Wherever we go, Grant brings his stash of individually wrapped prunes to stay regular. On this trip…the prunes did not leave his bag as they were not necessary. We found out that green chilies are loaded with dietary fiber that helps in colon cleansing and keeping your bowel movements healthy. Fiber is vital for bulking up waste and raising its movement out of the system, preventing constipation. I share this because this may solve your mystery of bowel movement frequency that we experienced in New Mexico.
Albuquerque and Santa Fe were on our list of cities we have heard of, but have not been to. They were also cities that we knew very little about. We researched a few activities to do and thought it was enough to make a trip out of. For Christmas, pre-Southwest Christmas debacle, I purchased the only nonstop out of San Diego.
With the snow receding and the weather unusually warm, adventure activities were out of the question for this trip. This left leisure. We are not great at leisure activities because of our extremely low attention span. But, we were going to attempt this trip anyway as a leisurely trip seemed needed with all of the stressors in our lives. Grant is still adjusting to his new job and I am anxiously trying to finalize the contract negotiations with our new surrogate. What should have been finalized on Friday before the trip spilled over to the weekend. If focusing on something obsessively was an Olympic sport— I would win gold. I was present, but constantly thinking about the negotiation the entire time.
Upon landing, we grabbed our rental car. The rental car clerk was a tad frustrating, and I may have been a bit irritated with her line of questioning. Again, I was focused on something else, and playing a million questions was not something that I was in the mood for. After getting the rental car, we hit the road for Old Town Albuquerque. On a side note— Albuquerque is a difficult word to remember how to spell. Thankfully Google knew what word I was trying to spell even when I was nowhere close.
On the way, we saw one of the weirdest sights. An older car going through a drive-thru with its hood up, battery jumper on the engine, grabbing dinner as if nothing was wrong with that site. This was an interesting introduction to the city. Old Town Albuquerque was a ghost town when we arrived just before 5 pm. It was a Friday so we were expecting it to be hopping, as Old Town San Diego always is, but there was little activity. Most of the shops had closed. We did speak with a chatty local about where to grab a quick bite and she pointed us to the Sawmill Market.
The Sawmill Market was a food hall full of different ethnic foods. Remember when I said I was distracted by contract negotiations— well at 5 pm we had a call with our attorney to go over our counter. Grant wrangled up some food and I took the call. Fortunately, I had time to think about what our position should be on the plane and was ready to review. After finishing the call, I got to explore and grabbed one last sandwich to go. It just so happened to have green chili in it. The place was called Cacho’s Latin Flavor and the sandwich was just a simple pork sandwich. The place is not flashy, but definitely, the best thing that we ate there.
With Albuquerque being a bit sleepy and missing the opportunity to head up the tram, we decided to drive north one hour to Santa Fe. The road up is pretty desolate and there wasn’t anything to see besides dead grass, dirt, and brush for as far as the eyes could see. A few mountains could be seen on the horizon, but as nightfall hit— it was pitch black. Eventually, we made it to our hotel called Villas De Santa Fe. Grant found this great deal on a 1 bedroom suite and it served as a solid base for our trip.
After dropping off our bags, we hopped back in the car and went to the downtown Santa Fe Plaza. Again, the area was extremely sleepy but much more charming than where we had just come from. We were not used to touristy spots (especially shops/restaurants/galleries) being closed so early. I don’t mind things being closed or sleepy because I can wander around without distractions. It’s like going shopping at a car dealership and not being constantly harassed by a car salesman. The pressure is gone and you get to look at things.
It’s a picturesque area with more galleries than you can count. You turn down a street and there are 20 more. It’s probably the most gallery-populated area I have been to. Without much thought, we decided to choose one of the open restaurants and grab a bite to eat. Well, we found where everyone was at…eating! We tried multiple restaurants and were told a 45-minute wait, and an hour wait, and then we stumbled upon a New Mexico restaurant called Del Charro that was near the capital. Why not?
We started with the green chili queso, I ordered green chili and chicken chowder and finished it up with green chili enchiladas. Can you see where this is going? If you are in New Mexico it is harder to find something that does not have green chili rather than does. Grant and I both agreed that the soup was the best thing. Afterward, we drove back to the hotel, watched some TV, and then went to bed.
The smell in the hotel was one of flatulence, which was only caused partly by me. The green chilis had caused my stomach to grumble and I woke up early. After releasing myself, I was wide awake and hit the road to explore the area in the daytime. Sleeping beauty Grant was sound asleep rotating between snores and fart noises. (Grant here… this is NOT true)
My first stop was the Santa Fe railroad area where they have a farmers market on Saturday mornings. It was quaint, but nothing I really wanted to try. There was also a flea market of sorts next door that I checked out before returning to Santa Fe Plaza to explore in the daytime. I stopped by the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, which was the oldest house in the US, and also the Loretta Chapel with its legendary wooden stairs. The final stop of my solo exploration was the state capital. I snapped a photo of myself to join my ongoing list of capital photos and met ruing back up with Grant.
Grant, having extracted all traces of green chili from his system, was ready to depart and replace it with… more green chili. We stopped on their square at La Plazuela at La Fonda and ordered a few items. We realized that everything was a bit bland since it was spiced with green chili only. Grant was infatuated with this place and wanted to take photos from every angle. Anytime the waiter would come over he would be out of his seat snapping a photo. Eventually, I just hollered for a waiter and ordered. The food was good, but nothing that I would say you have to go back for. What was worth mentioning as a must-stop in Santa Fe is Kakawa Chocolate House, which was just down the street.
This unassuming house in a rather busy area is home to some of the best chocolate in the world. This place has been listed as one of the best places for hot chocolate in the world. After getting some hot chocolate, a cookie, and a brownie we were set on the sugar front. I had warned Grant upon getting to Albuquerque that sugar was going to be plentiful here. However, I did not yield my advice and went hog wild with sweets.
What initially put Albuquerque / Santa Fe on the map for us was that it was home to the original Meow Wolf. The weird art exhibit that we had stopped at in Denver and Las Vegas was originally birthed in Santa Fe out of an old bowling alley. Some of the charming elements remained and were repurposed throughout the exhibit.
Being attached to your phone as much as I am does have some positive perks. In line, waiting to enter, I got a ding on my phone. I checked and it was our attorney. The counter that we had done the day before was accepted. Signatures are on Monday, but it looks like we have a new surrogate! Letting out a sigh of relief, I was fully engaged in the weirdness that was about to take place.
The theme was a house and an alien race. Truthfully, I have to research what I saw as I never fully understand these art house things. It reminded us of some of the haunted houses at Universal. We went through the house, I went into the refrigerator, Grant went into the dryer, and we began our exploration of all things weird. This one didn’t seem to have as detailed of a story as others, it wasn’t as polished as the others, but it felt more alive. It was Grant’s favorite of the three, and my second only behind the grocery store theme in Las Vegas. A must-do in Santa Fe!
After finishing Meow Wolf, we made an impromptu decision to head north to see some of the other small towns. Not our best decision as the towns between Santa Fe and Taos was a bit lackluster. The plan was to explore these areas and then head to the spa. However, instead of making it to Ojo Caliente Santa Fe, due to where we were on our impromptu trip we made it to Ojo Caliente Taos. The signal on our phones was spotty, but we made the best of this pivot. This one is advertised as having 9 different pools, saunas, and healing waters blessed by the natives. Okay, let’s give it a shot!
We entered. We went into each pool. We went into the jacuzzi. And I was ready to leave within 30 minutes. The pools were not as hot as advertised and with the temperature outside— I was an ice cube. The wet sauna wasn’t working when we first got there so there was no place to get warm. Eventually, things turned around a bit when the saunas were fixed, but it was still underwhelming. Grant liked it more than I did but even admitted that it wasn’t worth the price.
At 7 pm, I was finally able to get Grant to leave, but before we left he demanded food. I was happy with stopping at a fast food joint and grabbing a snack. Heading back into Santa Fe and eating at a restaurant there. Grant did not want fast food and instead wanted something more wholesome. I couldn’t necessarily fault him so I agreed to the spa’s restaurant for a quick appetizer. The place was crowded, but nothing indicated that they were beyond their capabilities. When we order the waiter told us that they were out of what we initially wanted. So we switched it up and ordered a burger to split. A green chili burger. More green chilis. 30 minutes go by, then 45, 60…our single patty burger with fries took 1 hour to get. 5 minutes later we grabbed the check and left.
Along the way back we were looking for what restaurants were going to be open at 9 pm. The answer— is none. That’s an over exaggeration as there were some places, but none that really what we had in mind for dinner. Then an idea hit me— Whole Foods. My go-to in every city. Do you want to know where the rich part of town is? Do you want to know where they have trendy food? Find the Whole Foods. It was 8:56 pm when we pulled into the parking lot. We were greeted by a worker who said, “we close in 3 minutes.” Grant and I raced to the pizza counter, grabbed the last remaining slices of pizza that were about to be thrown away, and had dinner back in the room. Thank goodness for Saturday Night Live to keep us entertained as Santa Fe had gone to bed for the night.
The next morning, I got up and went back to Whole Foods. The ones in San Diego have stopped making the French bread that I like, but the ones here did. I may have purchased two loaves, and they may be on the plane right above me in the overhead. A bit silly for a $3 loaf of bread, but I ate it nearly every day for two years during the pandemic and I miss it! I am a bit too giddy to try this immediately when I get home.
When I got back, Grant was nearly packed and ready to head back to Albuquerque for our return flight. The flight was late afternoon so we figured we would do the tram that we missed the first night. The road to get there was a bit empty and the tram didn’t seem to be going. Then we got to the entrance and saw the big sign that said: “CLOSED FOR MAINTENANCE.” Shoot! Oh well. It just was not meant to be.
Thankfully we are adaptable and found a different place to go called Electric Playground. Think of this place as a white screen, projector, and video game playground. Grant and I entered an enormous room with projectors everywhere and we would play block break with our bodies. We played Gallagher with dodge balls (hitting them with balls rather than shooting) and other exhausting games. It was clear that this was designed for an overactive child where the parents needed them to release some energy, but it also worked on these two adults.
Having worked up an appetite, we left and went to M’Tucci Bar Roma, a charming Italian restaurant on Route 66 that had once been a service station. We ordered a few yummy things, but the standout was the Nduja (chorizo) fry bread that Grant ordered another round of after eating the first. Everything we ate was really delicious and a place to eat if you are in the area. It also was our first meal without green chilies in it so that may be why we were a bit preferential to it.
Afterward, we finished driving down the part of Route 66 that ran through Albuquerque, checked out downtown, and then wrapped up where we started in Old Town Albuquerque. We quickly filled the car with gas and made our way to the airport for an on-time departure back to San Diego! Woohoo!
This trip was not what we expected. We are more adventurous than leisurely people, but I think we crafted some memories that we will keep for a while. Or at least some quotes from strangers at nearby tables such as “I think this tortilla soup is trying too hard” and “I am living for a wine that pairs well with my lamb.” However, what I think we learned that is extremely valuable is that if Grant can’t find prunes on his trips we can always substitute them for green chilis.