September Anniversary Trip - Santa Fe & 58 Years

Because Santa Fe is one of our favorite places with lots of family memories, we chose to return after almost 25 years to celebrate our 58th wedding anniversary.  The last time we were there, we introduced this place of enchantment to our oldest grandchild, Chandler.

The old marker on the right side of the road that we always stopped and climbed on to take a picture has been replaced with this large overhead sign.  It is not nearly as much fun as the old one.

Cline's Corner was always a stop as it is where we would turn to go toward Glorieta.  It hasn't changed a bit.

The view on this road brought back memories as we always got excited when we could see mountains in the distance.  This trip was no exception.

The first thing we did after checking into our hotel was to walk to the Plaza.  They were having a big Labor Day Festival with all sorts of vendors.  It was quite a busy place on this Monday, but we didn't mind.  It was exciting to just be there.

We enjoyed an ice cream cone while people watching and enjoying the atmosphere.

We enjoyed visiting with this Native American jewelry maker and hearing about his history and heritage.

This lady was also very interesting as she told us that her disabled daughter was the inspiration for her jewelry.  Everyone has a story and most are eager to share it with someone interested in hearing it.

John and Michelle gifted us with a delicious anniversary dinner at a wonderful steak house.  We started with a complimentary glass of champagne, then an appetizer of roasted bone marrow before having the most delicious steaks.  We loved our special gift and are so grateful for their thoughtfulness.

Afterwards we walked around and enjoyed many examples of the extradentary sculptures along the streets.

After our long and wonderful day, we did feel much like this fallen Indian - exhausted and in need of some rest.

The next morning we met Prestonwood friends, the Clarks for brunch at the Laredo Hotel.  They have had a home there for almost 15 years and had sold it just a day before meeting us.  We so enjoyed this time with them.

We then began our walking tour of the town beginning with the Church of St. Francis of Assisi.  We had never been inside so decided it was time.

It is beautiful and we were so glad we finally took the time to visit.  It had a baptismal pool for anyone wanting to be emersed.

There were not nearly as many Indian vendors in front of the Governor's Palace as there used to be.

We saw the State Capital Building which was not far from our hotel before visiting the Poteet Victory Art Gallery.

My hairdresser, Kent James had been telling me about his father's best friend who is an artist in Santa Fe.  I knew when we visited this would definitely be a stop.

While I looked around, Dick had the best visit with Poteet's wife.  She is the most friendly and down-to-earth person you could ever meet.  It was a delightful time.

And this is the artist himself.  Such a high point of our stay in Santa Fe.

We ended our memorable day and stay in Santa Fe with a snack and the most delicious shake in this outdoor cafe right on the Plaza.  We could not have celebrated our special day, and relived memories in a better way.  Tomorrow we go to Moab, Utah.

May Family Florida Beach Trip

For some now unknown reason, I never published about our April 29 - May 6, 2023 Family Florida Beach Trip.  Although I posted daily on Facebook what we had done each day with accompanying pictures to prove it, I never compiled it for my blog book.  

So, here goes a very belated record of our amazing week with our amazing family.

April 29: First evening at the beach with the family. We are looking so forward to spending this week with our kids, grands and greats.

Our first full beach day began with Brad, Jackson and Michelle preparing a delicious mid-morning breakfast before we all headed to the beach. It was 57 degrees and wind was 20 mph so it wasn’t a perfect beach time, but fun nevertheless. After naps, snacks, reading, starting a 1000 piece puzzle, making a coffee and cornhole run, we later went out for a fun dinner and another late night together.

Day 3 @ the Beach the morning was perfect for spending time in the sand. Dick and I did our routine walk before joining the family in our Day nest.

Jax still is not sold on the sand but Landon wore himself out and did his own nesting in Mommy’s lap for an hour.

Savannah, ever the domestic princess prepared blueberry muffins, bacon and cheese grits for a brunch in the sun.

We saw neighbor fishermen catch a baby shark which was exciting.

In the evening we divided, with the 2 sisters dressing up and dining together; the two grandparent couples walked to The Perfect Pig Grill and got back in time to babysit and put babies to bed so their parents could have a delightful evening alone before Brad had to return to Dallas.

Our Day 4 Beach Trip started early when Brad learned at 3:30 a.m. that his 3:30 a.m. driver to the airport had cancelled. God had me & Dick awake so we were able to drive him to Panama City in time for his 6 a.m. flight back to Dallas.

The majority of the day was spent on the beach. Both boys decided the cool water and sand could be fun after all.

The evening was spent on a different beach for professional Day Family pictures and a gorgeous sunset. You will find them at the end of this post.

The final 2 Beach Days were rather slow and relaxing. The girls went shopping, ate the best delivered pizza, shopped some more and ate leftover pizza. Thursday night the Day family had a special night out for Mother’s Day and birthdays while we had an evening with Chandler and Landon. Friday, the girls went to Rosemary Beach and the boys saw a movie. Then we all celebrated with Mexican food brought in while gathering all our belongings into 4 different vehicles for an early morning departure.

This truly has been a blessed time together with our family, for which we will forever be grateful.

Our group reluctantly parted ways this morning leaving nothing undone, nothing unsaid, and love unshared. Until next time!