The Chronic Curmudgeon

-- We stayed at one of my top five favorite hotels/resorts I have ever been to, the Inn at Loretto. I'd been there once before, and it made just as good an impression on me this time as the last. Santa Fe and the New Mexico north country are wonderful places to visit, and if you ever have the opportunity to go there, I can't recommend the Inn at Loretto strongly enough. Love that place.

-- The last time I was there, in 2002, I was there as "just" the speechwriter, being the guy without a name tag in the back corner of the room, taking furious notes and grading an executive's performance as someone else delivered words I'd written. This time, I was there as a featured speaker in my own right, and I couldn't help but feel kind of proud about the difference three and a half years made.

-- I ate elk. On Monday night, we went to dinner at one of Santa Fe's trendiest and most well-reputed restaurants, Geronimo (if you weren't aware, Santa Fe is an art and culinary mecca, and there are chefs there that are among the world's best, graduated from some of the most prestigious culinary schools in the world... it's a great place to be a foodie). When perusing the menu, the idea of elk intrigued me, and when I inquired the waiter informed me that it was the chef's signature dish. That was all I needed. And I was glad I ordered it; it was one of the better meals I've eaten in a long time.

-- After finishing my part of the program on Tuesday, some new friends and I walked over to the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum. I had never had as much appreciation for O'Keeffe as I had for other artists, but that changed with this visit. I am so glad that I went! Bought a print that I'll be framing and putting in the new apartment, too.

-- "Glad to be alive" moment #2: To close the conference, we had a reception and dinner at Museum Hill, where I witnessed probably the most breathtaking sunset I have ever seen. My new friends took a couple of photos of me, which I've been promised via e-mail soon. (If I don't look like too much of a dork, I may share one just so you can see the scenery and the sunset.) Gotta tell you, this was another one of those moments where God showed up to ask me in person whether I still thought of myself as agnostic. The wind was whipping through the mountain pass (the museums are even more elevated than Santa Fe, which is at more than 7,000 feet), the sun was setting, the air was so clean, it just felt good to breathe. I'll not forget those 20 minutes standing outside, watching that sunset. Ever.

-- My favorite museum of the ones on the Hill: the Museum of Indian Art and Culture. I wish I'd had more time to explore it (we only had a short time to look around, maybe 30 minutes or so, before dinner was served), but what I did see was fascinating. I especially liked the "Here, Now and Always" exhibit which traced Native beliefs about the origin of humankind and how we're all still connected to the Earth's energy. Native cultures have this beautifully balanced and pure sense of spirituality and belief; I greatly respect and admire their culture. I loved the museum and would love to go back.

Those're about the only stories I'm willing to tell... but overall Santa Fe made just as wonderful an impression on me this time as the first time I visited. I have to rank it as among my five favorite places I have ever visited or ever been to. If you ever get the chance to visit, I can't recommend it enough. (Hell, I might even try to tag along with you.)