We woke up early at Casa Escondido to have a home made breakfast and get a head start on the day. They had cinnamon coffee brewing downstairs and big beautiful coffee mugs to warm up your hands. The morning was brisk but sunny. Charlie was in his typical “Go 90 miles an hour terror mode” until he saw the dog. Then he got shy and obsessed with following the family dog around the property. She wasn’t as interested in Charlie as he was. The lady making breakfast offered Charlie some fruit to start off. So we sat outside, mama drank her coffee and Charlie popped blueberries in his mouth while keeping an eye out for the dog. Eventually it was 8:00 and we could all sit down in the dining room. The first thing served was a flavorful stew with a side of chopped up cabbage, radish and lemon. These were toppings for the stew that brought out the flavor even more. It was a southwestern spicy way to start the morning. Thomas couldn’t handle the heat and kept sneezing and coughing. Then she brought out a piping hot egg bake from the oven. It was absolutely delicious. Charlie even ate a couple of bites. With full bellies we headed upstairs to finish packing up and head out.
We got the road and took the local tip to take the high road to Taos for the scenery. We drove through rolling hills with mountains in the background and blue skies full of white billowy clouds in the background. We drove through little villages and through the Carson Forest National Park. Before long we had arrived in Taos. We quickly stopped at Walmart to get some more diapers for Charlie. Then we headed on to Arroyo Seco to check out that little town because a local had told us it was so cool. Thomas had to work on a project and started working on it in the car. Charlie and I got out and explored around a little bit while waiting for him to finish up. Finally he finished up and we all went to have lunch at a restaurant called Sol Food. I ordered a Reuben sandwich (out of this world delicious) I ordered Charlie a few slices of Turkey and Avacado and a wrap, Thomas took a veggie sandwich. After lunch we took a coffee to go. We drove towards the Hotel called Hacienda Del Sol. When we arrived to check in, no one was there so we had to search for our name in the mailboxes. My name was located in the Cowgirl mailbox. We unloaded our stuff and decided to take a walk into town (about 20 minutes). But it was all along a busy street. We looked at houses for sale along the way. Crazy expensive! Like 1. Million! For a normal house. We walked past the most adorable playground and decided to stop there for Charlie. It had this crawl through fun house with obstacles and a big slide. Thomas did it with Charlie. Then in the back there was a tree house with a slide and lots of sand pits and sensory toys. A chalkboard. It was such a unique spot and to top it off, there was a toy store built into the tree. Hard to explain but what a cool spot for kids. The name of the store was Twirl. It was built with such brilliant imagination. We slowly left and explored downtown Taos with the small boutiques and charming square boasting live music.
We continued our meander into town and decided we would eat at a brewery/pizza spot on the edge of Taos. We ended up chatting with the people near our table because they also had a kid near Charlie’s age. I ordered bread, salad and chicken wings. Everything was very delicious. Thomas ordered a vegetarian sandwich and side salad. We had a mix up with the bill in the end and it turned a sour end to the experience. We had a long way back to walk and still had to buy milk, so we hit the road. We walked along the main road and past the Pueblo which unfortunately was closed due to Indian traditions happening near the blue lake. We saw someone that tried to enter the Pueblo and 2 minutes later, a police car was driving through fill speed to catch them. We found milk at a convenience store, and continued further. At home, Charlie and I branched off and went in to take a bath. Thomas carried on in search of a feierabend beer. We got Charlie down to sleep and we went into the cozy living room provided by the inn. It really felt like home. Thomas worked and I blogged and eventually went to join Charlie asleep.
