Running Around

Three days in the Albuquerque area and we know our way around pretty well, only occasionally needing Marsha, Kellee's GPS. I'm not sure why we have this need to name the disembodied voices on our electronic gadgets. Does it make us feel less dominated by our technology? Or do we name it because it speaks? I still don't have a GPS, and after spending the last couple of days with Marsha, I think I'll stick with maps, especially since I do most of my driving to new places without anyone else in the car. A GPS would be too distracting in the car.

Yesterday morning Kellee and I drove down to Albuquerque for breakfast at the Gold Street Cafe. The sign for our exit also marked the exit for Historic Route 66, which was the road we needed to take to get to the restaurant. After reading so much about this American icon of automobile travel over the years, I couldn't resist having my picture taken with one of the route signs. After breakfast, running a couple of conference related errands, and picking up our board colleague Laurie, we paralleled Historic 66 on our way up to Santa Fe. We were back on Historic 66 this evening heading for dinner at the Monte Carlo after picking up one of our board colleagues at the airport.

We didn't spend a lot of time in Santa Fe. After parking the car we went over to the Palace of the Governors to browse the works of the Native artisans. We had some great conversations with some of them. Lots of jewelry and some pottery. To ward off the chill, several of the artisans were bundled in blankets that bore native designs but were made of fleece.

We ate lunch at a little diner/cafe on the Plaza before wandering through some of the galleries and shops. I saw some pottery nativities created by native artisans, but the ones that I liked were more than I was willing to spend.

One of the issues with trips like this is food. Although we have refrigerators in our rooms, and we can keep some snacks, fruit, and some odds and ends in them, we end up at restaurants for most of our main meals. Fortunately, Kellee rented a car, so we can leave the resort and find less expensive places to eat. The food here is excellent, but as with most hotel food, it's a little pricey. Except for lunch today, the portions we've been served are more than any of us can eat. I've been leaving food on my plate. Lunch at the Village Inn down in Rio Grande was an exception. They offer half-sandwiches with either soup or salad for a very reasonable price. It was just the right amount of food.

We're transitioning from play time to work time. Forma Board members and conference participants arrived throughout the day. This morning Kellee, our conference chair, and our board president met with hotel staff while a couple of us assembled name badges and unpacked materials for the participant packets. We ran errands. We planned what needs to be done before tomorrow afternoon's board meeting.

More tomorrow.