Day Seven: Santa Fe, NM to Kingsman, AZ (Playing catch-up)

So a few days have flown by since the last post – I’ve been more diligent about my paper journal than this blog, but I’ll pull you guys up to speed.
Our trek to New Orleans and down the bayou, which was FREEZING cold and kind of dismal, since the streets were almost empty. We got to meet up with Joebear and John at the BEAUTIFUL hotel they booked for us for an awesome price – it was all exposed brick and high ceiling and antique southern furniture. We wandered through most of the French quarter, got cafe au laits and delicious warm beignets heaped with powdered sugar at cafe du monde, and ate enough delicious jambalaya, gumbo, etouffee, po’ boys and crawfish for 10 people, easy. We also strolled down Bourbon street to hear the jazz pouring out of the bars – and see some pretty awful strip clubs and seedy establishments. While I’m happy we got to see it, I’m not sure I’d go back.
Then, it was off to Austin, Texas, which was another love at first sight scenario. Liv’s old friend Erin showed us around, and we had a GREAT time scouring the goodwills (I got a sweet rainbow plaid jacket I’m dying to rock in Boston), devouring barbecue at Stubbs, and bar-hopping on East 6th Street. We were right in the thick of free music week, and caught a great Frontier Brothers/Bright Light Social Hour show at the recently renovated Parish.
After a wonderfully entertaining breakfast of apple wheat pancakes and migas at Kirbey Lane Cafe, we started Day 6, aka the forever day. West Texas took us 7 hours to get through, and 5 of those hours were void of anything but cows grazing and oil rigs see-sawing up and down. Picturesque, perhaps, but not when you are three deliriously hungry girls who are coming up on their 12th hour of being confined in a Toyota Matrix. We FINALLY found a beacon of hope: a serious Mexican restaurant with spanish soap operas on TV and a bunch of hispanic families having their leisurely sunday dinners. I’m pretty sure they had never seen three people DEVOUR food so fast in their life. It was pretty great. We finally got in to Santa Fe, exhausted and suffering of highway hypnosis, thrilled to have gained an hour of sleep (and to have found another La Quinta).
Today, after a wonderful break I took the wheel through New Mexico. They don’t call it the land of enchantment for nothing – its absolutely gorgeous there. We took endless pictures of the plateaus and deserts, and drove through the Zuni reservation, which was at turns picturesque and pretty devastating to see. Now, we’re somewhere in the Painted Desert in Arizona, closing in on L.A. Its been a pretty crazy, chilly adventure, and I’m both excited to be in California again and slightly devastated to see the whole trip come to an end. I will keep you guys posted on the next four days in the city of angels: we’re going to stake out some Ethiopian food, hang in Venice Beach, and maybe be brave enough to dip our toes in the Pacific.
Till then, amigos, much love and green chiles.

Advertisement