Santa Fe 2014

Just part of the view.

We flew to Santa Fe (well, Albuquerque, but our ultimate destination was Santa Fe) last week to stay with Lane's aunt and uncle/Elliott's bonus grandma and grandpa at their home in the mountains. And by home, I mean mini-compound. The main house is open and spacious with very high ceilings and lots of light. There is also a casita-in-progress and a free-standing art studio for Lane's uncle on the property (Lane's aunt has her studio in the main house). We all stayed together in the house and filled our time with chats, long breakfasts, wine and Elliott watching. Their two dogs happily Hoovered up Elliott's crumbs, even though their younger dog was a bit frightened by his presence for the first few days.

Chatting with Grandma Becky.

Lane slept until the late afternoon on our first full day of vacation, which we all expected him to do. He looked almost refreshed when he woke up and had his first cup of coffee. We took walks around the property, introduced Elliott to snow and lounged about. We took a day trip up to Abiquiu to visit the Echo Amphitheater and Ghost Ranch and to see what Georgia O'Keefe interpreted in her artwork. We also made a visit to El Santuario de Chimayo, a teeny-tiny, very old Catholic church and holy site in the desert. Pilgrims come to Chimayo to be healed and many people have left crutches and other symbols of infirmity at the santuario after they have been restored to good health. In an even smaller room behind the chapel with a little pit of holy dirt that pilgrims and visitors are encouraged to collect and take with them. I didn't know we'd be stopping at the santuario, so I came unprepared to bring holy dirt home with me, but I was nonetheless very moved by all the hope and faith and strength that is kept in the photographs and rosaries and hand-made crosses left all over the property. It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen.

El Santuario de Chimayo

On our penultimate night in Santa Fe, Elliott started teething and screamed holy terror until midnight when I gave him a bag of frozen peas. I thought he'd like to gum the peas or put the frozen bag on his gums, but he just sat between Lane and I in bed and shook the back, alternating hands, for literally hours, until he fell asleep with his arms wrapped around my neck, still holding the goddamn pea bag. The next morning I woke up with pink eye and an ear infection. Either I am allergic to holy dirt or my suffering is a sign of God's love. I am quite possibly the only person to visit a holy site of healing and turn up sick the next day. 

Rosaries and scapulars left at Chimayo.

Lane's mother treated us to a spa day at Ten Thousand Waves, which is a five minute walk from the house. There aren't enough beautiful words in the English language to thank Lane's mom for the few hours we spent soaking in the outdoor tubs, watching giant koi fish swim while soaking our feet and getting hot stone massages. It was a little slice of true relaxation and made the whole trip feel like a bowl of cherries.  We came home completely rejuvenated (minus my holy infections) and had a simple dinner of eggs, bacon, leftover mashed potatoes and salad. We did a load of laundry, packed everything up and hit the hay early. 

Echo Amphitheater

There were a couple mishaps getting home, mostly my fault (I thought I left my phone in the house when we were halfway down the very long, very steep driveway and actually left my phone in the rental car at the airport, but was able to retrieve it since our flight was delayed), but Elliott has proved to be an excellent traveler. He slept during take off on both of our flights and happily played until we landed. There was no indication that he was the slightest bit bothered by the pressure changes in the cabin.

I watched Lane bond with Elliott and they totally fell in love with each other (again) during our time off. They don't get to spend much time together in the real world, so it was quite touching to see how attached Elliott was to Lane and how much they just soaked each other in. It was a lovely few days and we are very thankful to have such an interesting, generous and loving family.