Isabel and I love going to Santa Fe - first off, Isabel was born just north of Santa Fe in the town of Espańola and my Candelaria ancestry were one of the first of seven families to settle the Rio Grande Valley in 1690. So our DNA just jumps for joy when we are here.

There are several blogs from the past I have written about our Santa Fe trips so please check them out. This trip was specifically for our visiting Isabel’s Aunt and Uncle as they were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary with family and friends. Isabel’s mom, Alette Thomson, joined us for just a quick three-day getaway where we flew into Albuquerque and made the approximate one our drive to Santa Fe where we enjoyed the afternoon.

Our first stop was supposed to be The Shed https://sfshed.com/ but they had a two hour wait, which is pretty normal, but we thought we might get lucky. Our fall back was just one courtyard over where we enjoyed a lovely lunch and a tasty green chile martini in the courtyard at La Casa Sena https://www.lacasasena.com/   Following lunch we did a little shopping around the Plaza and then made our way to our AirBnB just outside of the little artsy village of Tesuque, New Mexico.

Just off the Old Santa Fe Trail we had to take a gravel road through a wash and past an alpaca farm to our little adobe casa. What a lovely and quaint place this turned out to be. Old brick floors, wood casement windows, hand painted tiles and totally appointed with antiques from France and Spain. We settled in and all took a nice long siesta.

Once we awoke, we piled back into our car and took off for Isabel’s Aunt and Uncle’s compound north of Espańola where we enjoyed reuniting with her family and a good old fashioned fish fry with of course some good New Mexican salsa and green chile. How nice to just chill on their front porch and really not have to do anything but relax – something I do not do very often.

The next day was Sunday, and we were craving New Mexican food of course and so we were off to Rancho de Chimayo for some amazing enchiladas, eggs and margaritas….we were on vacation might as well get into the flow.  http://www.ranchodechimayo.com/

We picked up some goodies in their gift shop including of course powdered red chile, blue corn pancake mix and several other necessary provisions we always pick up when we come here. We tried to visit the famous church here in Chimayo the Santuario Chimayo, but the parking lot was completely packed so sadly we moved on. https://www.holychimayo.us/

Next stop was Abiquiu, New Mexico which is the home to the artist Georgia O’Keefe. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_O%27Keeffe I always love coming here as you can totally feel the spirit of this artist here and experience and enjoy the landscape that inspired her. We stopped at the Abiquiu Inn for a coffee and worked in a cat nap in the parking lot and then it was off to the 50th Anniversary party.

Saturday night was a fish fry but tonight it was authentic New Mexican food, enchiladas, tamales, beans, rice, chips, salsa…it could not be better. Again, another evening to enjoy the cool outdoor New Mexico weather including a brief rain shower that cooled things off perfectly. I even got the chance to sing the Sweet Caroline and the National Anthem on the Barbie megaphone/karaoke machine! How special to be a part of this celebration of 50 years of marriage of Isabel’s Aunt and Uncle. Isabel and I will be celebrating our 10-year anniversary on the 16th of September and so its truly something to shoot for – I’ll be 103 years old but anything is possible.

Our third and final day, Monday, started with us all sleeping in as we were enjoying the cool air. I slept until 7:30 and which is quite the record for me! I got a little work done and slowly the ladies started moving. Isabel’s mom was reading about our AirBnB and discovered that there was a small chapel on the property that we were totally unaware of. We went out back and sure enough there it was! We all took the opportunity to stop and take some quiet time to say some prayers and just enjoy this lovely found treasure literally in our backyard.

We then made our way back to the house, loaded up and headed to Santa Fe for the afternoon before our flight home. This time we did get to The Shed early enough, actually an hour early, to be the first in line. It was definitely worth the second effort as we enjoyed a fabulous New Mexican brunch.

Following brunch, Isabel and I made a 20-minute walk to the Inn of the Turquoise Bear to scout out our venue for our newest Candelaria Design Tour~Santa Fe which we have slated for the Fall of 2024. It appears we will be able to buy out the entire Bed and Breakfast venue as we did with The Setting Inn for our recently completed Willamette Valley, OR Wine and Food Tour. Isabel and I will host this five-day 2024 tour along with world renown photographer, Wes Johnson https://bendingthelight.com/ with the goal of combining photography, sketching and cooking! More details to follow and message us for more information and to get on the list as this will be an amazing artistic and culinary experience!

We finished our three-day getaway with a little more shopping on the Plaza and area surrounding and then it was back to Albuquerque and the flight home. Isabel and I both love coming here for a number of reasons. First, it is only a 45-minute flight from Phoenix. Second, we both share so much personal history with this place. Finally, we love the architecture, landscape, cuisine, people and culture of Santa Fe and this region of New Mexico. It is truly like leaving the United States and going to another country.  Isabel and I are looking forward to more of these long weekend escapes and our 2024 Tour, so stay tuned.