Walking New Mexico
Celebrity Death Watch: Judy Carne was the "Sock It to Me" girl on Laugh-In, and apparently had a rather traumatic life of addiction after the show. Jean Darling was an actress, starting as a child star in the Our Gang series in the silent movie era, with her career peaking when she played Carrie in the original Broadway cast of Carousel. She also had over 50 mystery stories published. Martin Milner was a television actor, best known for Route 66 and Adam 12. For some reason, I seem to remember that either he or Kent McCord visited my school when I was in 5th or 6th grade, but it’s all very vague.
Birthday: I turned 57 on Friday. So when exactly am I going to feel like I’m an adult?
Travel and Weather: The other thing I was doing on Friday (in addition to working and aging) was flying to Albuquerque. I had a rather shorter connection in Denver than I would have preferred, so when I saw that there were weather holds in my area, I called up United and changed to an earlier flight (via Houston) with a longer layover. That meant a taxi to the airport, which worked fine, but was pricy. We boarded more or less on time, then got held because another plane in line to take off had smoke in the cockpit. And then came the weather. In the end, my hour and a half layover at IAH turned into about a 6 minute connect time. I did make the connection, but it was stressful.
I also had a bit of a complication when I arrived. Picking up the rental car was straightforward enough. And I could see the hotel. Figuring out where to turn to actually get to it was another matter. It didn’t help that the rental car people had said (incorrectly) I needed to turn before the freeway. So it took me, um, about 45 minutes to drive maybe a bit over a mile.
Old Town / Downtown Albuquerque: I started my weekend by doing a volksmarch in Old Town and downtown Albuquerque. I’d actually done an earlier iteration of this walk several years ago, but they have rerouted it, presumably to highlight some of the newer downtown architecture. It is also possible that they didn’t reroute it, but I have a lousy memory. Anyway, there was a point where I ran into a group being led on a tour by a couple of people from the historical society, who insisted I needed to check out the interior of the Kimo Theatre, which they described as "Pueblo deco." That is, it is art deco with Pueblo themes. It is, indeed, worth a look. I also went through the Holocaust Museum because it was there. Most of what they have are photos, but there are a few artifacts. The museum also addresses various other genocides, though it misses some (e.g. nothing about Cambodia). All in all, it was a good walk, though the section between Old Town and downtown is fairly bland.
Adobe Wonderland: After my morning walk (and a stop for lunch), I drove up to Santa Fe. I stopped by the visitor information center and picked up the map for the Capital volksmarch (which I would do the next day). Then I drove over to Kakawa Chocolate House, which had been highly recommended by friends. The rose almond elixir was a spicy blend of chocolate, almond, rose, and chili - quite tasty, though a bit chunky as hot chocolate goes. I also bought a couple of chocolates to eat for dessert later that evening. Then I drove to my hotel and took a nap before getting dinner (and eating those chocolates).
In the morning, I did the Capital walk, which took in most of central Santa Fe, including the capitol and Canyon Road, as well as the Plaza. I’m not really a fan of adobe and things were rather too crowded, but it was still a pleasant walk. I also appreciated that the directions pointed out a few details I might not otherwise have noted - e.g. the plaque to Billy the Kid across from Burro Alley. And, especially, the triangle with the tetragrammaton carved into an arch over the door of the cathedral.
There were a couple of art shows and a large crafts fair, possibly in connection with the upcoming Fiesta. I wasn’t intending to buy anything, but I saw a salt cellar I couldn’t resist. It’s shaped like a bathtub, with the shower head forming the spoon. I also got a bowl of cashew mole for lunch (and sopapillas, of course). And I decided it was hot enough out by then that I needed to go back to Kakawa and try their ice cream. I went for the citrus pistachio, which I thought would be more refreshing than chocolate.
I drove back to Albuquerque, where I had a light supper and a nice conversation with slymongoose. My flights home (again, via IAH) were fine, with no weather drama. All in all, ir made for a nice weekend excursion.
Birthday: I turned 57 on Friday. So when exactly am I going to feel like I’m an adult?
Travel and Weather: The other thing I was doing on Friday (in addition to working and aging) was flying to Albuquerque. I had a rather shorter connection in Denver than I would have preferred, so when I saw that there were weather holds in my area, I called up United and changed to an earlier flight (via Houston) with a longer layover. That meant a taxi to the airport, which worked fine, but was pricy. We boarded more or less on time, then got held because another plane in line to take off had smoke in the cockpit. And then came the weather. In the end, my hour and a half layover at IAH turned into about a 6 minute connect time. I did make the connection, but it was stressful.
I also had a bit of a complication when I arrived. Picking up the rental car was straightforward enough. And I could see the hotel. Figuring out where to turn to actually get to it was another matter. It didn’t help that the rental car people had said (incorrectly) I needed to turn before the freeway. So it took me, um, about 45 minutes to drive maybe a bit over a mile.
Old Town / Downtown Albuquerque: I started my weekend by doing a volksmarch in Old Town and downtown Albuquerque. I’d actually done an earlier iteration of this walk several years ago, but they have rerouted it, presumably to highlight some of the newer downtown architecture. It is also possible that they didn’t reroute it, but I have a lousy memory. Anyway, there was a point where I ran into a group being led on a tour by a couple of people from the historical society, who insisted I needed to check out the interior of the Kimo Theatre, which they described as "Pueblo deco." That is, it is art deco with Pueblo themes. It is, indeed, worth a look. I also went through the Holocaust Museum because it was there. Most of what they have are photos, but there are a few artifacts. The museum also addresses various other genocides, though it misses some (e.g. nothing about Cambodia). All in all, it was a good walk, though the section between Old Town and downtown is fairly bland.
Adobe Wonderland: After my morning walk (and a stop for lunch), I drove up to Santa Fe. I stopped by the visitor information center and picked up the map for the Capital volksmarch (which I would do the next day). Then I drove over to Kakawa Chocolate House, which had been highly recommended by friends. The rose almond elixir was a spicy blend of chocolate, almond, rose, and chili - quite tasty, though a bit chunky as hot chocolate goes. I also bought a couple of chocolates to eat for dessert later that evening. Then I drove to my hotel and took a nap before getting dinner (and eating those chocolates).
In the morning, I did the Capital walk, which took in most of central Santa Fe, including the capitol and Canyon Road, as well as the Plaza. I’m not really a fan of adobe and things were rather too crowded, but it was still a pleasant walk. I also appreciated that the directions pointed out a few details I might not otherwise have noted - e.g. the plaque to Billy the Kid across from Burro Alley. And, especially, the triangle with the tetragrammaton carved into an arch over the door of the cathedral.
There were a couple of art shows and a large crafts fair, possibly in connection with the upcoming Fiesta. I wasn’t intending to buy anything, but I saw a salt cellar I couldn’t resist. It’s shaped like a bathtub, with the shower head forming the spoon. I also got a bowl of cashew mole for lunch (and sopapillas, of course). And I decided it was hot enough out by then that I needed to go back to Kakawa and try their ice cream. I went for the citrus pistachio, which I thought would be more refreshing than chocolate.
I drove back to Albuquerque, where I had a light supper and a nice conversation with slymongoose. My flights home (again, via IAH) were fine, with no weather drama. All in all, ir made for a nice weekend excursion.