Geegaws, Sweet Potatoes and Jocularity at the End of the Santa Fe Trail

On Thursday, Nov. 9, before the sun had a chance to even think about rising, Barb Hayward (my sister-in-law), Noreen Kennedy (my sister) and I boarded a plane headed to Albuquerque, NM. (Mary K. LaTempe -- also a sister-in-law -- joined us later in the day.)


Our mission? Find and procure vast amounts of jewelry, pottery and art while eating a steady supply of chips and salsa and drinking margaritas (on the rocks with salt, please).

Operation Geegaw was a wild success with much laughing during the procurement process.

Minimal purchases were made on Thursday due to fatigue and Barb's struggle with FBHD. (For an explanation, please see Karen Fitz). The troops were reenergized with lunch at the Church Street Cafe and dinner at Little Anita's. Barb also overcame her bout with FBHD with a Robitussan/vodka/Pepto elixir (custom brewed in the penthouse suite of the Monterrey Non-Smokers Motel).


On Friday, after again patronizing the Church Street Cafe, we achieved geegaw nirvana. Our "strategery" was to spend two hours at Skip Maisel's, another hour at The Palms, then tour Old Town in a blitz that can only be described as "shock and awe." Here is a small sampling of our shopping booty.




On Friday, we had a unique encounter with Chief NotACostume. He educated all of us about the differences between a costume and an outfit, for which I'm eternally grateful. (How did I live all these years without understanding the difference between a costume and an outfit?) During his ceremonial dance, he asked the Great Spirit for an Annie Oakley jacket just like mine, but to no avail.

On Saturday, the team began to fade. We drove to Santa Fe and, after a stop at the Cedar Grill (Barb, was that the name of it?) for the most delicious breakfast I've ever eated, we headed directly to Jackalope, which offers "fine Mexican folkart by the truckload." Group purchases were less than $100, I'm ashamed to say. From there we headed uptown to the Square, and, well, I can only say that Show & Tell was very short. We did laugh our way through dinner at Maria's Kitchen with discussions of "brumskis" and assorted other less-than-ladylike topics.



On Sunday, we started on the High Road to Taos. Taos was our ultimate destination, but first a stop in Chimayo for breakfast and some miracle dirt guaranteed to cure osteoporosis, FBHD, acid reflux, snoring, and sweet potatoe-itis.

• When we finally landed in Taos, we discovered first and foremost that my new Annie Oakley coat wasn't warm enough. In what I'm calling the "Great Coat Caper of 2006," I gave my coat to Barb, Barb gave her coat to Mary K, Mary K gave her coat...oh, that's right, she didn't bring a warm coat. Noreen was the only one to retain her original coat. While I was freezing, let me just state for the record, that I looked "way cool."

Prior to arriving in Taos, Noreen interrupted discussions of brumskis with a suggestion we start a new secret society called The Divine Secrets of the Sweet Potato Sisterhood. Much of the rest of the return trip to Santa Fe was consumed with an analysis of the pros and cons of such a group. After all was said and done, we decided to give the group a try, elected Jay as our new president and took an oath never to reveal the group's rites of initiation.

Ladies, I had a blast. Leave a comment with your favorite trip memory. Remember, others will be reading this, so be careful what you reveal.....Until next year, let me leave you with this photograhic memory (see left).