Texas and Santa Fe Continued....

We enjoyed our stay in San Antonio very much. The kids all gave it a 10 on a scale of one to ten. The River Walk really is unique. There are uniformed greeters at almost every entrance that will answer your questions and point you in the right direction. We learned a brief history of the River Walk from the kind gentleman at one of these entrances.

We had a long drive across the rest of the state of Texas to our next stop, El Paso. On our way to El Paso we stopped for breakfast in a town named Kerrville. Pat spotted a western wear shop and his curiosity got the best of him so we checked out the store. Pat got himself a real cowboy hat and Fiona found some pink and red cowgirl boots! Tierney was happy to find some new tank tops. The boys felt no need to go with us and stayed in the van.

As we left San Antonio we watched the landscape slowly change over to the desert type environment surrounded by huge mountain ranges. The winds were strong and Pat had to really keep both hands on the wheel to manage the van. We never went into the downtown area as we got in pretty late and were pretty whipped from the long day in the car. We were happy to just grab some dinner at the hotel and do some laundry! They had a washing machine for guests to use. So a very much needed quiet evening getting ready for another long drive ( to Santa Fe). We thought we would check out El Paso on our way out of town in the morning. We changed our minds when the guy at the gas station made sure Pat knew it was a tough town (after seeing the van full of kids and loaded up with all our bags). We figured it was not worth having the van broken into or some other traveling misphap. We are quite the target as the tourists loaded down with cameras and laptops. So we drove all the way through town, which confirmed the intel. Then we got on I-10, then I-25 and headed north to Santa Fe.

Made it to Santa Fe by and were able to walk around town before having dinner at The Bull Ring Steak House. Excellant meal and our waitress gave us great pointers on how to spend our one and only full day in Santa Fe. This town is probably tying for first place on my list of favorites so far. I had Memphis at number one but Santa Fe is vying hard to displace Memphis for the top of my list! There is a great town square with museums, shops, and historic churches. The oldest church (Cathedral of Saint Francis) in US is here in Santa Fe. As is the oldest house....but we did not make it to the oldest house. We went to the Georgia O'Keefe museum. She is one of my favoite artists so that was a real treat for me. I enjoyed introducing the family to her artwork. I purchased a book with her artwork and photography by Ansel Adams. Hoping to inspire our photography with this since Ansel Adams photographed most of the places we will be visiting in the next week.

We went to the Loretto Chapel, home of the Miraculous Staircase which is a spiral staircase with no center support which does two complete 360 degree turns. We will post pictures so you can see. Maybe Pat can post the story behind the staircase since I did not absorb all the information quite like my husband and will only be corrected if I submit incorrect information!

Had great breakfast and lunch at local hangouts suggested by the people working in the hotel and at last night's restaurant. We are so full that we may just take one last walk around town instead of getting dinner. It has been alternating between rain and sun all day. The sun has just popped out again and we are thinking there might be a spectacular sunset.

Pat bought me a custom fit cowboy hat today. I am not sure it will have quite the pizazz as Fiona's! They had a 95 year old machine in the store that measures the shape of your head and makes an outline of the shape of your head. We should have taken a photo of this machine. Not sure that I needed to know that the shape of my head resembles a rodent! I will not receive the hat for about 4 weeks. I will be sure to parade around Potomac in my new hat. Maybe Pat and I will start a new fashion trend in Maryland!

Neil, ever the fashion plate, felt the need for a hat as well. He just really wanted a sombrero for some reason. He even allowed me to take a photo of him in said sombrero. Now Owen and Tierney need to find the right hat for the trip.

We have another long drive tomorrow. We head to Sedona and plan to visit the meteor crater on our way to Sedona. Pat has no parking tales to tell but will post something to entertain you all later this evening.