I struggled with where to go or if I should go somewhere for my birthday. Next year is a milestone birthday so I want to go somewhere epic so it didn’t seem like I should make a fuss for this year. I do however only want to visit places we haven’t been to make it fun.
The place had to be accessible by a non-stop flight 4 hours or less. I toyed with Canada, Minneapolis (I could get another state!), or visiting the spa in Arizona again. I just couldn’t figure it out. Then I thought ok forget the state what city or cities have I never visited and always wanted to go. That’s when Sante Fe sprung to mind. My mom is from New Mexico, Roswell to be specific, and I’ve visited the state many times. We had to fly into Albuquerque to drive to Roswell one year and we visited the town a bit so I’d been there as well. Sante Fe intrigued me. It’s full of art, artists, and lots of museums. These are things I love and would have an amazing time enjoying.
I booked my travel for a solo trip as I hadn’t taken a solo vacation in quite a few years but after I was all set I asked Lorene to come and she of course said yes.
We stayed overnight in Albuquerque and had lunch downtown, did a little sightseeing and shopping and then took a trolley tour.
We then headed to Sante Fe and stayed two nights at the Hotel Santa Fe, Hacienda & Spa, a lovely posh place with lush surroundings. It’s centrally located and just a leisurely walk to downtown and the Capital building. The second morning, my birthday, we walked to downtown and then took a walking history tour of Sante Fe. It turned our September 14th was our guides birthday as well and over half the tour had birthdays that weekend or in September. I did my usual speil on why there are so many birthdays in September and how Virgo is the most populated zodiac sign.
The tour lasted over 4.5 hours and by then end we were beat. I had scheduled a museum tour for later in the day but we kept getting closer to the timed entry for my ticket and I figured we would miss it so we had a leisurely lunch. After lunch we figured why not call and see if we could come another time and they confirmed we could just show up. This turned out so wonderfully because now I can’t imagine how I’d have felt if I missed the museum. It’s called Meow Wolf and it’s a wonderfully wacky and colorful place filled with interactive and immersive art installations. I had never heard of it but when I kept searching for things to do in Sante Fe, it kept popping up at the top of the search. I figured why not and I’m so glad I did. Lorene loved it as well. They have others in various cities and I’m hoping to visit some others in the future.
We had dinner at Amaya, in the hotel, which serves wonderfully and delicious Native American inspired cuisine.
We headed home the following day and my birthday weekend was complete and I was fulfilled.
Full pics here.