffle bags in there, though. She also informed me that there’s a Ross store at the Sanbusco Center (or was it DeVargas?), which was walking distance from my casita. Then she even went in her back room to see if she had one that she could give to me! She didn’t, but that extra effort makes all the difference. In the meantime, her little dog, Romeo, was running around and keeping me entertained. He’s a lover, that’s for sure!
Five and Dime answered my prayers. They had several duffle bags, the cheapest being $14.95. Who knows? Maybe I could have found one even cheaper at Ross, but I didn’t feel like doing even more walking when this one would do the trick. My thoughts were to stuff the leather jacket, boots and whatever else might fit into the duffle bag and check it. That way, I could carry the lighter stuff, including using my poncho as a blanket on the flight.
After all that “hard” work, my stomach told me it was time to get my grub on. I went to Del Charro Saloon for the third time. It’s a casual bar/restaurant, nothing on the menu is over $10, the food was good and service was good. On the first visit, I had their $6 red chile burger (ground beef seasoned with red chile sauce served on a bun with lettuce, onion and tomato). Every day they offer a $6 special. The second time I went for the classic Frito pie (crispy Fritos topped with beef chili, jack/cheddar cheese, shredded lettuce and pico de gallo) at $7. That afternoon I was ready to attempt the stuffed green chile cheeseburger (ground beef seasoned with chipotle BBQ sauce, stuffed with smoked bacon, gorgonzola and green chile; also served on a bun with lettuce, onion and tomato). Rather than fries, I had the potato salad, a tasty and unique version. I LOVED that burger, though, even more than the red chile one. On my next visit to Santa Fe, Del Charro will be a regular stop of mine.
I made a last run by the Native American Indian vendors that sit under the portal of the Palace of the Governors on a daily basis, selling their wares spread out on blankets. It used to be that their prices were better than the ones in the stores, but not so much these days. When a pair of earrings goes for $130 and a bracelet goes for $240, it makes me glad that I’d purchased even more beautiful pieces from them at half the price (or less) on my previous two visits.
I browsed other stores around the Plaza. You could tell that Santa Fe was beginning to wear off on me because I actually considered buying a rawhide hat and some cowboy boots! They make some beautiful boots for women these days. Unfortunately, every pair that I looked at was in the $429-$550 range! The rawhide hats were more affordable at $45-$65, but I refrained from both. Another item that was catching my eye was the Native American Indian coats made of Pendleton blankets. The vendors on the street were selling them for $350; in the stores they cost up to $475!!!
My last purchases were a couple of blinged out (as in studded with crystals) leather belts adorned with crosses at at store called Simply Southwest. Not only am I obsessed with crosses (hence, that ginormous Polynesian-style cross tattoo on my inner right arm), but those belts were discounted by 50%. After driving the saleswoman crazy by trying on belt after belt and changing my mind numerous times, I finally settled on two of them. Nah, seriously, the saleswoman was extremely patient with me; she could tell I was a serious shopper!
Back at the casita, everything made it into my now THREE bags somehow. I washed my lone glass in the kitchen, then called the casita owner to let him know that I’d still been unable to put the key back in the lock box. He assured me that it didn’t matter, as he still had another key. About half an hour before my shuttle arrived, there was a knock on the door. The casita owner introduced himself. I was surprised that he was much younger than I’d expected. He wanted to make a quick run through to check for damages. That way, if there weren’t any, he could hand my damage deposit check back to me personally, rather than mailing it. He gave me the check, showed me how to put the key back in the lock box (it wasn’t easy for him, either!) and told me to feel free to give him a call if I needed anything else or if there was a problem with the shuttle.
The shuttle was on time, I slept during the hour ride to Albuquerque, the flight was delayed by about thirty minutes and we arrived about 15 minutes later than scheduled. BTW, that alpaca made the perfect blankie!
Santa Fe was a great little jaunt. I enjoyed myself, relaxed, loved my casita, bought beautiful things and ate spicy food. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!