we're in california! after more than two weeks on the road, we have made it to the golden state. we literally crossed the border - seriously, we had to go through an agricultural check point - and while it didn't feel like home (blythe? anyone?) it did feel good.
an update on the past few days...
santa fe continued to be a real highlight. i think that i forgot to say we spent the day of the 4th asking the hotel desk clerk, our waiters, the tourism bureau and everyone with a cowboy hat and turquoise where we could catch fireworks and it seemed like everyone had a slightly different answer. at the high school, they start at 9, behind the courthouse, they start at 8, over the mountains, they start when it gets dark. we finished up our dinner (tomasitas for margaritas...yum!) and headed in the direction of the high school (it seemed like the most credible option) but never really made it because it turned out that everyone in new mexico sets off their own fireworks. literally, cars were parked up and down every road and people sat on the tops of their car roofs to catch explosions going off - 360 degrees. it wasn't the most high tech or professional show we had ever seen, but it was definitely the most authentic (ABN describes it as a spontaneous display of explosives).
saturday was a perfect day. we started off by going to the santa fe farmer's market where i sipped organic coffee and ABN tried every variety of goat cheese, mustard, jerky, cherry and salsa available. it was a huge market and really fun to be part of the local scene. after walking around the plaza a bit more (i couldn't leave without finding a pair of turquoise earrings) we headed to the santa fe wine festival - held at a ranch right outside of town, there were 12 local wineries and with the entrance fee you could taste from everywhere (each had a ton of different varieties) and we each got a commemorative glass. we even chatted with a friendly woman who pointed us in the direction of her very favorite local wine which we bought to drink when we FINALLY make it to SF. we ended the day with dinner on the roof of a restaurant on the plaza.
sunday we got up early and headed to arizona where we drove through the petrified
forest (ABN was surprised to find it wasn't scary and it wasn't really a forest). gorgeous desert and wicked hot. we stopped at slide rock in sedona...while hundreds of others enjoyed the natural rock slides, ABN announced to all that his hips weren't made to fit down the natural formations (i laughed so hard i kept choking on water). then we slept in another camping cabin in Dead Horse Ranch State Park (bad name, great site).
this morning we hopped back in the car and headed west....california. when we pulled into Palm Springs, the temperature read 112! it's good to be back in the DESERT (haven't been since the spring of 1997!). i drove ABN by the old condo (and he indulged me by taking lots of pictures...it hasn't changed a bit) and we went to ISLANDS for dinner (i had 3 refills on my diet coke!). tomorrow we'll sleep in, go to elmer's for breakfast and then head out (by way of HADLEY'S).
LA here we come!
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