Part of my survival plan for life is the absolute necessity to take a break from business and normal life to travel. Regularly breaking the routine getting away. Far enough away you have no choice but to disengage. Vacation is a prescription for an attitude adjustment. I am fortunate enough to be in business with my daughters so things can continue as they normally do while I am gone. Knowing the business is in good hands my wife and I set out for our yearly vacation. A two week road trip from Northern Illinois down to southeast New Mexico and north to Colorado and over to Moab Utah.
The journey was epic and the sights did not disappoint. We drove many hours and visited places we have only heard about for years. It may have been the best trip we have taken, ever. It was about 5 days into our trip we ended up in Sante Fe New Mexico heading to Durango Colorado. We didn't know what to expect and it was a busy day in the historic square. I am sure it is busy more often than not. It seems to be one of the main attractions for food and shopping and art shops. After circling and finding parking we set out to explore the area.
Our vacation was more focused on being outdoors and seeing awesome natural wonders. National Parks and the Rocky Mountains awaited so after some window shopping and strolling the square it was time to get some food. Thanks to a small guide book my wife read, we knew of a good restaurant to eat at in the area. We wanted some authentic New Mexican food. So we found our lunch spot in Sante Fe, The Shed.
We get in and they seat us at a table along a wall. On the wall side is a long bench and on the opposite side is a single chair. It is a row of tables for two and we sit at the second table from the wall. The restaurant is busy but we are seated right before the lunch rush. Menus and water are left on the table and we begin to study what we want to eat. As we talk there is a woman seated to my right dining alone. She is eating a meal and drinking what looks like a signature margarita from the cocktail menu. There is not much room between the patrons seated along the wall so our neighbor is immediately involved in our conversation, in a good way.
She is dressed in a fancy sun hat and colorful clothing. Eventually we find out her name is Delores. We get an education from a life long resident of the area on the difference between Mexican style food and what we are about to eat at The Shed, food cooked in a traditional New Mexican style. The food is a mixture of Pueblo, Spanish and Mexican influences.
I stick to the water but my wife orders an old fashion from the drink menu. She tells Delores she likes old fashions when we visit Wisconsin. She said, "Oh, how do you pronounce that?" My wife repeated "Wisconsin." I didn't hear anything out of the ordinary but Delores was enjoying my wife Midwestern accent. Or maybe it was the signature margarita kicking in. Delores tells us she once had a boyfriend from Chicago but he married a woman from Wisconsin there in Sante Fe.
She is impressed with our travels from the east to the west and through the center to the state of New Mexico. Usually most people travel from top to bottom, but we may have chosen the better route. I'm glad Delores approved. We order our food. A traditional tamale plate and a pork adobada dinner. Again Delores approved.
My wife asked her questions about what we could see in the area within walking distance and that is when we realized that Sante Fe is the state capitol and we are close enough to visit easily. Delores tells us she was there that day because a former governor was laid in state and his funeral was the next day. She had been there to pay her respects to Bill Richardson. Then she reassured us we could still visit the capitol building and tour it even though the body is there for a viewing.
The food comes to the table and we devour it. We were hungry and it did not disappoint. The food was excellent. While we are eating Delores tells us she has her dog in a carrier between her and the wall. It's name is Sophia and she shows us pictures on her phone. I don't know if this is allowed or she is sneaking around with Sophia. It's a small carrier and the dog never made a peep. She orders another drink from the waitress as we wait for our check.
While my wife is away from the table for a few minutes she start asking me questions in rapid fire succession. Are we married, how long, about children and a few others. She sensed she was losing her lunch companions. We pay our bill and say our good-byes. Delores and Sophia were in the corner when we left. It was an interesting lunch with the two of them. There were only a couple of conversations with strangers on our trip. We were busy running to and fro. But the kindness, conversation and a wee little craziness from the corner table made our visit to the Shed just as enjoyable as the food we ate.
We did get to tour the State Capitol in Sante Fe. They let us in and we roamed without a tour. Another couple from Nebraska walked around with us for a minute and we all remarked how strange it seemed we had such access to the building especially since the former Governor's flag-draped casket was on display and a steady stream of visitors were there to pay respects. Thanks for the heads up Delores and rest in peace Governor.
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