New Mexico

HE SAID:
New Mexico started out great, until we got to the hostel. We had reserved a private room with a half bath and a shared shower, but as it turns out, we got put into a private room with no half bath. A piece of paper was thicker than the sheets that were given to us and the service was really crappy. At this point I figured it was to be expected because we paid next to nothing for the room. The next morning, when I stepped out of the shower room, some dude was using his body as an amusement park, as the famous Seinfeld episode said, and that did it for me. I went back to the room and told Des to pack up because we were getting the hell out of there. When I went to tell the lady at the counter what happened, she had a tone that you would have thought that I did something wrong. I asked for one night’s rate back because we had paid for 2 nights and only spent 1, and she gave me attitude.

We went to breakfast at Tia Sophia’s and it was a great breakfast. We walked around Santa Fe and saw some cool buildings and churches. Because of our experience at the hostel, we decided to take off and head towards Amarillo, Texas. The drive out wasn’t as exciting as the drive in. I know it sounds stupid, but the landscape was all the same, and the highway takes you literally through the middle of nowhere, and when it all looks the same, it just gets really old really fast.

On a much lighter note, on the way to Amarillo, Texas, we heard a commercial for a strip club called Beavers (so right, yet so wrong on so many levels,) it is a BYOB club (that’s right!) and their slogan is: Where the girls wear notin’ but a smile! As the commercial said, if you’ve been recently divorced, this is THE PLACE for you! God I love Texas!

Can't wait to see what else is waiting for us in Texas.

More to come soon,

Mario

SHE SAID:
It is funny. I always thought a desert is a desert. Just a sandy, hot place with a lot of land and some hills. This trip has definitely opened my eyes. The minute we crossed the New Mexico border, the colors changed. They went from pinks, reds, browns, and yellows to tan and green. Still flat, but lots of green and boulders. Very interesting!

Before leaving Arizona, we did get to see the Wigwams. I think my day was complete. The Wigwams are a motel shaped like teepees. The location actually became a historical site in 2002. And, if you’ve seen the movie Cars, you are quite familiar with the teepees and their history. The Cozy Cone Inn was modeled after them. Today, there are only three remaining Wigwam motels in the country- Rialto, CA, Hollbrook, AZ, & Cave City, TN. Look them up... I think you will love them just as much as I did.

Santa Fe itself was a beautiful city. The buildings looked like they emerged out of a sandstorm. They had rounded edges and light colored walls. In the middle of town was an amazing plaza...so green, so communal, and so welcoming. And the breakfast....oh...the breakfast we had was soooo good. I tried sopaipilla. It was all new to me. This lightly fried bread could not have been more heavenly. Pure perfection. There were a ton of gorgeous churches. The most impressive had a self-supporting spiral staircase. I guess it was shown on the Discovery Channel. Either way, it was pretty cool.

Other than that though, the day sucked... The people at the hostel were down-right hostile. Then Mario got freaked out, so we had to pack up. The drive to Amarillo was long and boring. And on top of all that, we lost my credit card. All in all... not a good day. At least we got some site seeing in and were on to better times.