Day 2.28: Santa Fe, NM to Albuquerque, NM

We got up and worked out beating eating breakfast, which was considerably more disappointing since they didn’t have bananas again but this time also ran out of potatoes without any to replace them. It’s a great breakfast and it was too bad that a busy Sunday resulted in items not being available. Arielle left to go run her first program, Talking to Children About Death. Only 4 people came, but it was still great. Abe caught up on some TV and started packing so that we had a quick 15-minute turnaround when she got back to load up the car. We stopped at Whole Foods, where got a few pieces of sweet chili tofu (great), veggie sides (not great), mac and cheese with asparagus (great), and banana chai smoothie (Abe liked it, Arielle didn’t). We drove five more minutes to the synagogue, and Arielle went in to set up while Abe finished eating in the car. Her program, Physician-Assisted Death from a Jewish Perspective, had twelve very engaged participants, a few of whom were pretty knowledgeable about New Mexico law, which is still actively changing as it pertains to the subject matter. The session ran about an hour and a half, and people stuck around to ask questions.

We said goodbye and thank you to Joy and left for Albuquerque, which was less than an hour away – definitely our shortest drive yet! We did see a very cool cloud along the way.

We checked in at the Fairfield Inn by Marriott University Area, which was a pretty big hotel with a little outdoor building in the middle that houses the fitness center, pool, hot tub, and sauna. After unloading our bags, we drove about fifteen minutes to El Pinto, a restaurant with an enormous parking lot, where we met some of Abe’s family members for the first time. Morris is Abe’s grandmother Barbara’s first cousin, and he brought with him photos from his Bar Mitzvah and his wedding which included Barbara, who passed away ten years ago, her mother Becky, who Abe knew as his great-grandmother Nana until she died at age 99, and her parents Mollie and Max, better known as GG and GP, who his dad grew up knowing. Abe sat and talked to Morris and his wife Evelyn for a while, and Arielle talked to their daughter Geri Lynn and her husband Michael. We switched when our food came. Abe got a house salad he didn’t touch but Arielle ate the chile croutons. Arielle got a taco salad in a tostada bowl that was great except the last bite ended on onion, and Abe got a ribeye that was pretty good with thin fries. Geri Lynn gave us dishes that she had from GG and GP, which was very sweet. We had a wonderful time, and they invited us to come over for dinner the next night!

We felt like having dessert so we stopped on the way back to the hotel at Cold Stone, ordering Abe’s typical Chocolate Devotion with a scoop of banana ice cream mixed in. We watched TV in the hotel and went to sleep, though we were amazed by the loud sound of what we thought was wind but was amplified by a gap in the door.

Approximate number of miles covered: 63

Day 2.27: Santa Fe Day 2

Arielle had planned to sleep in while Abe wanted to get up for breakfast, and he ended up waking up early so he went right to the gym before going to eat, which was almost as good as day one other than the lack of bananas which were sorely needed to make the greek yogurt more palatable (in his opinion). Arielle woke up a bit later and we left to head to explore Santa Fe. We drove to the historic plaza, where Arielle had visited many years ago. We immediately found the unexpected Hebrew word Joy had mentioned we would see on the door frame at the church, and Arielle was able to find a few great books on grief in the church gift shop.

We strolled around the streets and came across Café Pasqual’s, which our Oklahoma City host Helene had told us was her favorite place in Santa Fe. We put in our name and kept walking round for a while, returning just in time a bit later for lunch. Arielle got the Huevos Motuleños, which had eggs, peas, feta cheese, black beans, sautéed bananas, tomatillo sauce and tortillas – it was freaking awesome. Abe got corned beef hash, something he hadn’t actually had before, and found it quite tasty. It came with an English muffin dripping in butter. We tried to drain it and Arielle had it with homemade Santa Fe raspberry jam, the leftovers of which she of course took to go. We browsed the jewelry made by Native American artists and Arielle had a hard time finding just one thing she liked most that wasn’t extremely expensive (as the real turquoise was).

We then drove to Meow Wolf, an attraction everyone had recommended. It was weird right from the start. Arielle would say it was like a combination of an escape room, a Mcdonald’s PlayPlace, and a black light party. Abe, who has never done an escape room, felt it was like an escape room you’re not supposed to escape from. Don’t get the 3-D glasses – they’re only a dollar but not worth it since they only amplify a few things throughout the entirely trippy experience. If you really like art or you’re into solving abstract puzzles, this could be the place for you. If you’re claustrophobic, don’t go. We tried one clue, were confused and not that interested, and gave up and just explored. We Got to slide into a washing machine and walk out of a refrigerator, so that’s something. Ultimately, we spent just over an hour there, and felt this is an activity we would only selectively recommend.

We went to Tribes Coffee House to get a chai and talked to the friendly barista there. We went back to the hotel, where Arielle worked out while Abe did some work.

It started raining, though fortunately it only took about fifteen minutes to get to our restaurant for the evening, Vinaigrette. There, we met Rick and heard how about he got involved with the Chevra Kadisha and how he ended up in Santa Fe. It was great to get to know him and to get his guidance on future work and travel. Arielle got the Asian Chopped Salad with grilled tofu, which she liked, and Abe got the Omega salad with seared tuna. While he didn’t necessarily need the fish, the salad was delicious, especially without the bell pepper, red onion, and blue cheese dressing that were supposed to come with it!

We went back to the hotel after dinner and relaxed, finishing the Baskin Robbins from the night before and even digging into some of the snacks we travel with for Abe to enjoy some chocolate pudding. We also found that the hot tub was not yet full but operational, and so we went in briefly.

Approximate number of miles covered: 19

Day 2.26: Santa Fe Day 1

We got up in time to get breakfast, which is now no longer always complimentary at the Hyatt Place but had been included with our rate when we booked it. It was quite impressive, featuring seasoned scrambled eggs, multicolor potatoes, very tasty make-it-yourself waffles, greek yogurt, and more. We chatted with a couple visiting from outside of Denver who had come in just to try all the chiles we were so desperate to avoid!

We came upstairs and worked a bit before heading to the gym for twenty minutes on the treadmill. Arielle even managed to do a few laps in the pool before we hurriedly showered and then left miraculously on time to head to The New Baking Company. We met Joy, the education director from Temple Beth Shalom, and a number of board and community members for a great lunch. Arielle loved the Mexican hot chocolate and got blue corn pancakes with piñon (aka pine nuts) and Abe got a vegan bowl, hold the chiles of course. Arielle enjoyed getting the third degree from everyone and was excited that she was able to answer their questions.

We got gas right by the hotel and went back to our room to keep working and preparing for the weekend. Later, we left to drive to Temple Beth Shalom, which was only about 15 minutes away, and enjoyed a wonderful service led by the musical director because the rabbi and cantorial soloists were sick. Arielle lit candles with Joy, and we were both called up as February and March birthdays to get a special birthday pen, which was a nice tradition we hadn’t ever seen before. Arielle got up to talk and did a spectacular job regaling the community with an introduction to how she got into the work she does and the relationships she had with her grandparents, the first part of her role as scholar-in-residence for the weekend. We stayed for the oneg, which was quite lavish, with vegetables and fruits and cheeses and drinks. Many people wanted to talk to Arielle, including Rick, who Arielle had met at the Chevra Kadisha conference and who lives in Santa Fe. We closed up the joint and even took a few snacks home with us, of course. We made a quick stop on the way home to pick up a few items and relaxed at the hotel before going to sleep.

Approximate number of miles covered: 15

Day 2.25: Oklahoma City, OK to Santa Fe, NM

Abe convinced Arielle to wake up at 7:30am so that we could have breakfast with Helene before hitting the road at 9am. Helene had already prepared a lavish feast for us. Since she was born in Brooklyn before spending her high school years in San Antonio, we knew that she knew good bagels, so we asked if the bagels she had bought compared. She described them as very poor – “a roll with a hole” – but we found them to be considerably better than expected. We departed, promising to return to this lovely home as a dusting of snow bid us goodbye, and set out on the long drive to our last westernmost destination.

Passing a road sign for Garth Brooks Blvd, Arielle was shocked that Abe asked to clarify that he was a musician? We also saw an advertisement for The Big Texan Free 72-oz Steak and had to Google it – you can read all about it yourself. We will not be doing it. Abe continued working on this very blog while Arielle listened to Big Little Lies while she was driving, and we accidentally missed the sign when we entered Texas but Abe managed to get a shot of another sign just past that.

Arielle wasn’t hungry yet so Abe found an exit that had a Domino’s Pizza which he randomly got a craving for and a Subway since Arielle is not a fan of Domino’s. It turns out that, while Abe was ordering, she was both got hungry and decided to try Domino’s, which she found “perfectly adequate,” in her own words. Though there wasn’t any birthday deal for Arielle (more on that below), we did get an amazing deal, paying $7.99 for a three-topping large pizza instead of the $10.99 for a medium. This is one chain we can now appreciate and may visit again on our travels. We made a quick stop outside Amarillo at the famous Cadillac Ranch, though the smell of the spraypaint was more than enough to inspire us to quickly leave.

We crossed into New Mexico and stopped at the visitor center, before continuing on to the much-advertised Clines Corners, a rest stop that pales in comparison to the likes of Wall Drug and even most rest stops. We made great time getting to Santa Fe, passing some unmelted snow along the way, arriving at the Hyatt Place around 5:45pm. It was a very nice hotel but we were disappointed to see that the hot tub wasn’t working. When we walked into the hotel room, Arielle was delighted to see a surprise from her a parents – a vase with purple and orange flowers, a card, and an adorable emoji balloon sitting on the desk.

We got some work done in the hotel and then left to drive about ten minutes to Annapurna’s World Vegetarian Café, a small casual vegetarian restaurant that Arielle immediately commented smelled very healthy. We got the World Chips appetizer, which was an assortment of fried taro, cassava and plantain chips with pico de gallo and black beans, which were quite spicy, but Abe very much enjoyed it. Arielle got the ABLT and was shocked to discover that the bacon was made out of seaweed. Abe got the cauliflower tacos, sauce on the side of course. The best possible gift that Abe could have given Arielle for her birthday was to share her food since normally he’s repulsed by the condiments or dressings it includes. This time, her ABLT, which Abe did say had too much “L” with quite the large protruding lettuce leaf, and the lack of dressing, since she didn’t like the cilantro-lime sauce, made it more appealing to Abe, and so he ate most of it, while Arielle took his cauliflower tacos but decided after two bites that she was done. We were both impressed with the veggie bacon, which Arielle described as tasting like a veggie hot dog. Arielle wasn’t entirely satisfied by her meal but knew that dessert was coming so she wanted to save space.

Since Arielle is a leap day baby and only gets a real birthday every four years, her tradition has been to have Baskin Robbins Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream at 11:59pm on February 28th. There were three Baskin Robbins within a few miles, and so went to one and used her free birthday scoop to get Abe some World Class Chocolate, while Arielle bought a double scoop of Mint Chocolate Chip that they could share later. Arielle was even more excited this year because it was her Baskin Robbins birthday (31) and she felt like she had waited her entire life to celebrate it.

We were ecstatic to discover that there was a freezer in our fridge so we could wait to have the ice cream until the prescribed time. We spent a few minutes at the pool – Abe went in, Arielle didn’t – and Arielle got a few phone calls from friends and family. We watched an episode of TV that ended just in time for us to celebrate Arielle’s non-birthday with the ice cream, and then went right to bed.

Approximate number of miles covered: 542