I know, this blog is long overdue but hey “Rona” thanks to you, I have some time so here we go!
In 2019, I spent my birthday solo dolo, you can read about it (Chapter 37, Do It Afraid..) and watch my vlog, capturing my epic hike of Hanging Lake trail in Glenwood Springs Colorado.
Chapter 38’s theme is, “Do What You Love!” So in that spirit, I took a road trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico and stayed in the cutest AirBnB, doing only the things that I loved.
This included great food, cool experiences, great art and bucket list items. Keep reading as I detail my favorite parts of my birthday extravaganza.
After settling into the Airbnb, I rested for a bit and then began to get ready for dinner at “Izanami” a restaurant located in Ten Thousand Waves Resort. My birthday usually falls during Denver Restaurant week, so imagine my surprise, when I learned it was also restaurant week in Santa Fe.
According to the resorts website, “Izanami is an Izakaya serving upscale japanese bar food.” They have the best selection of artisanal microbrew cold sake found anywhere between the coasts and small plates meant for sharing, that are creatively prepared locally-sourced meat and produce selections with an emphasis on seasonality. The food was impeccable. It’s a smaller establishment with a more casual chic vibe, due to the nature of the resort. The staff is very knowledgeable and make great sake recommendations to pair with your entree choice. Don't expect the usual. There is no nigiri sushi. No soggy tempura. Definitely none of the sickly-sweet, hot sake that has given sake such a bad rap. Izanami is extremely selective about their purveyors and only order enough seafood and organic produce to get through the day. Highly recommended! And I will return soon to explore the soaking pools at the resort.🌟🌟🌟
The next day was super chill. I’d been running a lot before my birthday and to be honest, I needed rest more than anything. I slept in, read a little and just relaxed. Later in the day, I went for my Halotherapy session at Sante Fe Salt Caves! What a fantastic and relaxing time. Halotherapy was inspired by the discovery that salt miners rarely suffered from colds, respiratory ailments, or lung diseases, because of the fine salt particles they inevitably inhaled. As a result of the research subsequently carried out into this phenomenon, 'halotherapy,' or salt therapy, was born. The nap that I took in that cave, life altering! This is a great family friendly activity and there are Groupons and other discounts on Airbnb experiences to add more value to the experience.
Relaxed face after Halotherapy session.
Santa Fe, New Mexico
My favorite day of my trip and main reason for heading to New Mexico, included crossing an experience off of my bucket list! I booked a hot air ballon ride with Rainbow Ryders and it was worth every minute. I must say, after jumping out of an airplane, this was not as quick paced of an experience as I would have liked but I am glad that I did it. Due to the time of the year I could only book a sunrise ride trip, which meant a super early 4am wake up call. I drove an hour to Albuquerque to meet the crew and remaining travelers. Once everyone was assembled, we headed out to a local suburb for take off. It was a beautiful brisk morning with clear skies full of beautiful colors. We sailed for about a hour, with views of homes and the dessert valley below. Upon landing we had a champagne toast and received a certificate of completion for our first flight!
And finally, my last day consisted of a morning neighborhood bike ride, followed by a mini HIIT circuit (because did you see all of those stairs!!) and left overs for breakfast! If you ask me, that’s a perfect ending to a perfect trip.
I really enjoyed Santa Fe and cannot wait to go back and explore more of downtown (Plaza), art museums, various exhibitions and the soaking pools. It was a short trip and even though it’s not a huge town Santa Fe definitely has plenty more to Travel + Explore+ Play!
Until next time, these are the he lessons learned over the past year.
Lessons learned:
Rest
Recharge
Do what you LOVE!
Say no to FEAR
Try New Things - meet new people
Celebrate your loved ones EVERYDAY
Stay connected to the source
Do more of what you LOVE! And make sure to Travel + Explore + Play with Sallee Jay❣️
❣️Sallee Jay❣️