Where to begin?
I've been crying everyday for the past 10 days or so. How is that possible? Extreme sadness, extreme happiness. What an emotional roller coaster.
My blog posts left off with the night I said good-bye to A and then packed up my stuff in preparation for my road trip. After a pretty restless night, I left Casa Wednesday morning. After a small bit of drama about me using a debit card and not being an El Paso resident, Enterprise picked me up in a teeny Kia Rio. I took off for wide open spaces, excited about the journey, even as I was still torn up about saying good-bye.
I spent all day Wednesday driving through the state of New Mexico. The vastness and beauty of the state plus the lack of traffic on the road allowed for some pretty intense moments of deep thoughts and tears, as I reflected on my previous weeks at Casa and the fact that I was actually making this trip. My first stop in New Mexico was in Old Town Albuquerque. As my grandmother would have insisted, the first thing I did there was visit San Felipe de Neri, the Catholic church. My paternal grandparents once lived in Albuquerque for quite some time. The summer before my senior year of high school, I went to visit them as a surprise. The first thing my grandmother insisted on doing once I arrived was going to this church to say a prayer of thanks for my safe journey. So, it felt only appropriate to do the same thing again. As the tourists wandered in and out around me, I just sat in the pew for a good 20-30 minutes, giving silent thanks for all the blessings and love I had recently been surrounded by, as well as for all the people who made my existence and experience possible. It felt good to be able to thank somebody, anybody, for all that was happening.
After the church, I checked out the gift shop next door, where I picked up a few small but symbolic gifts for family. I also picked up a small metal medallion of Saint Teresa for myself. The old Mexican tradition was to name a baby after the saint that was associated with that particular day of the year. October 15th happens to belong to Saint Teresa, who also happens to be the patron saint of headaches. How appropriate. I figured an extra prayer to her now and then can't really hurt. I'm glad my parents didn't follow that tradition, as I don't really care for the name of Teresa, but I'm surprised by how often people have called me that over the years.
After shopping, I was starved, so I stopped at one of the restaurants in Old Town for a bite to eat. Kind of strange yet wonderful to just sit and eat a restaurant meal by myself. I don't know that I've ever done that before. I was super excited to read on the menu that they served sopapillas! I had totally forgotten about this special New Mexico treat. I savored every last bite of the dish, plus the extra complimentary sopapilla the waitress brought over for me. It was the biggest meal I had eaten in weeks!
After lunch, I checked out all the art galleries, tourist shops, and street vendors of Old Town. I took my time just soaking it all in. If I had the money, I would have/could have bought half the stuff they were selling! It's no secret I have a particular fondness for turquoise jewelry, and lots of the stuff for sale was the real deal. I didn't buy anything that day, but I made a note to myself to return on my drive back to El Paso.
After Albuquerque, I took my time driving through northern New Mexico, stopping every so often to get a picture of the historical markers along the highway and just take in the scenery. There's something so peaceful and beautiful about the New Mexico desert. It feels comfortable to me. But, I was ever so grateful that my little car had functioning A/C.
When I left El Paso, I had no idea where I would be spending Wednesday night, which was kind of stressful at the time. I just headed upstate and found myself passing through Taos (gorgeous!) and into a little place called Arroyo Seco. By this time, the sun was starting to set, so I figured I just needed to find someplace to stay for the night. I ended up at a hostel called The Abominable Snowmansion. lol That place was a trip! Fortunately, they had a vacancy and I was given the choice of $19 a night for a bunk bed or $40 a night for a teepee. Now, honestly, if I had been with someone else, I probably would have gone for the teepee, but since I was solo and desperately in need of some good rest, I sprung for the bunk bed.
The girls' room had 15 bunk beds in it, plus one toilet, one sink, and one shower and NO privacy at all. A few years ago, I would have FREAKED OUT. Now, after six months of communal living at Casa, I was like, eh. No big deal. Oh, how I've changed. Before dinner, I ventured out to see what the outdoors had to offer. I met the hostel's owner, Luna, who welcomed me with a big hippie smile and hug. She showed me the community garden growing out back, next to the teepees. I was most interested in the cemetery I discovered just a few minutes down the road, though. There were some really old gravemarkers there, dating back to the time when my family would have been around. And, as I have discovered, the same dozen or so Spanish last names that fill up all northern New Mexico/southern Colorado cemeteries filled up the majority of the cemetery. Since there was a big, mean sign posted about photos being prohibited and punishable by law, I only took a few. It would be really cool to go back there someday and really check out the place. My great-great-great-grandfather was born in Arroyo Seco back in 1826, so I know there is some family history there.
My dinner that night was a bowl of oatmeal and raisins in the communal kitchen. The other young people staying there plus some of the employees headed out to the hot springs after dinner, but I decided to head to bed. Nineteen bucks got me a bunk with one fitted sheet and one flat sheet, and I was on my own for the rest. Not having brought a blanket with me, I just made good use of my thick towel, which made me just comfortable enough to fall asleep.
I've been crying everyday for the past 10 days or so. How is that possible? Extreme sadness, extreme happiness. What an emotional roller coaster.
My blog posts left off with the night I said good-bye to A and then packed up my stuff in preparation for my road trip. After a pretty restless night, I left Casa Wednesday morning. After a small bit of drama about me using a debit card and not being an El Paso resident, Enterprise picked me up in a teeny Kia Rio. I took off for wide open spaces, excited about the journey, even as I was still torn up about saying good-bye.
I spent all day Wednesday driving through the state of New Mexico. The vastness and beauty of the state plus the lack of traffic on the road allowed for some pretty intense moments of deep thoughts and tears, as I reflected on my previous weeks at Casa and the fact that I was actually making this trip. My first stop in New Mexico was in Old Town Albuquerque. As my grandmother would have insisted, the first thing I did there was visit San Felipe de Neri, the Catholic church. My paternal grandparents once lived in Albuquerque for quite some time. The summer before my senior year of high school, I went to visit them as a surprise. The first thing my grandmother insisted on doing once I arrived was going to this church to say a prayer of thanks for my safe journey. So, it felt only appropriate to do the same thing again. As the tourists wandered in and out around me, I just sat in the pew for a good 20-30 minutes, giving silent thanks for all the blessings and love I had recently been surrounded by, as well as for all the people who made my existence and experience possible. It felt good to be able to thank somebody, anybody, for all that was happening.
After the church, I checked out the gift shop next door, where I picked up a few small but symbolic gifts for family. I also picked up a small metal medallion of Saint Teresa for myself. The old Mexican tradition was to name a baby after the saint that was associated with that particular day of the year. October 15th happens to belong to Saint Teresa, who also happens to be the patron saint of headaches. How appropriate. I figured an extra prayer to her now and then can't really hurt. I'm glad my parents didn't follow that tradition, as I don't really care for the name of Teresa, but I'm surprised by how often people have called me that over the years.
After shopping, I was starved, so I stopped at one of the restaurants in Old Town for a bite to eat. Kind of strange yet wonderful to just sit and eat a restaurant meal by myself. I don't know that I've ever done that before. I was super excited to read on the menu that they served sopapillas! I had totally forgotten about this special New Mexico treat. I savored every last bite of the dish, plus the extra complimentary sopapilla the waitress brought over for me. It was the biggest meal I had eaten in weeks!
After lunch, I checked out all the art galleries, tourist shops, and street vendors of Old Town. I took my time just soaking it all in. If I had the money, I would have/could have bought half the stuff they were selling! It's no secret I have a particular fondness for turquoise jewelry, and lots of the stuff for sale was the real deal. I didn't buy anything that day, but I made a note to myself to return on my drive back to El Paso.
After Albuquerque, I took my time driving through northern New Mexico, stopping every so often to get a picture of the historical markers along the highway and just take in the scenery. There's something so peaceful and beautiful about the New Mexico desert. It feels comfortable to me. But, I was ever so grateful that my little car had functioning A/C.
When I left El Paso, I had no idea where I would be spending Wednesday night, which was kind of stressful at the time. I just headed upstate and found myself passing through Taos (gorgeous!) and into a little place called Arroyo Seco. By this time, the sun was starting to set, so I figured I just needed to find someplace to stay for the night. I ended up at a hostel called The Abominable Snowmansion. lol That place was a trip! Fortunately, they had a vacancy and I was given the choice of $19 a night for a bunk bed or $40 a night for a teepee. Now, honestly, if I had been with someone else, I probably would have gone for the teepee, but since I was solo and desperately in need of some good rest, I sprung for the bunk bed.
The girls' room had 15 bunk beds in it, plus one toilet, one sink, and one shower and NO privacy at all. A few years ago, I would have FREAKED OUT. Now, after six months of communal living at Casa, I was like, eh. No big deal. Oh, how I've changed. Before dinner, I ventured out to see what the outdoors had to offer. I met the hostel's owner, Luna, who welcomed me with a big hippie smile and hug. She showed me the community garden growing out back, next to the teepees. I was most interested in the cemetery I discovered just a few minutes down the road, though. There were some really old gravemarkers there, dating back to the time when my family would have been around. And, as I have discovered, the same dozen or so Spanish last names that fill up all northern New Mexico/southern Colorado cemeteries filled up the majority of the cemetery. Since there was a big, mean sign posted about photos being prohibited and punishable by law, I only took a few. It would be really cool to go back there someday and really check out the place. My great-great-great-grandfather was born in Arroyo Seco back in 1826, so I know there is some family history there.
My dinner that night was a bowl of oatmeal and raisins in the communal kitchen. The other young people staying there plus some of the employees headed out to the hot springs after dinner, but I decided to head to bed. Nineteen bucks got me a bunk with one fitted sheet and one flat sheet, and I was on my own for the rest. Not having brought a blanket with me, I just made good use of my thick towel, which made me just comfortable enough to fall asleep.
San Felipe de Neri church
Sopapilla! Basically, a type of light, fried bread that can be stuffed with anything.
Sopapilla stuffed with beans and green chile. A New Mexico treat.
Teepees at the hostel.
The extraordinarily memorable Abominable Snowmansion hostel in Arroyo Seco.
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