Road Warrior Momma: Day 17

Day 17 – July 13, 2013

Albuquerque, NM – Santa Fe, NM – Albuquerque, NM

150 miles/2hours, 15 minutes

Temperature – low 63, at Sandia Peak, 93 in the valley

Courtyard by Marriott Albuquerque Airport

I totally overslept, big time. I’ve consistently been getting up at 6 a.m. – whatever the time zone - but today it was 8:17a.m.! This resulted in some serious scrambling!

First stop was Sandia Mountain, featuring the world’s longest tram, which we rode to the top, with an elevation of approximately 10.400 feet. It was rather chilly at the top, but the views were magnificent! Believe it or not, there's a restaurant up there (surely for the skiers during the winter months) where we snacked on chips, salsa and a spicy guacamole. That was our brunch – since we only consumed Kellogg’s breakfast bars in the room. Life on the road with just mommy is far different than life on the road with daddy!

On the ride down the mountain, we met a family from Atlanta! It was a mom and her two grown children, who were in their 20’s. The daughter lives in Kennesaw, but works in downtown ATL, the son just moved to Albuquerque and the parents just retired to NAPLES, FL. What an amazingly small world we live in! They shared their road trip stories from when they were kids and told my kids how lucky they were. The son asked if we’d been to Santa Fe and I replied, “No.” He insisted that I had too – especially if I was into art. My wheels started turning.

The tram ride didn’t take as much time as I’d anticipated. We were planning to visit Old Town Albuquerque, but it was only 12:30 p.m., so I rallied the troops to head north to Santa Fe. Thank goodness for my Trip Advisor app! We were on the square in Santa Fe by 1:45, where low and behold, there was an art fair. We wondered about, checking everything out – it was very cool. I saw so many things that I loved. Art, pottery and jewelry! Unfortunately, it was all surprisingly expensive. That’s the dichotomy of road trips – you see some amazing stuff, but you can’t afford to buy any of the goods, yet if we didn’t travel, we’d be able to conspicuously consume, but wouldn’t see the cool stuff! Come on Power Ball!

Then we went to the Georgia O’Keefe Museum which was very, very cool. Years ago, a friend gave me a picture book of her art and I love her flower paintings, but her abstract art and landscapes are just as amazing! She has an erroneous reputation as a painter of female anatomy – not accurate! Between you and me, I’d always assumed she was gay. Learn something new every day. It turns out she had a long time love affair with the photographer and gallery owner, Alfred Stieglitz, who she eventually married. They we very avant garde for the 1920’s and Stieglitz photographed nudes of Georgia, which I think may have given them a certain reputation that resulted in art critics describing her abstracts as sexual. Ms. O’Keefe was very offended by this and actually stopped painting abstracts for years. I understand why she was stung by the criticism. In retrospect I think it was a good thing, because her paintings after that period, especially the landscapes of New Mexico, are wonderful. Audrey and I both bought posters that we’re going to frame.

Next we stopped by the state capitol, which was adorned with more art. So much art! Seriously, it was like a museum. Santa Fe is definitely an artist’s enclave.

Then we headed back to Albuquerque – specifically Old Town, which was so-so. There was an abundance of junk shops, mixed with over-the top-priced boutiques and galleries. I couldn’t afford anything I liked, and anything I could afford, I knew wouldn’t make home in one piece!

We had a quick “snack bar” dinner and ice cream, followed by pool time. We have a big driving day tomorrow. I’ve rerouted our adventure so that we’ll be in Detroit by Thursday or Friday. Cammy’s birthday is Friday and it was too much to think I could throw together a party/cookout in one day, launder all our clothes, clean the house and pack again, to go back to Michigan. So I’m going to soldier on with my nomadic ways and continue my summer of running away from my troubles/memories/emotions.

Que Sera Sera.

Quote of the day:

Cammy, in response to something his sister did: “For flying out loud, you’ve got to be kidding me.”