Quick Facts:
- Distance traveled: 235 miles
- Hotel: Garrett’s Desert Inn, which has a hotel shaped like a chile pepper
- Number of Torrential Downpours: Two
- Dinner: Ore House, featuring Southwestern fare
- Souvenirs purchased: Two pretty bowls and a beaded barrette
- There are many pretty flowers in the desert
- Southwestern-style clothes/art/jewelry looks tacky and strange outside of the Southwest, but makes perfect sense within the context of Santa Fe
- I dislike most Southwestern things, except for the very expensive stuff
- TV studios change commercials based on the area you’re in. Examples:
Santa Fe was not how I imagined it would be. I don’t know what I was expecting–I think something like Sebastopol, only with more colors–but it looked different than I thought. Established in 1515 by Catholic Missionaries, it’s full of churches and clay-colored adobes. All the buildings are red.
Adobe
One of the reasons I wanted to come to Santa Fe was to see the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum. We had some trouble finding the place and ended up walking down the wrong street. Suddenly, it was pouring rain. I had no idea it was about to rain. We fled and stood under the awning in a construction site. The rain passed quickly, but my shirt was see-through from the water.
So there I was in downtown Santa Fe, walking along in my see-through blouse, holding a water bottle up in front of me so people couldn’t see my bra. Luckily, the sun had somehow re-appeared (??) so by the time we got to the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, my shirt had mostly dried. However, the woman inside the museum told us they had shut down the exhibit to re-arrange things and we couldn’t go in. I almost started crying.
Photo of Georgia O’Keeffe painting in the desert
I comforted myself by buying some serving dishes in the gift shop and then going to the Museum of Fine Art, which had several O’Keefe paintings. Afterwards we walked around and looked at many other galleries.
For dinner, we were sitting on the balcony of the Ore House people watching, when suddenly, like a crowd of Hell’s Angels roaring into town, another thunderhead blew over the town and it began to pour again. We retreated inside for dinner.
Things I learned from Santa Fe:
Pregnancy test ad:
California: The most high-tech instrument you will ever pee on.
New Mexico: The most high-tech instrument you will ever … um… you know…
Government abstinence ad:
California: Tell your child to wait to have sex
New Mexico: Tell your child to wait until marriage to have sex.
Tomorrow: Roswell … and beyond!