Hikes:

• Elliot Barker Trail This is one of my favorite non-peak hikes in the Taos area. The trail goes through a beautiful mountain meadow. This time we hiked a little further than last time, and were treated to some different views of the mountains. Some locals told us that one of the peaks we could see was the Taos Cone, which we didn’t even know about since you can’t see it from town.
• Lobo Peak This peak is back behind where our house was. It was a tough hike to 12,115, but worth it. There are multiple routes to take. We chose Italianos Canyon (off the ski road) to the ridge, and then on to the peak. The canyon was beautiful, with waterfalls and wildflowers and about a dozen creek crossings. The peak itself afforded the best view we’ve had in Taos. We could see all of the major mountains, the town, the ski area, and the Rio Grande Gorge all the way up to where the Red River Gorge meets it, at the Wild Rivers Scenic Area. We didn’t see any bighorn sheep up there, but we could see (and smell) lots of evidence of them.
  
  
• Devisidero Peak This mountain is only 8,304 feet high, but it is a favorite of the locals because the trail is a six mile loop, it is close to town, and is has a longer open season due to the lower altitude. It was a really fun hike, and there were stone chairs at the top. If I lived here I would run this loop a few times a week. We hiked in our trail shoes, which let us run some of the flats and downhills. We met a couple of locals, Tedessa and Peggy, who reminded us of Laverne and Shirley.
• Williams Lake This is probably the most popular hike in Taos. It starts at the ski area and is less than two miles to the lake, which is beautiful and surrounded by the tallest peaks in New Mexico. We have done this hike multiple times and even camped at the lake, but it is our excuse to eat at the Bavarian Lodge at the ski area so it gets repeated every couple of trips. The first time we did this hike it didn’t seem easy, but now it is and we understand why we see toddlers and elderly people with canes doing it.

Runs:

Running is difficult in Taos because of the altitude. I don’t have any problem with altitude until I have to run up a hill. As our house was up a mile long hill, this meant driving to run and we found two great spots where the altitude didn’t affect me (Ed has more of a problem with it).

• West Rim Trail This is a singletrack trail along the Rio Grande Gorge. It’s flat, a little rocky, and beautiful. No shade, so we went early, which meant we were there when the hot air balloons were making their dips in to the gorge. I ran eight miles, and Ed did about six. I would have gone further but there was no one else out past the four mile mark so I turned around for safety. Never felt out of breath.
  
• Ski Road Usually when we drive out we take bikes, and I always ride up the road to the Ski Valley at least once (Ed is too chicken to try this). This time we flew, so no bikes, and I knew I couldn’t run eight miles uphill to 9,000 feet. But I could run down! We took turns dropping each other off and running down. I did the full eight miles, and Ed did four. It was really fun, but as runners know, running downhill makes for some pretty sore leg muscles.

Other outdoor activities:

We have already done many of the outdoorsy things to do in Taos, including fly fishing, rock climbing, backpacking and hiking. The two things we would like to do and haven’t are a balloon ride and horseback riding in the mountains. We keep deferring the balloon ride because it is expensive, and the horseback riding just never happened this trip. So that left us with:

• Bouldering at Tres Piedras This is a fun climbing area with a lot of big boulders to clamber over, so we spent some time doing that and then drove over to Ojo Caliente for lunch.

Restaurants:

Taos has fantastic restaurants for a town its size. Since we hadn’t been there for two years, some restaurants had closed, but more had opened.

• Martyrs Steakhouse (new) This is right on the main drag in a historic adobe building that had been redone. We went twice, once for lunch and once for dinner at the bar. The food was excellent.
• Taos Mesa Brewing (new) As we drove into town from the Albuquerque airport after dark, we ordered a pizza from our favorite place (yes, we have the number and our order stored in our phones). I ran in to pick it up, and noticed they had beer from this place we had never heard of on tap. When we drove out to the Rio Grande to run, we passed a new building on the mesa, a huge quonset hut with sculptures and a disc golf course. It was a brewery! We had lunch there twice. A great addition and while we didn’t make it out when there was live music, it had both an indoor and a stage.
  
• Old Martina’s Hall (new) We heard this advertised on the radio and saw it in the Best of Taos guide, but it is in Rancho de Taos, which is on the other side of Taos from where we were staying. But on our way out of town the last morning, it was the one breakfast option with somewhere to park, so we took it. It was good, and fun to see another historic adobe building that had been renovated. It is across the street from a historic church that we visited last trip. A funny aside: all week when I heard the ads on the radio, I thought it was Old Martinez Hall, and just now I found out that it was it used to be years ago, it’s just a coincidence that the person who restored it to the new place is named Martina. But I can call the new name ironic, right?
• Love Apple I think this is my favorite restaurant in Taos. It is in an old adobe church on the north side of town (where we usually stay), and the menu changes based on what is available locally. Love it.
• Lambert’s This is Ed’s favorite, and my second favorite. The food is excellent, the service is even better. Since we were here last it moved to a more central location, right near the plaza. As we left, a skunk walked by. Weird.
• Gutiz We drove by this place for years before trying it, because it said it was Latin-French fusion and that sounded ambiguous. It turns out it’s more Spanish, with an in-house bakery. We’ve eaten lunch and breakfast there, and it’s excellent. Breakfast this time.
• Caffe Tazza This is just a coffee shop with food right off the main drag in the historic district. I’d noticed it before but we’d never tried it. This trip we were gallery hopping after a hike and I was thirsty, so we stopped in. It was perfectly fine for a bottle of water and it looked like the coffee and food were good, but what odd clientele. There were a couple of goth girls licking lollipops, and then a really sketchy guy with both a knife and a gun holstered asking if he could start a tab who then walked to an empty lot behind the place where it looked like he was living, and then a really agitated guy who was nervous about us, and hopped everywhere on one foot. We went to sit out back, and it smelled like something died back there and a lot of flies. An odd experience that must involve drugs. Now as I read up on the place, I think it might be better to go back at night when they have music or poetry readings and the “characters” don’t seem so out of place.
• Artesian Restaurant at Ojo Caliente Ojo Caliente is a mineral springs resort south west of Taos. We have been there for the springs once, but this was our third time at the restaurant. It’s really good. It was generally in the way of Tres Piedras where we went bouldering, closer to Ghost Ranch.
• Bavarian Lodge The Bavarian is a German lodge and restaurant near the ski area. It’s at the base of one of the runs, but not owned by the resort. It’s really good when you are hungry from hiking or skiing, and you can usually sit outside year round. That is why we did the Williams Lake hike. The Bavarian is pretty much the trailhead. We usually  get the kaese spatzle and the mixed sausage platter to split. And some German beer. Yum. We have noticed that in the summer this is a regular gathering spot for post-hike local retirees, and this year it was funny because we were discussing the Americas Cup and then noticed that a table of older locals was wearing New Zealand caps. Apparently the New Zealand boat was designed by a local’s kid?
  
• Pizaños Great pizza with a great view of Taos Mountain. When we drive out, we buy a pizza here the night before we leave, and then throw the box into the car right behind the passenger’s seat in the morning. That way we can eat without stopping. Works out great.
• Taos Cow This is an ice cream shop in Arroyo Seco, between Taos and the Ski Valley. The first time we visited Taos, we stayed in a house near here. They have great coffee and sandwiches, plus the ice cream which is what got them started. But holy Taos Cow, gourmet ice cream is expensive. Remember when we used to by it by the gallon?  When they’re charging $7 for a pint it doesn’t seem so bad, but ….

Galleries:

We went to more galleries than this, but these were notable as single artist galleries where we actually got to talk to the artists.

• Greg Moon Art
• Wheeler Studio & Gallery
• Living Light Gallery

House:

• Coyote Mountain
  

Then we had a déjà vu moment when we remembered the power went out the last night the last time we stayed in this house. So at least we knew where the hurricane lantern and candles were (also we always travel with headlamps and LED lights). We cooked our dinner by candlelight and it just came back on as we finished.

Anyway here is the photo I was trying to post while the UPS was beeping.

The hike was a little over five miles with about 4,100 total elevation gain. It was a tough hike. It only takes two photos to show how tough.

Before the summit.

After the summit.

It is in the foothills of some of the peaks near Taos Ski Valley. It is one mile up a steep, rutted dirt road with switchbacks and just one house, this one. The road was built, buried electricity and phone lines were put in and addresses assigned so houses could be built, but so far our house is still the only one here. Sure, it’s a little isolated, but it’s quiet and dark at night. The stars are phenomenal with no lighted houses around. It is high enough to have a view of all of the valley and the town of Taos out the front. In the back, we can gaze up to some of our favorite mountains.

It is a house I could live in just as it is, with all of these strangers’ belongings and all. It is a new adobe, just one bathroom and one bedroom, with a loft upstairs with a futon and a desk.

The loft has windows on all four sides, and a deck which affords wonderful views of the sunsets Taos is famous for.

In the morning we watch the hot air balloons dipping down into the Rio Grande Gorge.

The kitchen is small, and has no dishwasher, garbage disposal, or microwave, but somehow we don’t mind at all. The dishes are the same Russell Wright style we had as kids, and the linens and many of the utensils are vintage as well. The stove is an antique gas model converted to use propane.

No TV, no stereo, but they do have DSL. They have very interesting art and have added many great touches such as imported carved doors and built in drawers.

The owner is a Hollywood writer, and I am writing this in his little writer’s cottage behind the house. The cottage even has a woodstove for the winter.

All around the house as far as we can see are trees. We bring our camping hammock and string it up anywhere we want to.

I love this little house and I think it is the only house we have rented that I really wish I owned. I could get to the ski area in no time, could cross-country ski right out the back door, and could run, bike and hike the all the great trails nearby. And despite the hassle of the unimproved mountain road, it is still easy to get into the village of Arroyo Seco and the town of Taos. I wonder if these folks would like a neighbor?

UPDATED: Here’s the satellite view of the house.

As an aside, this got me thinking about the differences between traveling alone or with someone else. Alone there are no compromises, but also fewer surprises. I like both modes.

Anyhow. Amsterdam has several world class museums, the most famous being the Rijksmuseum. I visited it in 1984, and my journal tells me that I was a bit bored by this enormous collection. I still dislike the be-all-to-everyone style big city museums, and so does Ed, so it was easy to convince him to visit the nearby Van Gogh Museum instead. We both enjoy single artist museums; they are far more informative and relaxing.

The museum was quite good. We saw many familiar paintings, and especially appreciated our close-up look at this self portrait:

I always like exhibits showing the sleuthing done to uncover the painting process – previous works that were painted over, etc., and there was plenty of that here. The museum also had prints from its collection on display, and I loved the woodcuts of Félix Vallotton, particularly his Exposition Universelle series.

After the museum, we took a tram to Amsterdam Centraal so Ed could see a big European train station. This brought back memories for me, and I really wanted to hop on a train and zoom off to another country. It also, somewhat disturbingly, reminded me of Harry Potter.

Next we walked over to the Red Light District. Ed had stated that he wasn’t interested in seeing it, but I made him go. Even though it was daytime, there were scantily dressed women beckoning from windows. His comment: “They’re actually pretty!” We also saw some of the famous cafes where pot smoking is allowed.

By this time we were freezing, so maximizing Amsterdam meant finding a nice warm pub. We headed back over to  the Jordaan section of town and settled on the Wester Cafe, across the canal from Anne Frank’s house and Westerkirk. I had a couple of De Konincks, and Ed had several La Chouffes. We also had a snack platter of bitterballen, kaastengles, and vlammetjes. It’s not important what these are other than fried bar snacks, but we did get into a debate about what the gooey center of a bitterballen is. I thought it was sausage and lard, and Ed thought it was pea soup. I was closer to the truth. They were good though. At some point a bartender lowered a giant screen and the Manchester United v. Chelsea game came on and Ed declared that he wanted to stay in Amsterdam forever and ever.

It turns out it is difficult to maximize Amsterdam when it is so cold, and we probably stayed in the pub longer than we normally would have, but eventually we had to head out toward the tram station. As we crossed the canal though, we noticed that a lot of people were out skating. After watching for awhile, Ed and I crawled through a small boat and onto the ice ourselves. Our low-traction shoes were as good as skates, and we skidded and spun around as the bells of Westerkirk began ringing. It was wonderful to be a part of the joyful twilight laughter.

Amersterdam, maximized.

This was an especially hard trip to pack for. The forecast for Amsterdam was “below freezing”, and the forecast for Kenya was “on the equator”. That said, I packed better than I have in years. For once I started several days ahead, and it helped that we had an itinerary for much of the trip, so I could go through the itinerary and make sure I could dress for each piece of it with something out of the suitcase. Usually I just throw in my favorite clothes and cross my fingers. This time I didn’t pack anything I didn’t wear at least once, and was never without proper clothes. And I still had room left in the suitcase, which turned out to be important.

The last time I was in Amsterdam was twenty-eight years ago (!) when I backpacked around Europe in college. Ed had never been to continental Europe at all. All of the things I liked about the city were still true, and we both loved it this time.

The people in Amsterdam are noticeably happier than in many cities. I’m not sure why, but maybe it’s because there it is an active outdoor population. The bikes in the city are legendary. Every sidewalk and bridge is lined with parked bikes. Cyclists far outnumber car drivers. The city is bustling with pedestrians. Even though we landed in freezing fog and new snow covered the ground, it seemed that everybody was out and about, laughing and enjoying the frigid but sunny morning. We saw tiny children bundled in striped snowsuits, striped hats, striped mittens and striped scarves, strapped on their backs to sleds like little Guatemalan worry dolls, being pulled along the streets. Other children were plopped onto bikes in an unending variety of configurations because yes, people were riding their bikes on the snow-covered streets, not a helmet to be seen anywhere (even in the bike shops I checked).

Since we arrived in early morning and could not check into our room until afternoon, we stowed our bags at the hotel and headed out to walk around. We decided to visit the Anne Frank house, and got there just before the line started to grow. I had been there before, and as we climbed the narrow steps to the annex attic it was strange to think that my twenty-one year-old feet had probably landed in the exact same spots decades earlier. Not much changes in a historical building, so the memories of it came back easily.

From there we walked to the Dam and Palace. Oddly, there were several people dressed as horror movie characters in the Dam having their pictures taken with tourists.

The temperature range for the day was 0 to 19 degrees Fahrenheit, with the low a record. Ed and I wore our down coats over fleeces, and had hats and mittens, but it was still bitterly cold coming from the mild Dallas winter. We were happy to stop in a tiny place called Cafe t’Molentje for some paninis and pints. The bartender was playing old vinyl LPs as we people-watched out the window.

And then we walked to the hotel, checked in and napped for three hours. Ahhhhhh….

For dinner we went to a place called Restaurant De Ondeugd in De Pijp (a neighborhood near our hotel). It was excellent. I had cod with lavender gravy and lemon-herb risotto. Marvelous. Ed also had a white fish, but it was the catch of the day so we didn’t “catch” the name, and the staff did not know how to translate it to English. Somehow, even though gin is allegedly a Dutch invention, we had trouble throughout the trip getting a martini. The best we managed was a pour out of a dusty Gordon’s bottle in a lowball glass.

To be continued.

Here are the reasons we keep going to Taos:

1. It’s easy for us to get to (an 11-hour drive, but still, a drive, so we can take all of our stuff)
2. It’s hard for you to get to (if you can’t drive there, you have to fly to Santa Fe, which isn’t a huge airport, and then drive an hour to Taos).
3. No lift lines (see 2)
4. We keep getting mistaken for locals.
5. Mountains
6. Great restaurants
7. The friendliest people on earth (this is New Mexico in general). We have both hitchhiked and picked up hitchhikers here (with discretion, of course).
8. Great skiing, especially if you are an expert. Similar to Alta, albeit without the incredibly dependable Alta powder.
9. Great powder! Not everybody can be Alta, but still, we’ve always have powder days at Taos.
10. Käse Spaëtzle at The Bavarian

We had a great time. Some highlights: we stayed in a brand new rental house this time. We were the first renters, so the builder/owner was on hand to make sure everything went great, and he gave us some good tips for restaurants we hadn’t tried. We finally made it over to Ojo Caliente, a hot springs spa. I think Julia Roberts was at the next table at dinner one night (she has a house there). This year we bought skis and custom-fit boots, and the difference that made, especially on Thursday, when there was about 6″ of new powder, was amazing. That day we looked like ski posters, all grins and flying powder. At lunch one ski day, we shared a table with three really interesting boys from a New Mexico international school. One was French, was was Israeli, and one was Albanian. They belonged to their school ski club and came every weekend, staying in the Abominable Snowmansion hostel in Arroyo Seco. They were astounded when we told them the price of full price lift tickets these days (rightly so). We drove home in one of the Texas Panhandle’s famous dust storms. There were so many tumbleweeds that every time we would see ten or more blow across the road at once, Ed would yell “Jailbreak!”

The CES is over-the-top. Overwhelming. Exciting. I’ve been to one other huge trade show before, the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston. I thought that was impressive, but when Ed told me this was that times 100, I didn’t really understand that until I got there. The thing is huge. We walked over seven miles in one day. I pulled a hamstring.

A large vendor like LG, Samsung or Microsoft has a “booth” that is a structure that is larger than a mansion. Ed’s customer’s CFO said they spend almost half a million on theirs every year just to look bigger than they are (they are not an LG, Samsung or Microsoft) to about 14 of their customers (big box stores). And it’s gaudy. And loud. But there is a lot to see, a lot to play with. And a lot of things that are silly, stupid, or puzzling.

Highlights:

• A porn star called me “honey” (not in a condescending way, she thought I need another piece of swag from the booth where she was signing posters of herself.
• After looking at a “no-glasses” 3D television, I was interviewed by a Houston TV station about my opinion of it.
• I got to look through a 600mm fast lens at the Canon booth.
• I got to play some cool Gibson electric guitars at the Gibson booth.
• I got to see Lou Holtz talking about ESPN 3D. Also a couple of football players I had never heard of before.
• Watched a taping of “The Week in Tech” with Leo Laporte.
• Saw a guy in the Monster cables booth riding a gold plated Segway.
• Also a car from Tron
• Also a car from the Green Hornet (Ed sat in the driver’s seat).
• Also a couple of cool Audi concept cars.
• Watched a guy volunteer to be tased at the Taser International booth (this was actually a regularly scheduled thing where people could volunteer, and I found it disturbing).
• Used an OLPC (One Laptop Per Child)
• I got a demo of AmpKit, which is iPad software that you can use in combination with a small piece of hardware to mimic lots of different amps, filters and effects pedals for an electric guitar. Here is a video that is pretty much the same demo I got (same guy). I own two other iPad apps from the same company and was glad to run across this.
• We went to the Woot! booth to get some screaming monkeys. I told Ed that we needed to be there at 3 for that. I could tell he was not convinced, even though I told him these are famous monkeys, but he humored me. We stood there with about 50 other geeks, Ed looking pretty out of place and awkward. But when we got our monkeys, and especially when we got to use them (they are kind of like slingshot finger puppets, that scream), he was very happy we went. He laughs every time he plays with them, which is every day.
• Breakdancers!
• Ooooh….foot massagers….aaaahhhh….just in time!
• Oh, Woot! reminded me, I tried on the TV Hat! Wow!

The thing that impressed me most about the whole show, though was the elephant in the room. Apple does not go to CES; they do their own “shows”, and that serves them very well as they don’t share the spotlight with anybody. But at CES, every time I turned a corner, I was blasted by a wall of iPad cases, or an iPhone or iPad knockoff prototype, or whole booths that looked exactly like an Apple store (including the font and colors), or vendors using iPads for sales or to take notes. And especially spokesmen on stage talking about how their tablet was the “iPad killer”. Apple was everywhere, without even spending a penny.

I have a lot more to say about the tablets and phones that we saw, but I’m going to save that for my next post so I can get this one up.

January

A year ago today we were in Big Bend, seeing a part of Texas we hadn’t seen before. The next day, New Year’s Day, we drove up to Fort Davis and went for a hike in the Davis Mountains. Then we visited the McDonald Observatory, which was unfortunately closed for New Year’s. But I still got to go into one of the big telescopes, because, well, it wasn’t locked. No lights though, and I didn’t want to start flipping switches. Before leaving West Texas we also visited Marathon, another quirky little old town. We had coffee in a little shop that had stacks of the Santa Barbara Independent (!) to read. Another surprise that day, I ran into my old friend Quinton at a gas station near Abilene!

We also made a quick trip to Orlando for Ed’s birthday, right in the middle of grapefruit season. Yum! And we saw manatees!

I attended a fascinating class taught by Edward Tufte.

February

After our wonderful trip to Taos last year, we decided to try skiing there this year. On the drive there, we got to see the Cadillac Ranch covered with snow, and a herd of mystery animals which I later found out were pronghorns (Texans call them antelopes, but they aren’t really). We saw another herd of these later – they really are beautiful.

This time we rented a house on the Rim Road. A great house in a good location for skiing, but the roads were snowy and Rim Road is called that for a reason. Did you know I have a phobia about going over a cliff in a car? We did not die though.

The skiing was fantastic, not crowded. We also snowshoed one day. While we were having lunch in the lodge one day, our neighbor texting me a photo of our house with snow falling furiously. It snowed 13 inches in Dallas! I was sorry to miss that even though we were enjoying even better snow in New Mexico. When we got home, every other house in Dallas had a snowman in front.

We saw John Prine in concert over at SMU; he was very good (and funny, as we knew he would be).

March

One of our favorite restaurants burned down.

I took Mia to Dallas’ St. Patrick’s Day parade, which is pretty raucous and fun.

April

Ed and I took a Saturday morning bike ride over to the lake, had a great 22-mile ride, but on the way back as he signaled a left turn, he hit a reflector in the road and went over the handlebars, fracturing his collarbone pretty badly. It required surgery, and still bothers him. Quite a setback, as he was trying to get back into shape.

But, I got an iPad!

May

Mom and Dad visited for the world premiere of Moby Dick at the Dallas Opera, and I think they would say it was worth the trip. How the heck can you make a stage set about a whaling ship? Well they did it, and it was spectacular.

June

So hot. It got up into the 100’s early this year. I was going to try riding my bike every day again this summer like I did in 2008, but gave up.

July

Ed, frustrated by not being able to exercise and continuing to gain weight, decided to go on a diet. I, who had gained weight in sympathy, agreed to join him. We cut out alcohol and most of the usual things you don’t eat on a diet, and lost weight rather easily. Who knew?

August

Still hot, so I went to California! It was great to see the Steeles. I arrived during Fiesta, which was something I hadn’t seen before. There were cascarones (confetti eggs) smashed everywhere. In Texas you only see those on Easter. We attended several dance performances and ate some great food. I also went kayaking one day at Campus Point (with Kevin), went to the Botanical Garden (with Aidan), biked down Gibraltar Road and at Ealings Park (with Nico), went on a few hikes (with Linda), saw the movie Inception and went climbing (poorly).

September

By this time it should be obvious that we really like Taos. We went back yet again for two weeks. This time we rented two houses for two different experiences. The first week we stayed in town, which was nice because we could walk to restaurants and into town. The second week we stayed at an isolated house up a private road in the foothills near the ski mountain. This house was phenomenal, we liked every detail. It had a little writer’s cottage out back, and we tied our camping hammock out there. One night we slept outside on the second-story deck under the stars. In the mornings we could see the hot air balloons rise and then dip into the Rio Grande canyon. The only downside of the house was it was a one-mile drive down a very rutted dirt road just to get to the road to town, which was another six miles or so. The road was not bikeable (up anyway).

So this trip we went on several hikes and one backpacking trip. It was cold backpacking, but we were well-prepared. We even brought our iPads and watched a movie in the tent (just to say we did it). We went biking one day, Ed’s first time on the bike since his accident. He had a tough time; it was windy and he didn’t feel stable on the bike. We tried to bike another day, but after driving about 45 minutes, we got out to start riding and he felt it was too windy for him, so we drove back and I rode by myself up to the ski area, which is now an annual tradition for me. We also both bought new climbing shoes, and went bouldering. I feel better about my limited climbing skills now; it had just been so many years since I had climbed anything.

Yesterday one of my friends on Facebook posted “When was the last time you did something for the first time”? Well one thing I did for the first time this trip was fly fishing. Ed has wanted to do this for a long time. I thought I would be bored to tears, but I actually loved it. It’s nothing like regular fishing. You don’t stand in one place for long, you have to be smart and use strategy and skill, and the scenery is beautiful. And, I caught a fish!

Last year I was successful in my attempt to get cheap tickets for this year’s Austin City Limits Festival. They give out a few hundred for $50 (regularly $185), and I snagged two by watching Twitter and refreshing the page constantly. The festival was fun, we saw Black Keys, Spoon, Beach House, Broken Bells, Phish, Flaming Lips, Mountain Goats, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, Sonic Youth, Gogol Bordello, Pete Yorn, Lucero, Black Lips, Manchester Orchestra, Temper Trap, Deadmau5, M.I.A., Devendra Banhart, Portugal, the Man, Trombone Shorty, Robert Earl Keen, White Rabbits, Blind Pilot and Lance Herbstrong.

October

The two big October events here are the State Fair of Texas and Halloween, and we participated in both. The Phantom of the Opera was back on Swiss Avenue:

We were invited to Ed’s cousin Nicole’s wedding in Buffalo, so we combined that trip with a visit with Mom and Dad. I flew up ahead of time and spent some time with them, and then drove their jeep up to Buffalo and picked Ed up at the airport there. We stayed at the Roycroft Inn in East Aurora, something Ed has wanted to do for a long time. The inn was built by the Roycrofters, and Arts and Crafts guild. Ed’s sister Colleen stayed there also since we were. She didn’t know anything about it, thought it would be a regular hotel. The funny thing is that it turned out she used to work across the street from the place and didn’t know what it was.

The wedding was nice and it was nice to see all of Ed’s aunts and uncles and cousins again. I hadn’t been to Buffalo for a long time. We also went to see the Darwin Martin house, a Frank Lloyd Wright house. The main house is still being renovated, but we got to go into two of the other houses on the property. House house houses.

November

We went back to Austin to visit our friends Mike and Carla, and we had a relaxing traditional Thanksgiving with just the three of us. Last year it was just Ed and me, and we decided to do South American food instead of turkey with the fixings, but I missed it, so this year it was back to the old standbys.

For Erica’s birthday we took her and four of her friends out to dinner here in Dallas, which was fun.

December

It was a good year (fractured clavicles notwithstanding) up until the first of December, when Ed’s stepdad passed away. We made another trip to Orlando for the funeral. We were glad we have been going there more often lately, and Ed will always treasure the trip he took to Ireland with Bud et al three years ago.

Unexpected travel in early December means a rather frantic holiday preparation season (at least for me, who procrastinates until December). But I (kind of) got everything done by Christmas, and we had another relaxing day. We had to laugh at all the winter gear we got each other as gifts. We had lobster pot pie instead of fondue for Christmas Eve dinner, and prime rib for Christmas. Yum.

I think that’s it. I’ll try to do better next year.

This week, Ed and I took a somewhat spontaneous road trip across the state. We started out driving down to Becky’s house in Boerne, in the Hill Country. We visited Guadalupe River State Park, spent some time picking out rocks from Becky’s property in Medina, and went to San Antonio for the first time in a long time. The Riverwalk has been extended, and we walked it in the (chilly rain). It was great to see Becky and Boomer and Henry. We looked for (but did not see) rare golden-cheeked warblers.

Next we set out for West Texas, staying in Alpine and visiting Marfa, Terlingua and Big Bend National Park (so far). We saw art, tumbleweeds, a javelina, axis deer, an orange blue moon, and ate lunch in a school bus.

Tomorrow we plan to hike in the Davis Mountains.

So to review, for my 10th Texas anniversary: driving, friends, Mexican food, Alamo, fossil-hunting, hiking, tumbleweeds, weird animals, immigration control checkpoint, whacky food, installation art, big skies. Seems about right.

Happy New Year, everyone!