Travel
Happy Birthday to me!
Another year older. This morning when I got up, I decided that would hike up Sun Mountain at sunrise; it was simply gorgeous. It’s definitely a challenging hike. It’s only about a mile and a half, but it can get pretty steep. I had to pause several times to catch my breath; I’m still acclimating to the higher altitude here. It’s also about a mile from where we’re staying so I decided to walk to the trail head. The walk there is fine, but I was pretty worn out on the way back. It was totally worth the effort! the views of Santa Fe and the surrounding mountains are amazing. I hiked to the peak once before, last time we stayed here and it was equally beautiful.
Santa Fe Birthday
We’re in Santa Fe this week; in part to celebrate our birthdays. It’s the third time Maura and I have been here together. We both love it here! It’s very different from where we live; a much more stark beauty. The culture, food, and environment - it’s such a cool place. The Museum of International Folk Art is an amazing, magical collection of, well, folk art. The last time we were here, we stayed at a B and B near Sun Mountain - each day I would hike a little further up to the top, then chicken out, mostly because I knew I’d have to hike back down. The last day we were here I made it to the top, which was just amazing - great views of Santa Fe, the sunrise, everything. We’re staying in the same place for this visit and I don’t plan to wait until the last day to make it to the top this time. I didn’t go up this morning, but I’m still acclimating to the thinner air here. I did take some pictures on my hike this morning, it’s just so pretty here!
Davenport, Iowa
So we drove to Davenport yesterday to see Low. It took about six hours with stops, not bad, but enough to mess with our backs. I like roadtrips with Maura, we talked and listened to some new tunes on the way up - the new Jack White is pretty good! Once we got to town, we settled into our hotel, then walked around to check out the downtown area. The venue - the Racoon Motel, was right down the street from where we were staying. Next door to it, we found a record shop, Ragged Records, where we found a nice little haul.
We grabbed some dinner at the Front Street Brewery, and I checked the Racoon Motel’s Facebook page while we were waiting on our food. The show had been canceled due to a couple of positive COVID tests. We were seriouly bummed. I’ve been imagining hearing Low’s latest music live for months and we were just hours away from doing so. The show was rescheduled for another Friday in July, which we will make work. We figured we were here so we might as well make a night of it, so we asked our waitress about other spots to check out nearby. She did not dissapoint; there are some pretty great bars in downtown Davenport. First, we figured we should check out the venue since we had come all this way, so we grabbed a beer there, commiserated with the staff, and checked out the stage - it’s a small area; it’s going to be very loud (in July)! After that, we went to a bar with a perfect name: Devon’s Complaint Dept.
They mixed some great drinks, and the bar had a cool retro vibe. We’ve been trying to get out more lately, but I can’t remember the last time we went bar hopping! It’s kind of a shame that we had to drive all the way to Davenport, but the drinks were tasty and way cheaper!
Meanwhile, back at the hotel, we discovered that it was hosting a youth dance competition. There were many families with young girls in way too much makeup and glittery outfits. I’m sure they were having the time of their lives, but we didn’t particularly enjoy the noise levels. The hotel has a central atrium around the rooms; they were very loud and echoey. They were running around until pretty late, which was so much fun for us after a night on the town! We ended up playing Low’s latest album in our hotel room mostly to drown out the noise.
The next morning, I woke up early, as I always do, and walked along the Mississippi. It was a nice walk, though it made me wish that KC had more down by our river front. I never knew that Pelicans like to visit the river this time of year, but I saw several of them!
While it was a huge bummer to have the show rescheduled, it was good to get out of town for a bit. I guess we’ll see you again in July, Davenport, Iowa!