Vacation re-entry...
Category: Kitchen Sink...
Posted Wednesday, February 26, 2003 at 06:27 PM [GMT-6]

OK, so remind me [again] of how this vacation thing is supposed to work. Because I obviously don't have the hang of it.

We returned Monday from our annual pilgrimage to the Santa Fe alternate universe. The snow was great (finally), the food was great (as always), and the political/cultural scene was, well, surreal (again, as always). More about that in a minute. But, two days after returning, I'm just now making a dent in the work that piled up in my absence.

I'm not complaining, mind you...well, not much, anyway. Work is good...it helps pay the bills and put food on the table and buy all the stuff that I've convinced myself I can't live without. (Like ski trips to Santa Fe.) But just once I'd like to come back from vacation and have the time to enjoy the prior week's relaxation instead of feeling like I have to undergo some kind of penance for taking off.

Well, enough of that.

Santa Fe, as I implied above, is not like Midland. It's not like anywhere else; the local Chamber of Commerce got close with its slogan "The City Different," but I think "The Reality Redefined" is more accurate. People talk about Steve Jobs' personal Reality Distortion Field. Steve couldn't get a second glance in Santa Fe.

The local newspaper is...well, let's just say it's hard to believe that this is the only mainstream newspaper in a state capitol. For one thing, it features the ever-ridiculous Molly Ivins on its editorial page. Yeah, I know that even some Texas newspapers run her column, but that's probably due to some obscure EEOC regulation about in-state quotas. Molly belongs in New Mexico, or anywhere besides Texas. (Here's quote from her online bio: "In February 1982, she returned once more to Texas, which may indicate a masochistic streak, and has had plenty to write about ever since." If being in Texas is that much of a struggle for her, I'm sure we could quickly pool bus fare to get her elsewhere in a hurry.)

Then there was the special "Gen Next" section of the paper, in which a series of really fab high schoolers shared their wisdom about the prospect of war with Iraq. "Like, war is so bogus, man. All we really need is peace." And, "going to war over oil is just so stupid; we really need to get Bush out of the White House." And so on. Well, they're teenagers; what do you expect? I don't blame them for a faulty world view; they simply reflect what they hear their parents, their teachers and their "celebrities" say. Fortunately, this is New Mexico we're talking about, so we won't really have to worry about whether any of them will have any meaningful impact on our future, at least from a political perspective.

OK...that was a tacky cheap shot, and I apologize. But it is hard to take seriously a state that has Bill Richardson living in the governor's mansion. Not to mention some of the worst car dealership TV commercials this side of Los Angeles.

OTOH, there are some good - nay, great - things about Santa Fe, and most of them are food-related. Here's my Top 10 Reasons To Go Back To Santa Fe (in no particular order):

1. Cream cheese French toast with peach compote at the Chocolate Maven
2. High tea with scones, clotted cream, strawberry jam and Darjeeling in the lobby of the Hotel St. Francis
3. Anything at the Guadalupe Café, as long as it's smothered in their red chile (prepare to cry)
4. The singing waiters at the La Sena Cantina...although pianist Robert Fox steals the show, cowboy boots and all
5. The esoteric trivialities filling the space at Doodlets (which was a crime scene the day we were there)
6. Skiing through the trees and between the boulders of Camp Robber during a good snow season
7. Blueberry pancakes at Tia Sophia
8. Green chile stew at The Shed (but the posole was a little disappointing)
9. Watching people buy groceries at the Whole Foods Market (they're just so, um, righteous)
10. Being greeted by Fred at the Plaza Bakery, who sees us once a year but always remembers us. Or, at least he claims to, which is a separate but equal answer.