Santa Fe Tourists

Our room at El Rey Inn has a funky configuration that works perfectly for us. There's a narrow alcove off the living room (it's like a big walk-in closet without a door) where I sleep. Peanut and Little Man share the pull-out couch. Doodle, who must always be isolated or she'd party into the wee hours, shares the big bed with Grandma in a bedroom. Off of their room is another alcove, but it's outside as a sweet little patio! This hacienda style hotel has been here since I was a kid and I love staying here.

Grandma has been reading Josefina, an American Girl series, to Peanut in preparation for this trip. The morning after we arrived in Santa Fe we drove to El Rancho de las Golondrinas for a Josefina tour. It's a fantastic living history museum for kids this age, especially if they're loaded with lore from the books. They carded wool and tried to spin it, took a turn grinding corn (which Josefina spent hours doing every day), and visited the sheep and goats. Did you know that in the 1700's most children died from disease or falling down wells?

Of course we went to The Plaza. Most people go to see/purchase the beautiful pottery and jewelry that the Indians lay out on blankets and sell in front of the Palace of the Governors. My kids wanted to see real live Native Americans. When Little Man saw his first man with black braids down to his waist I thought he was going to pass out. I think Peanut was more shocked when she learned that he had actually been to our neck of the woods on numerous occasions as a truck driver! He took a lot of time explaining his art to her, carving animals with the thinnest lines into black pottery, and he even let her handle his tools which I sincerely appreciated.

In Santa Fe, there is art everywhere you turn. We kept passing this statue of a Native American catching an eagle and the kids' questions were exhausting me. I should be flattered that they think I know everything, right? I finally told them that we'd go into the Mountain Trails Gallery and find out the story behind this statue if they promised to keep their hands on their chests the entire time. I'm telling you, this was NOT a place for even well-behaved kids. Well, this turned out to be an incredible 3 minute experience as the artist was actually carving right there in the gallery! Of course they wanted to touch it (panic! panic!) and a woman employee was swift as she handed them each a tiny ball of clay. I loved her immediately.

She also told us the story of the sculpture: It is seen as an act of bravery to get an eagle's feather. The Native American is reaching up, struggling with the powerful eagle's talons, trying to get a feather so his tribe would view him as very courageous. Naturally, Peanut was very concerned about harming the eagle and the lady assured her it was like someone pulling a hair out of your head. No one wants someone to do it, but you can get over it pretty quickly.

Our final stop was the Loretto Chapel. It's funny what captures the interest of kids. This beautiful church was built without a single nail -- even the spiral staircase. I thought it would be a quick visit mostly lost on them, but we're not Catholic, so they were extremely curious about each and every detail. Doodle refuses to accept that Baby Jesus is anything but a baby, and why can't she climb that beautiful staircase? What is up there? Little Man just doesn't understand why Jesus didn't break the cross so they couldn't hang him. And were his parents at that special dinner with him? Well, what did he and his friends talk about at that dinner? Would Mary let Jesus' friends come over to his house sometimes? And Peanut wanted to know what the holy water felt like (I wouldn't let her dip) and why there were candles for sale. I told her usually you can pay to light a candle for someone you know who's struggling or has died. (These were off limits to us for some reason.) So, she wanted to know how many candles a person could light, how much it would cost exactly and who she would pray for if she could light one or several? Who did she know that was struggling or that was dead that she could say a prayer for? And who would I light a candle for if I could? On and on and on.

We finally got out of there and I bought a spicy-licious Frito Pie from the back of the Five and Dime, which was a Woolworth's when I was a kid.