back in january, my family and i went on a spontaneous ski trip to santa fe. the crazy thing was that neither my mom nor i had ever actually been snow skiing, and my dad and my brother had only been once or twice before. and we don’t exactly live near any mountains or anything, so i’m actually pretty surprised that we amateurs pulled this off in the amount of time we did.
we had been wanting to go as a family for years, but it had just never happened. we’re usually visiting family in other states at christmastime, and it’s hard to get our schedules to work out during the rest of ski season. this year, though, i had done some research, hoping that we could plan on going during a long weekend. i’m clearly no ski expert, but i read quite a few reviews of different ski destinations, and ski santa fe caught my attention for a number of reasons:
1. great place for beginners – it has some good “starting slopes” plus it offers a great discount for ski school/lift tickets/equipment for beginners
2. very reasonably priced
3. not too crowded – smallish “venue”
4. short distance from the albuquerque international airport, which is where we flew into – it was only about an hour away, which was important to us since it was such a short trip
5. even though the ski resort didn’t offer lodging, you could stay very nearby so that it would only take 15-20 minutes to get from the lodging to the resort
i didn’t think we would be going until february [if we went at all], but one day, out of the blue, mom randomly told me that she was thinking that we should go that next weekend. we spent the next few days looking up flights and lodging info and purchasing all our gear [mom and i literally had nothing], and as it turned out, the stars aligned and she found the most beautiful condo [for very little money] and we were able to fly stand-by with no trouble at all. i even got first class one direction! mom and i took a vacation day, dad was off, and i think mike only had to miss one class. it was meant to be, i guess!
we stayed in one of the fort marcy condos and it was a dream. mike and i had our own rooms, and there were 2 1/2 baths, which is always nice for getting ready with a family of four. it was so nicely decorated in gorgeous southwestern style and had everything we needed, and i would definitely opt to stay in the exact same place if i went back again.
{our little condo, plus the view from the balcony}
{breakfast. mike had brought us kolaches from the czech bakery in west!}
{i love that hearth}
{the living area was spacious and had a really nice buffet area on one side. and the room where i slept had the cutest little four-poster bed.}
{i do love the desert.}
and then the skiing. everything that i read in the reviews proved to be true. mom and i went to ski lessons on the first day and had an awesome instructor, and it wasn’t too crowded [although we probably owe that to it being the weekend after MLK weekend!]. but everything went so smoothly and the best part about skiing was… that i absolutely fell in love with it! i was so worried that it was going to be something that i would want to like but wouldn’t. or that i would be too afraid to go on any new slopes or that i would just be really really bad at it. but is was SO much fun – so exhilarating – and thanks to our fabulous instructor, mom and i built up our confidence on the first day and were able to push ourselves on the second day. i even went on a blue the second day [and i didn’t even fall or lose control!]. i was pretty proud of myself, and mom too!
{getting in all your gear + the skis is quite the process!}
{no caption necessary.}
{we separated into girls and boys on the first day, since mom and i hadn’t skied before, and then skied together on the second day. and yeah, i am one of those people who looks stupid in a helmet.}
{the sunsets in santa fe were gorgeous…}
{…and the sunrises were pretty too, when we woke up early enough to see them! which was once…}
{my new mexican feast at tomasita’s + mike’s tasty hot chocolate! i thought the food at this restaurant was only okay, but they bring out sopaipillas with honey butter before the meal which are TO DIE FOR. not the usual kind that are deep-fried but these really big puffed-up ones that weren’t overly sweet – just hot and soo delicious. i would seriously go back just for those. also, dad liked the place because it was located in the rail yard.} :)
{fresco}
{siblings}
{i love that we became a ski family in a matter of a weekend!}
{on the mountain}
{mike taught me all his tricks!} ;)
{brother bear}
{devouring some delicious green chile stew at totemoff, one of the resort restaurants. if you ever go skiing in santa fe and have lunch at totemoff, order it!}
{dad was actually a really good skier, although i’m not sure why that surprised me. he is and always has been a really good water-skier. i know that water skiing and snow skiing are different, but he definitely has the ski gene.}
{at the top of the mountain!}
{another amazing sunset.}
{we wanted to have a nicer dinner on the last night, so we ate at restaurant martin. both the presentation and the combination of flavors were so interesting and unique, and we really enjoyed our dinner. on the left is mike’s entree: black angus beef strip loin with maitake mushrooms + grated fresh horseradish + yukon potato tart + indian eggplant + black garlic reduction, and on the right is what the rest of us ordered: new zealand bass with penn cove mussels + beech mushrooms + sticky rice + ginger + sweet carrots + escabeche juices.}
{mom and i shared dessert, pictured on the left: the apple tart with crispy almond phyllo + walnut bavarian cream + caramelized gala apples + gingerbread ice cream + maple spiced granola. on the right is dad’s dessert: bittersweet chocolate truffle cake with sweet and salty caramel + cocoa shortbread soil + toasted cinnamon ice cream.}
{i can’t remember what mike’s dessert was, but i know that the caramelized bananas were what got him! he loves banana desserts.}
unfortunately, because we had an afternoon flight the next day, we weren’t able to ski the third day, but we got to explore lovely santa fe [which i can’t wait to visit another time]. we went in the capitol building, saw the miraculous staircase in loretto chapel, did a little bit of shopping, and visited an art gallery where my mom’s friend’s paintings are on display. santa fe is such a beautiful artist town with so much character.
{tea + an avocado breakfast burrito with eggs, home-fries, and jack, smothered in green chile, at tune-up cafe, which happens to be in an old gas station.}
{loretto chapel}
{the miraculous staircase at loretto chapel. such a neat story. i first read about it in the novel the staircase as a girl, and it’s always great to put a place with a name.}
{pretty santa fe}
{back in texas already?!}
i left wishing that i could have skied longer, which is much better than wishing that we could have come home a day earlier. definitely. mom and dad even talked about us going on an annual basis, which i would love. i was able to officially check off snow skiing from my to-do list, and now i’ll have to think of something else to say in “never have i ever.” :) can’t wait to go again!
xo