Four Corners

I don't know from where Mircea heard about Four Corners National Monument.  I've driven through the Southwest numerous times without ever knowing there was such a place.  That is to say, I realized there was a geographic location where Arizona, Utah, New Mexico and Colorado came together but I had no idea there was a National Monument established to celebrate this (rather mundane) fact.

Yet a National Monument there is.  And in a moment I will provide photographic evidence that not only is this so but that we went there.  That we drove 80 miles out of our way and spent 12 USD to stare at a metal disc in the ground.

Other than the satisfaction of fulfilling the last of Mircea's three travel goals, it was amusing to watch various groups of kids giggling over the unique opportunity of running through four states in less than 10 seconds.

And that about sums up Four Corners National Monument.

But since 80 miles and 12 dollars seems like it warrants more than five minutes, you linger a bit, doing things like standing in one direction and saying "Yep, there's Colorado" and then twisting your body and saying "Yep, there's New Mexico".  Then you wander around the unpaved parking area (at 3 bucks a person they can't spring for a paved parking lot?) and visit the poorly maintained outhouses.  You'd hoped that once you left Romania you'd seen the last of poorly maintained outhouses but, alas, the drive back to the interstate is long and sorely lacking facilities so visit them you do.

Via these photos, you can experience all the site has to offer.  No outhouse visit required.

Yes.  That's it.

And people wonder why it's taking us so long to get back to California.

Santa Fe

I have nothing against the practice of trying to get your cool on in public.  I have so little of my own to exploit and put on display that I'm often a little envious when I witness others produce theirs and put it on parade.  

However, the downside to trying to come off as uber cool is that it can often render one as somewhat brittle and dispassionate.  Not overly friendly to four road-weary but enthusiastic tourists in other words.

In that case, I'll take nice over cool any day.

This is not to say that there were not genial, sociable folks in Santa Fe.  There were.  It just took us a couple of hours to meet them.

But when we did find them, it was lovely.  

And the city was striking, like one of those incredibly photogenic people who can't seem to take a bad photo.  

Particularly at sunset.

So here you go.

San Antonio

There is no concrete reason for why I wanted to go to San Antonio.  I knew nothing about the city other than that it was somewhere in the southwest.
I just liked the sound of the name.
Not a very auspicious starting point, to be sure.  It could have ended with us in a hotel room with a view of a parking structure in the foreground, a Walmart sign in the distance and flat, arid scrubland beyond.
Happily, it was not so.
San Antonio is lush and well-watered (check out the Riverwalk) and exceptionally clean.  Probably the cleanest city I've ever been to in my life.  There was a surprisingly eclectic mix of folks: "remember the Alamo" proud-to-be-an-American Texans; tattooed, pierced hipsters drinking espresso in coffee shops; sandal-wearing, silver-bejewled artists, and Latinos strolling about in cowboy hats and boots.

We stayed in an historic hotel in the center of town where a trio of musicians (bass, piano and drums) played nightly in the lounge and the guests included a large population of army personnel.  They filled the elevators and lounge with their crew cuts, fatigues and "yes ma'am, no ma'am" manners from a by-gone age.

We were charmed.  I know I've said that about places before.  But really, we were thoroughly charmed.  If you can't make it all the way to Budapest, go to San Antonio for a weekend instead.  Unless cleanliness, good manners and reasonable prices do not appeal to you. In that case, go to New York City.

Yeah, once again, way too many photos.  However, since I was kind of a slacker with the last two posts I am overcompensating.
At the risk of sounding like a cry baby, not having internet access at the hotel at which one is staying creates difficulty when trying to maintain continuity with this blog.  It's a travel blog and sometimes the travel part gets in the way of the blogging part.