Vacation 3.0

my favorite photo of the weekend - 2 men, 2 maps and still totally lost!

3.0 because this is the 3rd child free vacation in 2 years that Hugh and I have taken... whoo-hoo, don't try to stop us because we are cosmopolitan and travel savvy. Also, we have cool luggage.

Ok, cool luggage is sort of a lie. We do have very nice (black... surprise!) suitcases that we couldn't use (even though Christy got us a sassy "Not Your Bag" tag in neon orange) for this trip because we forgot to take them out of the garage and, considering the garage is currently the scene of a house-murder, they are covered in quite possibly 4 inches of dust. They look like they are recent excavations and must be photographed and their placement in the garage carefully marked for future generations. Not that big of a deal except we didn't think of this little problem until 5 am the morning we were leaving for Santa Fe. The solution? We borrowed duffel bags from the kids. One was a red, nylon Nike sporty bag and the other a blue Hawaiian floral print Quicksilver. Hi. We can reach out and practically touch 40, but we still pack like teens... I guess I should just be grateful we weren't stuck with what my MIL calls an, "Alabama Suitcase", which, if I am hearing her correctly, is nothing more than a plastic grocery sack.

If you have never been to Santa Fe I suggest you take a good look at your calendar and plan yourself a little trip. I could go on and on and on about the people, the architecture, the food (OMG, the FOOD) the drinks (Black Dragon Margarita... silver tequila, Cointreau, fresh lime juice, and & a float of cassis...that's all I'm saying...) and the small random Pomeranian dog that a girl is sometimes forced to save from being run over by a large black truck by running out into the middle of traffic in a pair of high wedge sandals and skirt waving her arms frantically at the driver of said black truck while trying to stomp on the leash with said wedge sandal as 3 fat women stand by and look at you with faces set in equal parts of horror and disinterest. But, you know, you really have to go yourself. Then call me and we will gush together about the spirituality of the place, the amazing jewelry, the air so clean that it smells like nothing and what a gift it is to be able to visit a place that, when you are quiet and listen, you can hear the peace.

Also, I would encourage you to stop reading this blog now and go and open the Yellow Pages and look up, "Thai Massage". I would then call and book one for later on today... you will be glad you did.

I'll wait.

Waiting.

Ok, call me and we'll also talk about how decadent and amazing it feels to have someone manhandle and tweak your body into long and lovely stretches. A massage so fabulous it can only be described as delicious.

This holiday may have saved my sanity. Our hotel, the Inn of the Anasazi, was an ideal retreat. If you ever need a place to go and re-coup your sense of balance, forget about the chaos of construction, treat yourself to world class shopping (who knew Santa Fe was the place to go for all the best Japanese designers? Can you say,edgy deconstructed blouses?), and enjoy the promise of ending your day with delectable tequila based cocktails... Santa Fe, baby, Santa Fe.

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for jodie: not only did i totally save this dog (called, "Goliath"), but i also took a photo to document his alive-ness.