It’s been a really nice day together. We enjoyed the beautiful weather, the walkable streets, the food, and some of the sights. It started slow with barely any plans, and ended nicely with some ice cream and part of a movie in the room. Among other things, we made it to the state capitol and saw the only round statehouse in the country, and we made it to several of the old churches in town including the one that has the ‘immaculate staircase.’
Ok, on to the critical take on Santa Fe: it’s really not a city that is friendly to either a straight-up middle class household or one with kids. Don’t mistake that for a lack of things to do, or a sense of unwelcome – because neither of those are true. But, being an artistic voyeur is acceptable and interesting for a period of time before you just start to feel a little out of place. Sure, the shop windows don’t have any signs that say “Incomes over $150,000” or “No Children Allowed” (although part of me thinks they like kids because they have the potential to break things and therefore the sales people can make a sale), but it’s really hard to walk through some artists best work with a 2.5 year old and not worry about what they are going to touch. It felt like we were way more worried and focused on Ezra than we were on the art. Even the restaurants were upscale enough to have non-paper kid’s menus.
Wow, I just re-read that last paragraph and it actually seems pretty damning, like it wasn’t fun to be in Santa Fe with a child….when in fact, we had a really nice time together and enjoyed the perfect weather while walking around such a historic place. Growing up just outside of Washington DC, all of the history focused (rightfully in most cases) on the formation of the government, the Civil War, and Jamestown/Williamsburg. We discussed the native population so infrequently that I don’t even remember learning anything significant in school about it. So it’s interesting to come to a part of the country where you might be just as likely to get a shrug of the shoulders when talking about the formation of the ‘first city’ in Jamestown, as you would get a history lesson about the actual first cities in this area. I can assuredly tell you that we will someday come back to this place under better pretense.
Here is a HDR shot of the St. Francis of Assisi church located in the downtown area. It’s a well photographed and documented building, but I thought I would give it my spin. More photos coming later today from Santa Fe.
The Life of a Little Hippie 
I think santa fe is a very healing place. I think it’s a perfect place to go. My friend who lost her daughter this past summer at 4yo, she went to Santa Fe shortly afterwards too. There is a place somewhere near there with healing ground. Not sure, but it was interesting. She brought some back for us.
A friend of mine, who is a frequent visitor to Santa Fe, highly recommends eating at The Shed. http://www.sfshed.com
I smiled at your remark upon noticing the emphasis that region has on the history/cultural experiences one has. Having spent most of my early life well west of the Mississippi, I had multiple up-close interactions with various Native American groups, but thought Concord and Lexington were practically mythical places, a little like Atlantis.
It’s also nice to have a parent’s view on Santa Fe, as a few people have said how great it is, but none of them were accompanied by a young child on their travels. I hope you guys are finding some peace and re-connection, in any case.
YES!! You have captured our experience with a very young Henry and Sophie in Santa Fe perfectly!! I had to tweet this post…