BYE BYE BEARADISE, HELLO CITY DIFFERENT!

We said goodbye this morning to all of the Bearapharnalia at Bearadise and were in our way to Santa Fe. This little sculpture reminds me of Larry and Frank when they go fishing. Wonder who the baby bear is???

There are several well know landmarks that we pass on the road when we're on our way to our home away from home. One is called Starvation Peak.

As you wind your way on your journey along the Santa Fe Trail, to the south of the freeway you will see the tall but relatively small mesa called Starvation Peak. Legend has it that settlers were chased up the mountain and held there, surrounded by Indian warriors, until they succumbed to starvation. It was a prominent landmark and made for interesting stories around the campfire for Santa Fe Trail traders.
The drive from Raton to Santa Fe only takes a few hours and the scenery exceptionally beautiful. The closer you get to SF, you start to notice that the earth is beginning to turn red.

I always become very excited when we see this change because I know that our destination is very near.
When we arrived in town, we went straight to La Choza for lunch where we met Teresa and Gary, our niece and nephew. They had driven up from Albuquerque to see us.

We needed a chili fix, so we had our standard Enchilada Christmas style. For those of you unfamiliar with NM native cuisine, that's with both red and green chili. YUM! We started off with chips and salsa and a cerveza, the perfect way to begin a meal!

I've always admired this painting that has adorned the walls there for years and one of these days I may attempt to paint my very own rendition of it. It's so very Santa Fe.

After lunch, the kids were on their way and we went to our condo to get unpacked for the next couple of weeks.

We decided that we needed to make a quick grocery run and of all things, we ran into our friends, the Ellis' at Albertson's!

This seems to be a regular event since the town is not that big, but we run into this particular couple at the grocery store a lot. What makes it really odd is that she doesn't even cook! I suppose they were window shopping ;-)
As we had eaten a late lunch, we decided to go to a small local place for a light supper. Soup and a sandwich sounded divine. It's called Del Charro. It's located in the Inn of the Governors.

It's a cozy little place with good food, fast service and it's very inexpensive. It reminds me a little of the Hog's Breath Inn in Carmel since it's basically outside but it's covered and you can eat there year round. The only thing that was missing was Clint Eastwood. It would have been very nice if he had shown up!
I had asked Frank when we left the house if he thought we needed to take the cell phone and we both decided there was no need as the restaurant was only a few blocks away and we would not be gone long. Well ..... BIG mistake!
When we returned Frank realized that the key to the condo was missing. I had left my key just inside the locked door sitting beside my phone! There was no way to get to either of them.

He went back to the restaurant thinking that the key must have slipped out to his pocket when he paid the bill. No luck. He even looked all along the street where we had parked but found nothing, not even a few lost coins.

He then came back to the condo where I was waiting patiently on the porch and noticed that the people in the next condo had just arrived from their dinner. He asked if he could use their phone to call the manager since he had lost our key and they said they had found it. However ... they had dropped it into the night slot on the office door and the office was closed for the weekend. UGH! We kept calling and calling and finally, we got in touch with the office manager and were able to get in as she came and unlocked our door.
There was a lesson well learned there. Always hide an extra key somewhere in case of an emergency. Thank goodness for good neighbors!
Who knows what adventures are around the next corner!
XOXO, Pcasso