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!

090417 New Mexico–Back in the USA