Santa Fe. 1.

Apparently, the Balloon festival in Albuquerque (an easy hour away) counts as a holiday here ... hence the extra 'holiday rate' for parking. oh well.

breakfast of fajitas! from the cool street vendor. oh yes, he's been in Gourmet magazine, Bon Apetit, Chicago Tribune, etc. and he has a drink called Jamaica - which includes VERMONT maple syrup as one of the key ingredients! - VT rocks -

A little alley shopping. A little store shopping (slightly more dangerous). Snack at the Ore House. A little more wandering about with wallets open. And then off to search out the Burger joint of Erin's carefree college years.

It either moved or is gone. which is a shame. because it was damn good, and inexpensive. ... wait ... underpriced and over quality ... maybe that's the reason. So, instead of trying to go to the chinese place being put in (since it was mostly a pile of rubble) we mosied on over to Il Vicino's Pizza. Voted #! in Santa Fe some number of years in a row. delicious. their draft style homemade authentic rootbeer was sticky and caramel and heavy on the sassafras root. don't get that. but get the pizza. any of them really. nice thin crust, but with lots of fresh toppings, not doughy, well cooked, great service, free showers, lap dances, etc.

Considered seeing a movie - as a novelty, seeing as how we are in a real town with actual theatres - but the pizza was starting to kick in the nap glands, so we went to the store.

liquor store(s).

note the parenthetical s.

not because we couldn't find the stuff that was needed, nor that we bought out one store and had to move on to the next like a roaming group of vultures fallen off the wagon, but rather that every liquor store in Santa Fe is buried in a ghetto. with barred steel windows. a heavy Mexican with a shotgun behind the register. a Honda civic in front, jacked up, gangster inside. barbed wire dental floss for sale in the side aisle. no lights on outside. and a parking lot with automatic tire spike holes on either exit.

sketchy doesn't begin to describe the places that we drove as close to as possible without catching airborn Herpes, and then drove off.

the one place that purchases were made at - John went in alone, hell, why lose more than one travel companion - all doors were locked, engine left running, and in gear, a secret knock developed in case he came out with someone tailing him too closely, and a time limit posed for how long we'd wait until driving off and looping back.

Tequila and Mix were purchased. As was a How I met Your Mother season set.

Picnic bench - one computer taken out. few episodes in ... rain. should we stop watching ... or ... take out the tarp! Few more episodes under the tarp, with the rain pouring down, thunder and lightening shooting overhead ... and all of us crouched matching TV shows.

computer battery pooped out ... so ... since it's lightening and raining ... and the battery is dead ... we could stop ... or ... my battery is still good, and it's in the SUV! another seven episodes in a nice, dry car, that occasionally was needed for bursts of 84 degree air, and light to pour mix, but otherwise a well appreciated theatre experience!

I mean ... camping experience ... we are camping, right?