Well Bugs Bunny, I would say instead of making any sort of turn, you should’ve stayed a couple nights in Albuquerque. That’s what I did, and I have to say it is quite a lovely city.
For my spring break this year I decided that I actually wanted to go somewhere, instead of sitting in my pajamas and binge watching Lost for a fourth time on Netflix. My good friend from my time working at Disney World was currently living in ABQ so I called her up and asked if she’d be down to show me around the city. Cristina was returning from a mission trip in Eastern Europe that week, but she graciously said yes! And so I booked my train ticket!
I was inspired to take the train by that viral blog post circulating Facebook, “Across the USA by Train for just $213” by Derek Low. I had taken the train from Orange County to San Diego before (just a short 2 hour ride) and really enjoyed it. The route ran along the beach, which was beautiful. So I was excited to see what a train ride to ABQ had in store for me.
All of the leg room!
I departed Fullerton train station Thursday night around 6:30pm. I was amazed by the luxurious amount of legroom and far reclining seats, and that was in coach! I was thankfully assigned a window seat with no other passenger assigned in the seat next to me, so I was free to wistfully glance out the window like I was in my own movie montage about a girl who finally decides to live life for herself and see the world. Unfortunately, it got dark after about an hour and a half, so there was nothing for me to wistfully stare at anymore. And I had 13 1/2 more hours until I reached my destination.
The rest of night I tried to keep myself occupied before trying to get some sleep. Unfortunately, the train didn’t have any onboard wi-fi, so I used a lot of data on my phone. At one point one lady was assigned to sit next to me, so we chatted briefly before she got off at her stop. But ultimately, I spent most of the night listening to music, scrolling Facebook, and trying to sleep.
On the one hand, moving vehicles are very soothing for me to sleep in. On the other hand, it is really difficult for me to sleep lying on my back. I definitely found myself wishing that I’d booked myself a sleeping car for such a long trip. It was a little more expensive but I think it would have been worth it.
At one point, I decided that I was done trying to get mediocre sleep. I pulled back the window curtain sometime around 3am to find we were in the middle of the desert, not a sign of life in sight. I was in awe. The sky was polluted with bright shining stars, more stars than I’ve ever seen before. As far as the eye could see, all the way to the horizon, was a sea of stars. I wish I could have captured the beauty of that night sky to share with you, but it will forever be my own special little moment, and a reminder of how big this place called earth is, and how much I still need to see.
Eventually, I made it to ABQ the next morning, and Cristina picked me up and brought me to her apartment just two minutes from the train station. We dropped off my things, I freshened up from 15 hours of travel, and we got a quick lunch and headed to Old Town Albuquerque.
Old Town ABQ had a lovely town square, with a courtyard and gazebo in the middle of all the shops. Cristina and I took some time to look at the different shops, which were mostly filled with typical souvenir type items. There was plenty of turquoise and alien paraphernalia to go around.
Me, Cristina, and my newly purchased turquoise earrings.
Goofing off in the gift shops.
Though I didn’t purchase anything from the gift shops, there were independent craftsmen set up outside the shops with their unique and Native American hand made jewelry. I purchased a simple pair of genuine turquoise earrings from one of them for just $20. I was told that you can probably barter with the sellers as well, but it’s always made me uncomfortable and I’m not very good at anyway, and I thought $20 was pretty fair price.
Amid all the shops on the other side of the courtyard was a church. In fact, it was the oldest church in ABQ: Iglesia de San Felipe de Neri founded in 1706. Since I’m not Catholic, I haven’t been to too many cathedrals or any other Catholic churches, but this place stood out in its simple opulence. It was much smaller than other churches or cathedrals I’ve visited, but it presented the same awe-inspiring elegance. Something that made this church uniquely New Mexican was incorporation of turquoise coloring throughout sanctuary. Since we were visiting during lent, the statues of all the saints and Jesus were covered in purple veils, creating an even more beautiful effect in the church.
The Carne Adovada Enchilada at Cocina Azul.
Later that evening, Cristina and I met up with another Disney World friend living in ABQ, Frankie. We all got dinner together at Cocina Azul, where I could grab some authentic New Mexican cuisine. Before my trip I had done a little research and found out that green chile is a big deal in New Mexico, so I knew I had to try it, even though I don’t do spicy. I ordered the Carne Adovado Enchiladas which included red chile marinated pork and of course included a side of the famous green chile. We also ordered a queso dip for the table, which I’m usually not a fan of, but could not stop eating until our food arrived. As for the enchiladas, they were a bit too spicy for me, but otherwise amazing. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who actually enjoys spicy food, unlike myself. However, the best part of the meal was the dessert: sopapillas. This traditional pasty dessert was so simple, but so incredible. You basically pour or dip honey onto the sopapilla, then it soaks up the flavor and when you bite into it, everything just melts in your mouth. One of the best things I’ve ever tasted. And dangerously addictive.
After dinner, it was time to turn in since I’d had a long night of traveling and a long day of fun ahead.
During this past and final semester of college, I developed an intense addiction to coffee after resisting it for my entire life. So when we had to wake up early for the hour long drive to Santa Fe, Cristina was kind enough to take me to a local ABQ coffee chain called Satellite Coffee. The cafe paid homage to its state’s obsession with alien life, but still had a chill vibe to it. I ordered an iced Caramel Dulce Latte and it is better than any flavored Starbucks drink I’ve ever had. As someone who doesn’t really enjoy the bitter taste of coffee and needs all the sugar she can get in order to drink it, the Caramel Dulce Latte was a winner. I would order it everyday if there were a Satellite Coffee in Orange County.
With coffee in hand and Elton John Pandora station set, we were off to Santa Fe. Though Cristina seemed rather unimpressed with the drive, I couldn’t help but admire the beautiful Sandia Mountain just outside the city, and the amazing rust-colored plateaus that rose into cliffs. Our drive was filled with talk about Netflix’s The Crown which led to our discussion of British history and how little we know of it, which in turn led to us planning a trip to the United Kingdom next year (fingers crossed).
The Sandia Mountains on the way to Santa Fe
An hour later we arrived in Santa Fe at Meow Wolf, self-described as an “Immersive Art Installation.” Neither Cristina nor myself really knew what to expect, except that it was a some sort of pop culture museum. I’d say that description wasn’t really accurate, but still it exceeded my expectations. Meow Wolf was by far my favorite part of my trip to New Mexico.
Meow Wolf was less of a museum and more of an interactive experience. No context is really given when you purchase your tickets, but I think that’s what makes the experience so special. However, they do encourage you to interact with anything and everything. And so you get to explore and discover exactly what this place is on your own.
I don’t want to give too much away, since going in without any clue made my experience amazing. Essentially, you are entering a sort of interactive story telling, and the more you explore the more you understand the story that’s being told. I would describe it as being placed in the middle of science fiction movie. But instead of a clear three act structure of a film, there are so many pieces to bring together that even in a whole 6 hour day you won’t unearth the whole story. There are so many letters, documents, videos, rooms, and items to go through that coming back a second time will be just as intriguing as the first.
Meow Wolf is special in it’s promotion of creativity. Since you’re not being told the story in a direct or linear manner, it forces you to connect the dots yourself, theorize, and essentially imagine what story is being told. It’s told from multiple characters’ perspectives as well. This meant there were not clearly defined protagonists and antagonists, but a web of meaningful and complex characters who live in a moral gray area, which is more representative of reality. Not only is this great for fostering creativity but building empathy as well, an important aspect of story-telling.
I know I’ve probably raised more questions than answers, but I think that’s the whole point of Meow Wolf. Cristina and I came in with one question: what exactly is this place? And we left with 100 new questions, excited to hopefully come back one day and learn more about this mysterious story. In any case, if you do one thing while in Santa Fe or ABQ, go to Meow Wolf. It truly is a one-of-a-kind experience.
After spending the majority of the day at Meow Wolf, we headed over to Old Town Santa Fe to look and shop around before meeting another friend for dinner. It was much bigger than Old Town ABQ but featured a lot of the same sort of shops. However, there was much more art featured here. We stepped into one gallery featuring art of Native women, with a heavy focus on fertility, and another gallery with various types of painting, but especially stunning impressionist work. I’m not a huge art person, but I did enjoy walking through these small galleries, especially the ones featuring unique New Mexican art. My favorite part of Old Town was the Christmas Shop, because I am obsessed with Christmas. It took every bone in my body to restrain myself from buying ornaments, advent calendars, and model Christmas villages to take home with me.
Pepperoni and green chile pizza
For dinner, Cristina wanted to take me to one of her favorite pizza places in New Mexico, Dion’s. We met our other Disney World friend, Melissa, there and ordered a medium pizza with pepperoni and, of course, green chile. It was a nice family restaurant, kind of like a Round Table Pizza. And I must say, the green chile on pizza was quite delicious and not as intensely spicy as my enchiladas from the previous night. It was probably my favorite meal that I had in New Mexico. We ended the night with some Mexican ice cream (which was also very delicious) and Cristina and I headed back to ABQ.
My train left fairly early the next day, so we just used our last morning to hang out and decorate my graduation cap (Cristina is really good with design and I can’t craft to save my life). I wish I could say my train ride back was just as wonderful on the way back, but unfortunately it was not. The staff was rude and the train was delayed five hours, so I ended up having to miss my shift at work. But at least it got me home.
Albuquerque is a place I never intended to visit. I didn’t know what there was to do there, and until last year I didn’t really have anyone to visit. But it turned out to be my favorite trip I’ve taken this year. I got to catch up with old friends, try new foods, and have an overall enriching cultural experience. ABQ isn’t just a place to make or miss a left turn, it’s a place with it’s own history and culture and people, all of which are worth staying a night or two for.
“I Knew I Should’ve Made a Left Turn at Albuquerque” Well Bugs Bunny, I would say instead of making any sort of turn, you should've stayed a couple nights in Albuquerque.
