Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Beyond

Two words: Acoma Pueblo.

It was funny, when asking locals in Albuquerque what they recommend we do, they all said, "Go to Santa Fe." When we asked the locals in Santa Fe, they all said, "Go to Taos." However, one thing everyone agreed on was that the Acoma Pueblo cannot be missed. Indeed the Acoma Indians were the only people who didn''t send us elsewhere in NM for better things. They were quite content to tell us we had found the best part of the state. And they were right.

This not to say that it''s the only thing worth seeing, there is plenty to do in this diverse state. Museums and art abound if you are interested in culture and history. And if you like shopping for folk art and handmade crafts, this is heaven.

Quick Tips:

My suggestion is plan ahead and narrow down what you want to do. Granted our trip was very spur-of-the-moment (even more so than usual, which means complete chaos!) But our biggest complaint was that we didn''t really get to relax. There was so much to do and most of it required at least a short drive. So we did a lot of running around.

Best Way To Get Around:

Rent a car. That''s the only way to do it.

This hotel was just fine, in fact pretty darn good. It lacked all the Southwestern charm of nearby adobe-style hotels, but it was one of the few that was less than $100 that didn''t look all run-down. I give this hotel a fairly high recommendation because it was affordable, clean, convenient to town and useful stores. Plus it has a clean pool and hot tub and a free continental breakfast. However, the other hotels in the area had so much character (though much higher rates), that this sort of run-of-the-mill hotel disappointed me a bit. But still I recommend it, especially if staying on budget is a priority. Note: The adobe-style Best Western Inn of Santa Fe is a little further away from town at 3650 Cerrillos Road. That hotel looked very nice. Although I don''t know what the rates are or if the outside is nicer than the inside.

We liked this hotel so much we came back to it later the same week. Clean, comfortable, affordable, with a good location. The drive to Old Town is less than 5 minutes away (though not quite walking distance). The drive to some good bars and restaurants in Albuquerque was only slightly longer.

It has an outdoor pool and a restaurant. We didn't try either but they looked nice. Friendly staff and tourist info available.

However, it is one of the few hotels in town without a free continental breakfast.

This was the best Mexican food I've ever eaten. Great menu of local dishes. Nicely decorated in New Mexican folk art. There's outdoor seating at times.

The prices were reasonable and the portions were perfect -- not the usual trough of food you get from everywhere else these days.

The wait staff was friendly. It's family owned and operated since 1953. They accept major credit cards.

If you want a nice night out in Albuquerque without traveling too far (or at all) from Old Town, take a trip to Antiquity. This is a really nice restaurant without the stuffiness that sometimes comes with that. It's in Old Town so it's mostly tourists, but I hear some locals come by for the great steak. It's mainly steak and seafood. My boyfriend had the shrimp scampi and liked it. I had the lobster tail, which was a little dry, but still good. The comfortable atmosphere made up for what may have been lacking in the food.

It was lovely. Like most of Old Town, it's an adobe building. But unlike many of those buildings, it's adobe inside as well. The restaurant is pretty small with excellent service. It had a short but nice wine list.

The dress is pretty casual. Not shorts-and- t-shirts-causual but you can wear jeans and sandals. It's probably not the best place for kids, unless they can sit still through dinner.

I'm not a big gambler or frequenter of casinos, but I thought this was a good time. Although I have a feeling those of you who often visit Vegas would disagree.

We went on a Sunday night, so maybe it was an off night. But it was pretty dead. The clientele was mostly older folks, over 65, with a few of us younger folk wandering around. There were lots and lots of slot machines. Really, if you don't like slots, don't bother.

The show was cute. Not the best impersonations I've seen, but it was a lot of fun.

Pass on the buffet. It's cheap, but there's nothing appetizing.

This store (it's actually 2 with the same owner, right next door to each other) is excellent -- though hard to find.

It had a large selection of crafts and local interest items in all price ranges. Things such as pottery, clothes, jewelery, old and new photos of the region and home decorations. Additionally the prices were reasonable -- the pottery was cheaper than most places in Old Town Albuquerque and all of Santa Fe. Choose from a nice array of Navajo pottery as well as many pueblo pieces. There were also educational and play crafts that kids and adults can enjoy.

It's along the Jemez Mountain Trail Scenic National Byway, according to the receipt near Cannon AFB. You have to look for signs, but if you want to call ahead, the number is 505-829-3864. Expect the store to be empty. The owner, a friendly man, had to unlock the second shop for us.

Learn from my mistake: We found this shop on our first day in NM. While my boyfriend bought a gorgeous Navajo vase, I figured there would be plenty of similar small-shops-in-the-middle-of-nowhere that I'd see during a week of driving around NM. No such luck. If you want these prices, your choices are limited.