~Friday, November 13, 2020~
Day 152
Excitement at the Latreille’s today (not). Spent most of the day making route plans, making reservations and figuring out our healthcare plans for 2021. The marketplace drives me crazy and honestly, I don’t know how Kaiser gets away with 12% to 14% increases every year. AND each year you’re required to pay more, and get less. Grrrrr. On the “honey do” list was replacing my front bike tire from the previous day ride. All Jeff found in the damaged tube was a slight pin prick that most tires would be able to handle. As I mentioned, the tubes we bought this go around were much better quality. In this case, you get what you pay for.
While we’re in larger cities, we always try to stock up on items, especially when our immediate plans are to boondock, which we’ll be doing at our next stop in Sedona, AZ. Top of the list….toilet paper since we’re limited to RV toilet paper which we’ve always been able to find at Wal-Mart. As of today, New Mexico is rationing toilet paper again to 1 package/customer with the surge in COVID cases, and once again, people are starting to hoard items in case of another Shelter in Place mandate.
Ahhhh…..now for some fine dining. As we approached Santa Fe “square”, it was so nice seeing everything all lit up, especially the luminaires on top of many of the buildings. The funny thing was we were really looking forward to an authentic Mexican meal at the Coyote Cafe and Rooftop Cantina, simply because of the name. Boy, were we wrong. It’s modern, Southwestern cuisine, but definitely leans more on the modern style of cooking than the Southwestern side, I would say.
So we really had to switch our palate gears.
Our hostess was great and found out that she was originally from Washington state, and on their travels west of the Rockies, found Santa Fe to be their favorite place where they’ve lived now for over a year. That just validates our feelings about moving here too. Definitely a contender. Jeff and I had fun rehashing our trip and talked about “the route” as we factor in weather, etc. We also have some international travels planned in the future, especially with next year being our 30th wedding anniversary! Woo hoo!. Another topic…..how COVID has affected our trip. And in all honesty, it really hasn’t much. Yes, we’ve had a few places that we wanted to visit that were shut down, but it gave us an opportunity to see other fantastic things that we likely would not normally have seen. And it’s kind of weird. But as you travel and you’re not completely tuned in to the world news on a daily basis, you feel like you’re kind of “flying under the radar” in terms of the pandemic. We happen to be in New Mexico as cases are rising, with more and more businesses running at 50% of their normal operations. And New Mexico has been one of the strictest states in terms of quarantine and mandatory mask wearing in public, not just in buildings and not when you can’t keep 6’ distance. It’s ANYWHERE in public or be prepared to pay a $500 fine. Even though we’re out touring around, we really are keeping our distance in public places, wearing a mask, and have had no guests in our trailer. There have been a few times where I feel cold like symptoms coming on, where I immediately go to my Zinc Lozenges that always seem to do the trick of fending off anything that’s trying to get to me. I’ve taken 1 or 2/day ONLY when I feel the onset of a cold or have low energy (which isn’t often), and I haven’t had a cold in 5 years since I started this regimen. It seems to work for both of us.
Sad to be saying goodbye to Santa Fe as we loved all of its adobe landmarks, outdoor activities, and Southwestern charm. We will absolutely be back!