This is actually a photo Josh took from the car window. It was on building we saw as we were looking for Old Town, Albuquerque. Thought some of my Facebook friends would appreciate this. As it happens, we had to turn right in order to get the shot.
Remember how when I posted about Pittsburgh I was like, “I love hotels because of their quirks?” Well, The Elegante was no exception. This is what we saw when we pulled up:
So that was weird. Then we went to the check-in kiosk and there was a mink coat for sale for $2000. It didn’t come in Josh’s size and that was too bad, because I would have loved (as some of my work friends suggested) for him to wear that to the interview. The gift shop pushed the regular trinkets–no more mink. The next day while Josh was at his interview, I went for a turkey sandwich at the hotel lounge. It came to me in a tortilla, grilled with green chilies. If that’s a sandwich, what’s a quesadilla? Just curious. It was tasty, though, make no mistake. The next morning I ordered blueberry pancakes with hash-browns at some quaint little restaurant in Sante Fe (we sat by the fireplace). The hash-browns came with green chilies. Again, tasty. I’m starting to appreciate the green chili. Whether I mean to, or not.
We shopped, we drove aimlessly, we never got honked at! That’s the thing that stands out. I loved how relaxed everyone was. (I loved the long skirts in all the shops too–totally my thing–but I digress). Everyone and everything is just sooooo laid back. (Even the hotel Internet access was laid back, so I got a lot of reading done and watched The Price Is Right–Drew Carey sucks btw, what’s going on with that?) Anyway, there’s not a lot of gunning for success, it seems. If you make eye contact with a passerby, you will be greeted with a smile or a brief conversation about the weather. There’s also a lot of poverty, which has a weird way of calming me down and making me focus on things besides what I want and need and want and need. I feel like I could live there. Easily. I really wouldn’t mind a little easy.
Jody Sparks Mugele 
I learned on my trip there that they are all about the green chiles… you’d think they’d get a little old as a side to EVERYTHING?
At first I thought the Ten Commandments were going to be tongue-in-cheek… but no. I suppose they want to tell people in no uncertain terms that there is to be NO HANKY PANKY going on in their hotel (nor any cursing, murdering, or talking back to mom and dad while you’re at it).
LOL on the mink… I was imagining Elaine’s bf on Seinfeld (Putty?). All Josh would need is a pimp hat and a snazzy cane and he’d be all set. (For what, I don’t know.)
My sister lives in NM and the restaurants there ask “green or red?” regarding what type of chile sauce you want. I don’t know if chilies are the state plant of NM, but they should be.
I’m sure it’s hard to decide which city to live in….good luck!!