We had a great flight out to Albuquerque despite having to get up at 4:30 am to get final things packed and kids up before my mom arrived to take us to the airport. The kids were both totally fascinated with the airport and the airplanes, and they both behaved very well on the planes. On the way out, we each sat with a kid, window and middle seats in the same row. It worked very well for passing food and toys and general communication. Jack and I did get a little sleep on our side of the aisle, but I don't think Mike and Jenna did. After a 40 minute wait for our car at a severely understaffed car rental counter, we headed north to Santa Fe, with a quick stop for lunch. I thought the drive to Santa Fe went really fast, but I think that is because I was dozing for most of it (but did hear the serenade at the end).
We arrived in town, passed our hotel, and decided to drive into the center of town. It was crowded, but very neat. We were too tired to get out and look around, so we went back to the hotel and all four of us took a long nap. Can you tell that day 1 of our trip was mostly about naps? The evening brought a trip to the store to get soy milk, diapers, and snacks for the room, and then we picked up dinner and went back to the hotel. I honestly can't remember if we went swimming that night, or waited until the next morning, but I know we had no less than 3 trips to the pool in the first two days. The kids loved the pool. Jack was a little fish. Jenna was a little more reluctant and spent most of her time on the side trying to splash Mike and Jack! I was dealing with a nasty case of poison ivy and the beginning of a cold, so I didn't swim much, but did go down to the pool with the gang when they headed down, so I was able to snap some pictures.
Jenna got this noodle from the maintenance man who found it in the storage room. She loved blowing into it to make bubbles in the pool.
The next 2 1/2 days were in the Santa Fe area, and it was really nice. Very dry weather, warm in the sun but cool in the shade. We wandered through the streets and shops downtown and saw lots of neat things. Mike took a ton of pictures, so I will include just the highlights here then load the rest to my picasa page and post a link when they're up.
An example of some of the unique and beautiful architecture. This was a hotel in downtown. Most of the buildings and homes were adobe or stucco, quite a difference from what we see here in the Midwest! 
Jenna chasing a pigeon down the street next to Palace of the Governors, one of the most historic buildings in the city...but she's impressed only by the pigeon!
We had fantastic food in Santa Fe, just by chance. A lucky spot for lunch, a recommendation from the desk clerk at the hotel, and a restaurant that just looked yummy when we drove by! By far, my favorite was the BBQ from Josh's - Texas style brisket that was so good we went twice - and to be honest, we probably would have gone a 3rd time, but they were closed on Monday!
On Sunday afternoon, when the crew was sleeping, I snuck out to Santa Fe Quilting. It was a really nice shop with tons of batiks and blenders. They had more light batiks than I've ever seen before. I couldn't go crazy though, because of 1)the recent shop hopping in Ohio, and 2)the weight restrictions on luggage these days. I did pick up a few nice batiks and a couple other pieces. Will post pictures as soon as I take them!
Those are the highlights from Santa Fe...will post about Taos and the remainder of the trip in the coming days.
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