DATELINE: Santa Fe

Winding down a delightful visit, November 16-17, 2015

Factoid of the day: Did you know Santa Fe is the oldest Capital City on the USA?
Yep, founded in 1610, it is the oldest capital city in the United States and the oldest city in New Mexico.

Monday, November 16, 2015
The first blizzard of the winter strikes deep into the heart of Santa Fe. The snow came down for hours, dumping an unexpected six inches on the city and making everyone (except people from Wisconsin and other northern states) skate for cover and the pinon-fired indoors. Here’s my last night in Santa Fe, and loving the snow as I have the rest of it…except that one coffee shop…

Monday Evening, Santa Fe.
The photo you are looking at is a view down an old well that the Santa Cafe Restaurant on Washington Street in Santa Fe was built over. They didn’t fill the old well. They didn’t even block it off or cover it with concrete. Only in Santa Fe would they enterprisingly place thick glass over the opening and then build the open area of their wonderful bar right next to it. People using the bar or going to one of the three restrooms (men, women and to be announced) do a double step when they walk by and then look down at the last second. The glass is blurry on purpose because when it was clear people fell down in trying to avoid stepping on the glass.

Cool.
Santa Fe cool!

Sara Bish, the daughter of Daniel Bish, came all the way to Santa Fe just to see me, along with her friend Jennifer (wisely and pointedly ignoring me across the table). Well, Sara came to Santa Fe anyway, even if I was not the motivation for her visit. Sara loves Santa Fe and might just move to the city if enough of her friends living here (she has quite a few) go to work to convince her. She lives in L.A. and what is that?
Sara would make such a grand addition to the town and the entire state.
Welcome Sara.

Leaving Santa Fe New Mexico, Tuesday AM November 17, 2015:
Gingerly, a slow bit at a time, I pull out of this wonderful capital and head for Amarillo, the single longest and most irritating strip mall in the world. Down through the fallen snow and on across Texas wasteland taking the low road out of here into tomorrow. Automatic driving cannot come to soon for such stretched out driving endeavors. The total attention of everyone in the automobile dedicated straight ahead and erect to do only one thing…….keep a rolling chunk of metal between little white lines hour after hour after hour.
On to Oklahoma as Lake Geneva beckons in the very far distance.
Here’s the morning, back atcha….