Monday, June 14, 2010
Sadie doesn't believe in sleeping in
Our dog Sadie believes in getting up when it gets light. If that's 5:30am, then it's time to rise. If it happens to be 7:15am, that works for her too. Like most dogs, for her clocks are irrelevant. If her friends (us) stayed up late socializing, that's beside the point; when she sees light beginning to show at Streamy's windows, she is going to come to my bedside, to ask me if I too have noticed the light. If I pretend that I didn't hear her toenails clicking the floor as she came down the hall, she will insist that I open my eyes by emitting very high-pitched rapid whines, audible even to someone like me with some hearing loss in the high ranges. So I go ahead and open my eyes, and rub her head, and listen to her tail rhythmically tapping the wall.
At home, often none of this matters, because she sleeps in her crate, and she doesn't get out until I come downstairs in the morning, and release her. But the rules change when we're travelling in Streamy.
Conversely, she believes in going to bed when it gets dark. Never mind if she spent most of the day napping. When it gets dark, it's time to sleep, even if her peeps are still talking, and up and about.
The morning routine at home is simpler, because there is a fenced back yard, so it's as easy as opening the back door to let her out to take care of business. On the road, I have to be dressed, and have my shoes on, since she has to be leashed and walked; she's nowhere near trustworthy enough to just be let out of Streamy to fend for herself. I would rather get dressed and walk her, than to hunt for a lost dog a thousand miles from home.
Most of the time I don't mind when she wakes me up early (except on the mornings after several glasses of wine). Much of the time I would be rising early anyway. It's just that when one is camping, and sleeping with the windows open in 47 degree weather, that down comforter feels really nice in the morning, and it's not easy to crawl out from under it.
Maybe Sadie needs her own down comforter.
At home, often none of this matters, because she sleeps in her crate, and she doesn't get out until I come downstairs in the morning, and release her. But the rules change when we're travelling in Streamy.
Conversely, she believes in going to bed when it gets dark. Never mind if she spent most of the day napping. When it gets dark, it's time to sleep, even if her peeps are still talking, and up and about.
The morning routine at home is simpler, because there is a fenced back yard, so it's as easy as opening the back door to let her out to take care of business. On the road, I have to be dressed, and have my shoes on, since she has to be leashed and walked; she's nowhere near trustworthy enough to just be let out of Streamy to fend for herself. I would rather get dressed and walk her, than to hunt for a lost dog a thousand miles from home.
Most of the time I don't mind when she wakes me up early (except on the mornings after several glasses of wine). Much of the time I would be rising early anyway. It's just that when one is camping, and sleeping with the windows open in 47 degree weather, that down comforter feels really nice in the morning, and it's not easy to crawl out from under it.
Maybe Sadie needs her own down comforter.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
In 1610, I'm thinking the tourists probably didn't wear Bermuda shorts
Santa Fe is celebrating its 400th birthday this year. I feel kind of bad that we didn't bring a cake or a present. On the other hand, we will spend some money here at restaurants and such, and in a town that relies heavily on tourism, cash probably is truly the best gift.
It's true that Santa Fe has become commercialized in recent years; we are far from being the only toursits that crowd the sidewalks around the plaza. But I still enjoy visiting here. There is plenty of good art to peruse here, a plethora of excellent restaurants, and the people watching is world class. Plus, the locals aren't intimidated in the least by the swarms of tourists, as evidenced last night by the lowriders cruising the plaza, while high school kids practiced skateboarding while dodging tourists.
Do you ever use Trip Advisor (tripadvisor.com) ? I find it can be helpful to learn about a hotel, restaurant, or other destination one might encounter while travelling; it provides reviews written by travellers. So I was interested when I saw that a new restaurant in Santa Fe had 21 reviews posted, and ALL of them gave the place a full 5 stars! I had never seen a restaurant score 100% before with more than 20 reviews. I was getting hungry just reading the reviews that gushed about how fabulous this place is. So when we showed up at 8pm on a Friday night, why was there only one couple there? Seriously. Just one. And the rest of the place was completely empty. This was puzzling, and somewhat shocking. Normally during tourist season you have to fight your way into a good restaurant on a weekend night. The weather was perfect to dine alfresco, but they didn't have any outside dining, and it was a bit warm inside, so we opted to move on to another place down the street that had a nice patio. I'm still scratching my head over how a place can get such great reviews, and be empty on a weekend night. Maybe the proprieter has lots of friends that wrote the reviews.
It's true that Santa Fe has become commercialized in recent years; we are far from being the only toursits that crowd the sidewalks around the plaza. But I still enjoy visiting here. There is plenty of good art to peruse here, a plethora of excellent restaurants, and the people watching is world class. Plus, the locals aren't intimidated in the least by the swarms of tourists, as evidenced last night by the lowriders cruising the plaza, while high school kids practiced skateboarding while dodging tourists.
Do you ever use Trip Advisor (tripadvisor.com) ? I find it can be helpful to learn about a hotel, restaurant, or other destination one might encounter while travelling; it provides reviews written by travellers. So I was interested when I saw that a new restaurant in Santa Fe had 21 reviews posted, and ALL of them gave the place a full 5 stars! I had never seen a restaurant score 100% before with more than 20 reviews. I was getting hungry just reading the reviews that gushed about how fabulous this place is. So when we showed up at 8pm on a Friday night, why was there only one couple there? Seriously. Just one. And the rest of the place was completely empty. This was puzzling, and somewhat shocking. Normally during tourist season you have to fight your way into a good restaurant on a weekend night. The weather was perfect to dine alfresco, but they didn't have any outside dining, and it was a bit warm inside, so we opted to move on to another place down the street that had a nice patio. I'm still scratching my head over how a place can get such great reviews, and be empty on a weekend night. Maybe the proprieter has lots of friends that wrote the reviews.
Friday, June 11, 2010
My favorite meal in Albuquerque was at El Patio
It's an unassuming place, just an old house on Harvard, but the food was excellent, as was the service. Very casual, with reasonable prices. We were there for a late lunch on a Thursday so it wasn't crowded. I had the chicken and green chile enchiladas, and Kerri had the chile relleno. Both were really good, and they bring you sopapillas and honey for dessert as part of your meal, at no extra charge, and the sopapillas are a work of art, puffed and delicious.
I have a couple of favorite restaurants in Santa Fe (is it obvious that I think about food a lot?), but now there is a place I've never been that I want to try: Santa Luna. Real Mexican food, not Tex-Mex, not New Mexican food, but more like something you might get in Mexico City. Or so they say. Now we have to decide between first going to Santa Luna, or first returning to old favs like Tia Sophia's, The Shed, or Cafe Pascuals. Decisions, decisions.
I have a couple of favorite restaurants in Santa Fe (is it obvious that I think about food a lot?), but now there is a place I've never been that I want to try: Santa Luna. Real Mexican food, not Tex-Mex, not New Mexican food, but more like something you might get in Mexico City. Or so they say. Now we have to decide between first going to Santa Luna, or first returning to old favs like Tia Sophia's, The Shed, or Cafe Pascuals. Decisions, decisions.
Don't we all wish we were Jack Kerouac at one time or another?
So my wife Kerri and I got an Airstream (Streamy) and a pickup (The Beast) to pull her.
Now we're on the road. This morning we're in Albuquerque, Tuesday we were in Amarillo, and in a few hours we'll be in Santa Fe.
We slept with our windows open last night, and the breeze was excellent.
Streamy is a 2010 Airstream International 27' FB (front bedroom), with Ocean Breeze interior. We love her. She looks great inside and out, is well-built, and is easy to pull. Initially we had thought we would get a Class A motor home, but we are so pleased that we didn't. I'm a strong believer in "less is more", and Streamy weighs less, has signficantly less moving parts, and costs way less, when compared to most Class A motor coaches.
The Beast is a 2010 Toyota Tundra with the big V8, and SR5 interior package. It also has the TRD (off road) package, which has stiffer suspension, and is better for towing. The Beast pulls Streamy exceptionally well; driving up the Rocky Mountains has been a good test, and it has passed with flying colors.
Now we're on the road. This morning we're in Albuquerque, Tuesday we were in Amarillo, and in a few hours we'll be in Santa Fe.
We slept with our windows open last night, and the breeze was excellent.
Streamy is a 2010 Airstream International 27' FB (front bedroom), with Ocean Breeze interior. We love her. She looks great inside and out, is well-built, and is easy to pull. Initially we had thought we would get a Class A motor home, but we are so pleased that we didn't. I'm a strong believer in "less is more", and Streamy weighs less, has signficantly less moving parts, and costs way less, when compared to most Class A motor coaches.
The Beast is a 2010 Toyota Tundra with the big V8, and SR5 interior package. It also has the TRD (off road) package, which has stiffer suspension, and is better for towing. The Beast pulls Streamy exceptionally well; driving up the Rocky Mountains has been a good test, and it has passed with flying colors.
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