A May visit to New Mexico with my dear friend, Barbara, provided a lovely break from day-to-day life and the barrage of unsettling world news.

By phone and text, we planned ahead, agreeing to have unscheduled days, interspersed with activities and put-your-feet-up time in our residence hotel, making for a relaxing holiday. I flew to New Mexico from California and Barbara traveled from Ohio.

We stayed in Albuquerque for the week, with a day trip to Santa Fe. My friend Mary Ann was born and raised there, so she gave us a few recommendations. While there, we visited the Old Town and prowled a few shops, including a wonderful museum store, where we had lively conversations with the proprietor and a few guests. We ate authentic New Mexican food at a local diner, then walked through Burro Alley to the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum.

The museum features decades of the artist’s work, some familiar, like the close-up flower paintings she’s known for, along with works from art school through her later life, when she lost her central vision.

Of particular interest is the final exhibit hall, featuring the work of several Native Pueblo people and addressing some of the conflict between O’Keeffe and the area’s Native people and this country’s relationship to the land we live on, land stolen from native ancestors.

Back in Albuquerque, we had a thrilling ride on an aerial tram that ascended to 10,378 feet, depositing us at the crest of the Sandia Mountains. You can take a peek at the spectacular aerial views of the tram ride on the Sandia Peak Aerial Tramway website.

We took in views from windy observation decks, then enjoyed fruity drinks and decadent creme brulee banana splits while continuing to appreciate the view from our cozy seats.

Each tram holds about twenty standing-room-only passengers, and they alternate along the side of the mountain throughout the day. Employees of the restaurants also travel by tram, as do all the food, beverages, and other items needed to keep things running at the top. It’s an impressive operation.

The climb moves slowly with several brief stops, taking about 15 minutes to reach the top, with a 15-degree drop in temperature once on the decks. We had an amazing time.

Toward the end of the week, Barbara discovered Farm & Table via their Facebook page. This local gem features a restaurant, the family farm, and a cultural gift store called La Parada.

We loved La Parada’s around-the-world offerings and unique displays and enjoyed chatting with the shop owner and curator. La Parada is Spanish for “the stop”. Originally, the building served as a stagecoach stop in the 1800s. You can read more about the history of La Parada and Farm & Table here.

Dinner was fabulous, and we got to wander the gardens afterward, a treat for this gardener’s soul. You couldn’t ask for a nicer evening.

Our final adventure for the week was an interactive murder mystery dinner theater of a sort, more camp than drama, but fun nonetheless.

I’ll end with one of those pinch-me moments: we spotted a roadrunner racing through a commercial parkway, and fortunately, no Wile E. Coyote in pursuit.

mweep, mweep