On the 20th of February, we started our trip south again from the mile high city, this time breaking up our drive in the artsy city of Santa Fe (which happens to be the state capital with the highest altitude, which surprised us having just left Denver). We loved walking around the streets surrounded by low, adobe buildings. We would pop into shops every once in a while to try on the hats, coats, and other crazy expensive items just for fun. A highlight was walking down Canyon Road, taking in all the indigenous art and the sculptures. We happened to stumble into a gallery of art by Vladimir Kush, a Russian painter who is often categorized as a surrealist, yet calls himself a Metaphorical Realist. We spent a lot of time in this gallery reading about Kush and we thoroughly enjoyed his work.
On Friday the 21st we walked around Santa Fe a bit more then embarked for Albuquerque. In Albuquerque we stayed with the Service Adventure unit, led by Rudy and Michelle. We really enjoyed conversation and playing games Friday night with Rudy and Michelle and the three girls in the unit. Al & Ginny, you would be pleased to know that the game "Dump the Plate" is making its way around the States as we travel. Everyone loves it!
Saturday morning we took a hike while it drizzled rain in the desert! We hiked to these "slides" formed by rocks and erosion, and we enjoyed watching each other slide down (it was kind of painful for the person sliding, but it was quite entertaining). The slides were really slick from the rain, so we got going pretty fast! That evening we performed at Albuquerque Mennonite Church for a group of about 50 people. Daniel (our connection to the church) did a great job promoting us, and people were really excited to hear our music! We were able to get a nice rehearsal in before the concert, and we felt great about how the performance went.
Sunday morning our unit was treated by a couple from the congregation to The Frontier, a place to get delicious breakfast burritos smothered in green chili sauce (both staples in New Mexico). We
played a few songs during the service, which was followed by a potluck. AMC has a cool themed potluck schedule headed up by Peter, who was so kind to us as well. He lamented the fact that we were not able to explore all of Albuquerque, so he put together a gift bag for us. It contained all sorts of preserves (all containing the all-important green chili!) along with posters of beautiful places, giving us the tastes and sites of the city!
Sunday afternoon the unit went on a "Breaking Bad" tour, driving around to all the special sites from the highly decorated TV show that was filmed in ABQ. That evening we played lots of Dutch Blitz and talked with each other about our lives. It is so cool to see each day unfold, meet the people we do, and take advantage of the opportunity to get to know the people we're lucky enough to bump into.
