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I apologize now for the long-winded, ramblings you are about to skim through but here's an account of our trip. Photos to follow (when I find that blankety-blank camera cable).
We arrived in ABQ around 5 PM on Thurs, 5/15 to very cool weather and rain showers. However, it quickly improved and was wonderful the rest of our trip. We headed straight to Santa Fe, had dinner at the Blue Corn Cafe. Very tasty but not exactly thrilled that we had to buy our chips and salsa.
Friday we met SantaFeScribe for a quick tour of some local Santa Fe homes. He treated us to a great breakfast at Harry's and filled us in on the ins/outs of Santa Fe. We looked at three homes, two in Eldorado, before he turned us loose with maps to explore on our own. And explore we did. We accumulated over 900 miles over the course of our trip. Friday afternoon we headed up to Los Alamos, White Rock and environs north of Santa Fe. Our main focus was to look at the various areas to see what is what and where we may like to live eventually. Our second focus during the latter half of the trip was to locate potential employers and see where they are located in relation to the areas we liked. We lunched at a place north of Santa Fe near Camel Rock, the name was O’ – well that’s as close as I can come to it anyway. The food was great, but a bit on the pricey side for lunch and a little more “gourmet” than we like our New Mexican cuisine.
Friday night found us wandering the plaza and picking up a sweatshirt for Mr. Soggy since it was still a bit chilly. It was amazing to see the changes Santa Fe has undergone since I was last there (about 17 years ago). I know it was bound to change but still a bit sad to see. Not all changes were/are bad but it was nice to think it would always be stuck in that time frame. I guess I would have to say it was more 'floofier' or artsy I guess. I just remember the kitchy, cheap souvenirs and now I felt like I had to prove the credit limit on my credit card before going into some of the shops. Still a great place, but not the place of my childhood – or maybe it is I just saw it through a child’s eye.
We had a great dinner on the new courtyard of the Rio Chama. (GREAT margaritas). It was great to just sit, relax and watch the other patrons while by the fire. Heavenly.
Saturday found us heading out to Pecos for a quick peek - I camped with my parents up there almost every summer growing up. I hardly recognized the place; it has really grown!! Then south down the Turquoise Trail to Tijeras.
We found a lot of homes online that we thought fit our criteria. Then we mapped them and off we went. It's a great way to scope out neighborhoods without wasting the time of realtors. We did catch a couple of open houses so that was good. A great way to compare between SF & this area. We drove all over Tijeras, Edgewood, Sandia Park, etc. We really like the Tijeras & Sandia Park areas. Edgewood was fine, but starting to get more flat & prairie-like for us. It actually reminded us alot of where we both grew up in Springtown, TX.
Sunday – We woke up, looked out our hotel window and saw hot air balloons! Fantastic way to start the morning. We took a break from house hunting long enough to visit the Petroglyphs. Nice hikes, but the ‘glyphs weren’t exactly what I thought they would be. We didn’t hit all the trails so look forward to going back and checking them out.
From there we headed up to Rio Rancho and drove through there. We loved the views (most of them) but found that area a bit more barren than what we like. Nice acreage but we kept thinking all of it was new construction – then we figured out that it was basically just dirt. No landscaping – there weren’t even any weeds!! After a TERRIFIC lunch at The Range (I had the chicken-fried steak; Bryan had enchiladas & steak then we split Life by Chocolate and vowed to come back for more) we headed to Placitas.
We really liked that area a lot. Had the views, house styles and acreage we are looking for – we’d have to be far back to afford it but it was a nice area. From there we checked into a quaint B&B in Algodones called Hacienda Vargas. However, they were having a wedding outside our room so we headed back to ABQ and the Sandia Tramway. Beautiful, although it was a bit hazy that evening. We took the advice of forum and did not eat dinner there but did enjoy the sinking of the sun and looking over all the areas we’d been driving in the days before.
On the way back to Algodones we somehow found ourselves back at where? The Range – this time we both had the enchiladas, great margaritas and Death by Lemon. I’ve already pegged it for my parents when we get moved.
Monday morning found us wandering around Coronado Monument and a brief walk by the river. Today’s focus was on apartments and job locations with a quick jaunt down to Los Lunas.
I know this has been long-winded… sorry. Overall we loved it down there. We didn’t spend a lot of time in ABQ proper so I can’t speak to the crime or the ‘punky’ kids, etc but we really liked the city. I agree with jrod about the downtown could use a bit of revitalization. We were a bit surprised about how small the downtown skyline was, but for us that’s almost a plus. We are a bit tired of the million plus people we have to deal with here. I was impressed by the friendliness of the people and the pride people seem to have for their town. Everyone we talked to was like “you could not dynamite me from this place!”. Good to hear.
Unlike jrod, we are definitely moving just as soon as we can get our place up here sold – I think we would consider it even if it wasn’t closer to my parents but that is as good a reason as any I suppose. Oh yeah, and the sunshine!
Great report, Soggy!! I am going to have to try The Range one of these days. Did you try the one in Bernalillo, or Albuquerque? We went to the Coronado State Monument on Sunday. We enjoyed the murals, and took a quick walk/hike along the river. I think the Petroglyph's are a must see for visitors, but I've read over and over about people being "disappointed" about them. I really enjoyed my visit there, but it hasn't been a place that we have returned.
Have you decided which area you are moving to? If you are moving to Albuquerque, you might want to check out the university/Nob Hill area. The landscaping is mature, so it is filled with beautiful trees, roses, yucca, etc.
yukon - Nope it was just an O with a squiggly-do above it. Near the Tesuque Pueblo I think it was... On the eastside of I-25 heading north, sort of across the street from Camel Rock... sort of. :-)
We hit the Range (both times) in Bernalillo. At lunchtime we had to wait about an hour to get in but we were so late for dinner (8:30-ish) that we were seated right away. I think the enchiladas were better at lunch than at dinner but still great. And a REAL chicken-fried steak... yum - can't find them up here much - Chili's has them but other places... not so good on the CFS.
We didn't spend a lot of time at the 'glyphs so didn't see many which is why I'd like to return but I was snapping pics of a rock and my husband was like "uh, the sign says that one is grafitti". :-(
Right now, no, we don't know where we'll end up. Probably in an apartment or rental house for a while. We are really 'country-folk' so when we buy we'd like to be away from the city with a couple acres. It all depends on where our jobs will be located. From what we scoped out it looks like they will be (for my husband) mostly south near the airport or up at Los Alamos. I'm more flexible in what I do so... just have to wait and see. We loved some of the older, more established neighborhoods of ABQ & SF tho. I would imagine that we will be in the ABQ area just due to the job situation.
O' Eating House (http://www.poehcenter.com/center/poeh-news/oeatinghouse.html - broken link)
it's just O'. Contrary to what I thought, it's not an Irish restaurant ;-"
The sad thing is that, on the way to The O, you passed right by Gabriel's, with it's world-class, prepared at the table Guacamole!
Good post, Soggy! It sounds like you had the worldwind NM Tour, like jrod! The one universal comment I get from visitors to the state is...It's so big and spread out - it didn't look like that on the Map! I'm glad you got a chance to get around and explore, and just think of all the places you can still check out on your next visit!
As to the Range, I love it for breakfast - partial to the Bernalillo location myself! Have also gone to O' and thought it was way overpriced for what they served. Thanks Santafescribe - now I know to stop at Gabriel's next time. Always wondered how it was, and table side prepared Guacamole just sold me!
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O Restaurant
), that would just have been the "warm up" to a real long-winded post!!
