by Judy Handley | Apr 24, 2009 | Sailing Logs Year 4, US Land Logs |
US Land Logs 2, Year 4: Watching Ziggy Grow
Date: Saturday, April 24, 2009
Weather: Partly Cloudy Day; 60 degrees F; Windy
Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico
It is truly hard for us to believe that we have been back in the USA for over a week now. We have been incredibly busy and have vowed to slow down, make contact with friends both in this country and back in Southeast Asia, and just enjoy our time here in New Mexico. But we have certainly enjoyed watching Ziggy grow this week. He changes a little everyday. He is an amazingly good baby, fussing only when he is hungry or needs a diaper changed. He has worked all week to suck his thumb and he has been successful. Justin and Jo are both totally smitten with him as well as both sets of grandparents.
We arrived in Santa Fe when it was freezing and snowing, but that quickly went away and most days are sunny with temps in the upper 60’s, sometimes moving into the lower 70’s. Santa Fe is a high-desert town sitting 7,000 miles above sea level and we have actually been having some difficulty adjusting to that. When we walk long distances or work hard in Justin and Jo’s backyard, we wear out rather quickly. Maybe we are just feeling the stress of age, but since we could work long days in the 90+ degree heat in Thailand without wearing out like this, we are thinking it is the altitude.
Santa Fe is a picturesque little downtown with the Sangre de Cristo Mountains rising up steeply in the background to their snow-capped tops. Most of the buildings and homes in town are built of adobe or a modern version of adobe. The architecture is a mix of Pueblo and Pueblo-influenced Spanish buildings. The one thing it lacks is an ocean, but there is a tiny little river that runs through town and today we went with Justin, Jo, and Ziggy, and Jo’s parents for a delightful picnic lunch by the river in downtown Santa Fe. After lunch, we walked into the downtown area. We first visited the gallery where Jo’s art is on display at the Arte Bella gallery. We then walked into the heart of downtown where Justin used his newly acquired street performer’s license to entertain us with his guitar music in the square. Ziggy was quite a champ through all of this. He is quite adaptable.
Justin and Jo live within walking distance of the downtown area in a lovely neighborhood. Everyone keeps their adobe painted and their yards landscaped. We have watched the spring bloom of tulips and flowering trees and bushes. Lilac is even beginning to bloom here. So we are really enjoying spring in the desert. We are also enjoying Santa Fe’s great bus transportation system. We have used it extensively this past week searching for a few pieces of furniture for Justin, Jo, and Ziggy. We searched all the thrift stores and came up with a great little dining table with four chairs and a 6-drawer chest for Ziggy’s clothes that also serves as his changing table. In doing this, we have become very familiar with the 8 miles just south of town. When not shopping, we have been working in Justin and Jo’s backyard to dog-proof the garden areas. Justin and Jo have a big dog named Alfie who loves to dig holes in the garden and a smaller dog named Lulu who just likes to eat baby clothes. So we are working on both fronts to dog-proof Ziggy’s clothes and the garden.
Last night we went out to dinner with friends from Concord, New Hampshire, Alice and Houston Davis. The first winter we lived aboard our boat in Boston we actually spent four nights a week in Concord house sitting Alice and Houston’s home. They had just retired and moved to Santa Fe and wanted someone in the house until they put it on the market. They live in a beautiful spot just northwest of downtown. It was great seeing friends from back home and we plan to see them again before we head east.
So at the end of one week, we are quite nicely settled into life in Santa Fe. We love our little casita. It is very close to Justin and Jo’s, so we get to visit them and Ziggy everyday. This next week we will continue gardening work and possibly do some local travel by bus and train. We are getting to know Jo’s parents and on Wednesday, her sister arrives. We look forward to meeting Katherine, just hanging out with family, and continuing to watch Ziggy grow.
by Judy Handley | Apr 17, 2009 | Sailing Logs Year 4, US Land Logs |
US Land Logs 1, Year 4: Ziggy is Adorable!
Date: Friday, April 17, 2009
Weather: Snowy Day; 32 degrees F
Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico
Seeing your grandchild for the first time is worth about anything. Even a ferry ride from Rebak to Langkawi . . . a taxi across Langkawi to Kuah . . . a ferry to Penang . . . a taxi from port to hotel . . . a little sleep . . . a taxi to airport . . . a 5-hour flight to Hong Kong . . . a 12-hour flight
to Los Angeles-no sleep . . . a bus to train station . . . a Southwest Chief 18-hour train ride to Lamy, New Mexcio-some sleep . . . a shuttle van to Santa Fe . . . and then a walk through the snow with only sandals on. All this and we made it a day sooner than we thought. Somehow we miscalculated not including the day we gained crossing the dateline. So when we called Justin, he was just a little surprised. But he met us on the corner next to our home for the next three weeks and then we walked through the snow to meet Ziggy. Yes, it is snowing here. It probably snowed two-inches today and all of it is hanging on the pine trees. It is beautiful but it is freezing. We opted not to bring any shoes home with us, only the Tevas we were wearing and some wool socks we packed. Bad choice. Our feet were soaked and freezing by the time we got to Justin and Jo’s, but the first look at Ziggy warmed our hearts and our toes. He is so tiny and so beautiful. He has what I would call strawberry blonde hair, his mother’s lips, his grandfather Hunt’s chin, and Justin’s nose. Not sure about the eyes, but they are beautiful and he is very alert when he is awake. He is a
sleeper, however, and Justin and Jo say he is the best baby in the whole world. He just eats and sleeps and only complains when he has a dirty diaper. After a wonderful visit and a warm cup of tea, Justin, Mark, and I walked to the little shopping center not far away and all bought a new pair of sneakers. Justin then headed home and Mark and I did some shopping at Trader Joe’s before heading back to our casita with bags of groceries. We called a cab to come take us home. The cab driver asked why we were visiting in Santa Fe and when we told him we had come to meet our grandchild he asked if it was the little one born a couple of weeks early. The same cab driver had taken Justin from the hospital to buy a car seat and just yesterday had delivered Jo’s parents from Trader Joe’s to their little casita. He assured us that we were going to get along because we both bought the same things-fresh fruit, veggies, and beer. Jo’s parents were preparing and delivering dinner for Justin and Jo tonight. So Jo thought it would be nice for all of us to have dinner together at her parent’s casita tomorrow night as they have a table for six. Justin and Jo don’t have a table and chairs and we only have a little one seating four. We are all within walking distance so it is like we have established a family
neighborhood here overnight. I’m not sure Mark and I are going to survive the cold, snowy weather without buying some warm clothes. We have jeans with us and light weight jackets, but only short-sleeved shirts. Jo warned us to bring clothing for cold weather, but the suitcases just wouldn’t accommodate. And unfortunately, warm weather is not in the forecast.
Back to the trip home . . . We had uneventful flights which was wonderful, but both Mark and I had trouble sleeping. Once we got on Amtrak’s Southwest Chief we definitely decided that we prefer traveling on trains rather than air planes. The Southwest runs from LA to Flagstaff to Albuquerque and Lamy (just outside Santa Fe) and on to Chicago. We arrived in Flagstaff at sunrise this morning and everything was covered in white. It took me a minute to focus and realize that they white was snow. That was our first clue that we were in for some cold weather. We didn’t pay for sleeper cars but rather slept in the regular coach section. The seats are like recliner
chairs which are much more comfortable than airplane seats. The food was great and moderately priced, so all in all the train ride was a good
experience.
Travel is behind us now, at least for three weeks, so we will concentrate on life here in Santa Fe. We got a couple of really cute photos of Ziggy today that we will post with this log. We’ll also include a couple of photos of the snow. Enjoy!
