During my first full day in Santa Fe, I visited some of the sights. I went to the Plaza which has a lot of shops and a few restaurants. There is a statue in the center of the plaza but I never walked over to see who it was memorializing. I walked past the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis but I didn't take the time to go inside. I am such a bad tourist! I did spend $4 on an ice cream cone so I guess that shows that I really was a tourist! Along one side of the Plaza, Native Americans spread out their blankets and sold their handiwork. The jewelry, carvings, and other crafts were so beautiful!
A group of us went to a local place called Bobcat Bites for dinner. It was the most interesting restaurant (and I use that term loosely) I had ever visited. There were twelve of us that went to dinner. When we arrived at the restaurant, we were told that they did not have seating for 12 people to sit together so we would have to be split up. We said that was okay. They told us the kitchen closes at 8 PM, no exceptions. It was 7:40 PM when we arrived and it took a little while for us to be seated. Then they told us they could not split the table's bill. Really?! Could there be any more stipulations?! I felt like I was in Nazi Germany with all the restrictions! I was ready to walk and go to a more hospitable restaurant but the rest of the group was determined to stay. So I stayed. I ended up not eating anything at the restaurant but I had a good time with everyone. Here's a picture of us waiting to be seated at Bobcat Bites.
When we got back to the hotel, some of the group members decided to put on a fire show for the rest of us. Also, Steve learned how to breathe fire. Pretty amazing stuff!
It was all fun and games until security told us all to go to our rooms. "Yes, Dad!"
The next day began what I like to call "Camping in the middle of Nowhere, New Mexico". Below is a picture of some of my "camp-mates". I had a lot of fun with these people. We made unforgettable memories.
While we were "camping", we chose the nocturnal lifestyle. We stayed up all night until sunrise, and then we slept most of the day. We did this for three nights and it made for some interesting experiences. I overcame my hatred of port-a-potties during this experience. When you gotta go, you gotta go.
Here is a list of things I learned as a result of my nocturnal lifestyle:
1. People that work the graveyard shift are NOT crazy. It's the graveyard shift that makes them crazy.
2. When you sleep during the day and stay up all night, time just becomes a number. It doesn't mean anything.
3. You stop craving food. You eat because you're hungry and you eat whatever you can get your hands on.
4. It really is coldest the last two hours before sunrise.
Before we realized it and much too soon, our fun was over. It was time to load on the shuttle, go to the airport, and return to our normal lives.
On the last day, I was awake for 26 hours. My good judgment seemed to be a little lacking when I didn't get my normal eight hours of sleep. (See the picture above.) I had an interesting conversation with my aunt (who picked me up from the airport) before I crashed in bed. I slept 14 hours solid without waking up once! Dead to the world! Boy, did I feel great when I woke up! Just like that, I was back on the normal cycle of life.
For those of you who know what I was doing while I was "camping", I will post more stories later. For those who don't know what I was doing while I was "camping", you will just have to wait and see. Here's a little teaser for all of you.
To be continued July 2013....
