Going Places

I'm having a serious need to travel. Right now, I don't even much care where. I can't make plans to go out of the country until I get my passport. Besides, I discovered yesterday that September through November is the rainy season in Costa Rica, and I'm not spending my vacation money to travel someplace where I'll be stuck inside for the duration of the trip. A few months ago, I was craving the desert -- not the best place to travel in summer -- and I'm feeling that urge again. Maybe I'll go to Santa Fe. It's one of my favorite places, and November is a pretty good time to go.

Santa Fe is the coolest capital city I've even been to. You're just driving along, out in the middle of nowhere, and suddenly you see a city high above you. There are a few homes at the bottom of the mountain before you start to ascend, but (as I recall) there isn't much as you head up the hill. And then it appears, a pretty small city built around Governor's Plaza, the government and shopping area. Native crafters spread out their wares on "The Porch", a wide sidewalk on the Plaza. Old blends with new. It's an interesting mix of people and things.

The last time I went -- and I've been only twice -- was about eight years ago. I may have written about that trip before. My oldest son was living in Dallas at the time, and the younger two and I flew out there, spent a few days with him, and then took to the road. We had no real destination or timetable; I thought it would be nice if we made it to Santa Fe, but I was also okay with the possibility we might not. We did everything when we felt like it, staying in divy motels, until we did in fact reach Santa Fe, where we splurged and stayed at the Hilton Santa Fe for a few days before driving back to Dallas. My younger two sons were seventeen and thirteen at the time, and the trip was a great bonding time. I had been annoyed with them before we took off on the road because they didn't seem to be excited enough about going to the desert. I told them it was so cool and different; truly the topography is so strange (at least to someone from the Mid-Atlantic area) that it seems like another planet. They redeemed themselves by being appropriately blown away when we got to the desert.

If I travel there soon, my trip will be a bit more sedate and direct, and I don't think I'll stay at the Hilton. I would like to be close to the Plaza; otherwise I don't care that much about accommodations. I have been changing my mind a lot lately -- and some of what I talk about here is just daydreaming -- so I'm not going to make any definitive plans at the moment. But I'm planning to make a plan.