The Plaza

The downtown Santa Fe Plaza doesn't need many words. A gathering place for as much diversity as your heart could desire. My pictures don't capture it all by any means, but here are some glimpses...

 

Day in Albuquerque

On my New Mexico trip list was a visit with my cousin, Heidi, and possibly a trip down the road to Albuquerque where my parents honeymooned in 1946 and where Heidi now lives. We left on Saturday morning for a drive down Interstate 25, not the most scenic route, but a fast, smooth ride. On our list for next time is the Turquoise Trail which promises a little more adventure and a lot more exposure to the history and natural wonders of the area.

As we drove out of town and headed south, we remarked we were most likely driving the same route my parents took. The photo below shows them after the wedding with suitcases packed and ready to leave Santa Fe for Albuquerque, and an old photo shows the historic Franciscan Hotel where they stayed. It was built in 1923 on the NW corner of  Central Avenue and 6th Street in Albuquerque, but has long since been torn down.

Coming into Albuquerque, I saw the Rio Grande River for the very first time. Although the river was not a spectacular sight at this particular spot, seeing it was spectacular indeed, since the Rio Grande figures in many of the great stories of the southwest that I read as a child. A few photos from the road show the river, surrounding hills, and the freeway. Yes, the freeway. When the freeway ramps are painted turquoise, they are worthy of their very own photo.

The highlight of the trip to Albuquerque was our visit with my cousin, Heidi. Heidi is a wonderful artist and the most creative person I know. Our afternoon spent together was most delightful. Here are a few photos of her home and yard. When she moved in, the yard was a blank canvas (read "rock solid, pick-axe hard soil) and the work she has done so far boggles the mind. You can see Heidi's art and sculpture at her own website and at Zane Bennett Contemporary Art where some of her work is currently on display.

 

Meeting Dorothy

Day two in Santa Fe was just about as good as it gets. We had a date arranged with Dorothy, a retired school teacher and currently a museum docent at the Santa Fe History Museum. Dorothy and I had been corresponding for a few months, ever since I found out that she was a member of the First Baptist Church of Santa Fe when my parents got married there in 1946. My parents always liked to tell the story of how they didn't have time to plan a big wedding, so they booked the church and had their wedding immediately after the Sunday morning service on a sunny day in April. That morning at the close of the service, everyone was invited to stay for the wedding and reception that the ladies of the church had arranged. Now, I have heard that story again and again, and when I listened, I thought of it as a sweet experience, unique to my parents. But Dorothy said that after the war many people were far from home in that same situation and that the "after church" weddings were common. She recalled that the people of the church enjoyed making those occasions very special for the service men and women. Dorothy did not remember my parents, but when I told her the date, she said it was very likely that she was there at the wedding and that her mother had probably been one of the ladies who arranged the reception. And further, she told me, she had stayed a member of that church and had married there herself. Dorothy invited us as her guests to the museum tour that day and afterwards for a personalized tour of Santa Fe. The museum tour was fascinating, so fascinating that we went back to the museum the next day because there was so much to see. After the tour, we joined Dorothy for an informative drive through many historic areas of interest.

My parents coming out of the First Baptist Church after their wedding on 14 April 1946.

 

Dorothy had a picture of the inside of the old church which has long since been torn down. This is the front of the sanctuary, the exact place where my parents stood and said their vows. The picture was taken just a few years later.

 

Above is a photo of my parents standing by a tree on the church grounds after their wedding. Next is a picture of Dorothy and me standing by one of the few original trees that still remain on the site of the old church building.

Below is a close-up of Dorothy and me. Can you tell we hit it off?

       

This is the house at 314 McKenzie Street in Santa Fe where my mother lived with her parents before she and my dad were married. The house is just a few blocks from the center of old town Santa Fe so I am confident that I walked the very streets my parents and grandparents walked nearly 70 years ago.

Santa Fe - Settling In

A little get-away is what we need, maybe somewhere warm, how about a state I've never been in, how about a place I've always wanted to go... that's how we came to plan a trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico. My grandparents and mom lived there in 1946 on McKenzie street, just a few blocks from the historic downtown plaza. My parents dated, became engaged, got married, and made their first home in Santa Fe. And they became pregnant with me, their first baby, in Santa Fe. Lots of reasons to go to Santa Fe, walk the streets, remember all the stories, and listen to whatever my parents might tell me while I was there where they started out life as a married couple. So off we went and from the moment I stepped off the plane (in the second smallest airport I've ever been in, second only to Whakatane, in New Zealand), I felt the warmth and beauty that is Santa Fe. First things first, we settled in at the "Old Santa Fe Inn" on Gallisteo Street which is a few short blocks from the center of the historic downtown area.