This morning we said goodbye to niece Kari at the Albuquerque Airport as she headed back to Evergreen State in Olympia, Washington, for graduate studies.
With Carol as private tour guide we walked downtown Santa Fe. The excursion stopped at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, a replica of the famous basilica in Assisi, Italy, the site of Christian pilgrimages to the birthplace of St. Francis.
On the nippy afternoon, Loretto Chapel attracted tourists who crowded the tiny sanctuary for a look at the famous spiral staircase that twists upward to the choir loft. We listened to the recorded story of its construction, an engineering masterpiece created years ago by an unknown carpenter with simple hand tools.
American Indians displayed their handcrafted jewelry, pottery and sculpture along the plaza, and shops advertised post holiday sales for a few after-Christmas visitors still in town. For most, the holiday was over and early January meant back to work. We had two months of travel ahead. I could get to like this retirement thing.
