So last time I had just finished our time in Santa Fe. After that, things moved pretty quickly. In the morning (this would be Friday), we checked out of the hotel and headed back to Albuquerque. We arrived and went to what’s called Nob Hill, which is a shopping district in town near the University.
And, yes, it is named after Nob Hill in San Francisco. It was developed in the 1920s, and one of the prime movers behind it was D.K.B. Sellers, a local businessman who happened to love the original Nob Hill in California.(1)
We rather like the area. It has some fun shops. It’a also near one of our favorite restaurants in town--The Flying Star Cafe.(2) There are now several Flying Stars around Albuquerque, but this one, near Nob Hill, on Central Ave., was the first. It used to offer food and magazines. I remember going for lunch and a quiet read. You could buy periodicals there that you couldn’t anywhere else in town--like African Business and Paris Match.
Alas, the magazines went away as time went on. But the food is still good. Whenever we are in Albuquerque, we usually end up eating there at least once. So, it wasn’t any surprise that we ended up there on our return from Santa Fe.
About the photos: Three today. First, two photos I took around the hotel in Santa Fe: lovely house...and lovely gate. Second, and as usual, nothing to do with the story, but I like the picture. This is from this morning when I caught Martha finishing up her chocolate croissant at breakfast. I thought it was cute. She may or may kill me when she sees that. But that’s a risk I’ll just have to take.
Then we did some shopping in the area. We found a bookstore, Organic Books, and had a browse there.(3) Martha bought a book (I don’t recall precisely what it was. I’ll have to ask her). And so did I-- specifically Maximilian’s Lieutenant, by Ernst Pitner, translated and edited by Gordon Etherington-Smith.
Pitner (1838-1896) had the misfortune to be one of the innumerable young Austrian soldiers to get conned into joining Napoleon III’s (disastrous) attempt to put Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian on the throne of Mexico while the United States was busy with the Civil War. Pitner wrote about his time in Mexico and his diary makes interesting if difficult reading. He realized, too late, that the Mexicans had no interest in having an Austrian emperor, and that he was fighting a war which simply could not be won.(4) Still, he was more fortunate that many of the European soldiers who served Maximilian, and indeed, more fortunate than Maximilian himself, in that he got out of Mexico alive. (5)
But, getting back to New Mexico...we shopped a bit more, and then headed to the hotel, which was right at the airport. We had an early flight the next morning, so it made sense for us to be near-by.
The next morning, we caught the hotel shuttle to the airport. We made it through TSA easily (the Albuquerque Airport, “the Sunport,” is terrific that way), and shortly we were on the plane and headed for home.
The trip itself was uneventful. There was a little turbulence here and there, but nothing serious. Shortly, we were back in Texas, and then in Georgetown.
But, during our return, I did take a moment to think about our trip. You remember that when we went to New England, I concluded that we could no longer live in Boston proper. It’s just too big, too expensive, and too young. But we might still manage to make it back to some part of New England. Maybe Rhode Island. Or Maine. Those are real possibilities--particularly since David and Emily love Maine. Maybe, God willing the creek don’t rise, we’ll all end up there.
What about, though, New Mexico?
That, too, is a real possibility. Again, maybe not soon. But the kids do like Santa Fe a lot. And, maybe, the grandkids will pick UNM?
I mean...okay...kinda improbable that we’ll live that long. But, still..there’s a chance.
And, you know, I found that comforting. Okay, maybe it isn’t likely, but at least the shot is on the board.
Anyway...
That was our latest trip to New Mexico. But stay tuned. There’s lots more to come.
Specifically, we are off to San Marcos...to meet...
Mermaids.
Footnotes:
1. Nob Hill has a wikipedia page here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nob_Hill,_Albuquerque,_New_Mexico. There is also a Nob Hill section on the Visit Albuquerque webpage: https://www.visitalbuquerque.org/about-abq/neighborhoods/nob-hill/
2. Its website is here: https://www.flyingstarcafe.com/. As an aside, when I first knew the restaurant, I believe it was called “The Double Rainbow,” which was a sweet name, and we get a lot of Double Rainbows in New Mexico. Unfortunately, another company claimed they had the name first. Whether the other company did, in fact, predate the Cafe, I don’t know. But I’m sure they had deeper pockets and more lawyers. So, in 2001, the Double Rainbow become the Flying Star. Here’s a story on it: https://www.koat.com/article/double-rainbow-cafes-to-change-name/5010453#
3. Organic Books’ website is here: https://organicbooks.net/
4. Pitner, like Maximilian himself, had been told that the Mexican people were eager to support a good, strong, steady, “civilizing,” European-style monarchy which would provide peace and stability to their divided nation. In fact, nothing of the sort was true. One faction of the government was willing to support an Austrian prince, if it meant getting French help in their Civil War with the other factions involved. But nobody really wanted Maximilian on the throne. In the long run, poor Maximilian, who does seem to have meant well, was doomed from the beginning.
5. How many Pitners have there been in the world? So many young people, idealistic or ambitious or merely naive, sent off to die in the name of national grandeur, in some forsaken desert or swamp, where there was, in fact, nothing to be gained.
Copyright©2024 Michael Jay Tucker
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