Where is Corrales, NM? Mystery solved!

Let me begin by giving my husband Wayne his due.  He not only recognized that the charming village of Corrales, New Mexico would make a great weekend vacation spot, but he also took pictures to document our recent visit.

This tale begins several years ago when Wayne and a friend were driving through the Albuquerque area and happened upon a long, tree-filled road that captured his imagination.  For several years, the exact location of the road remained a mystery.  We made two abortive attempts to locate it on subsequent trips to Albuquerque, but to no avail.  Finally, he discovered that what he had fallen in love with was the village of Corrales, New Mexico, located just north of Albuquerque.

The bed and breakfast we chose for our stay from the Internet was the Chocolate Turtle, an award winning bed and breakfast.  First we checked out our room, the Sandia Suite (room, bath and private patio).  Ah, yes, a king-sized bed.  And a very classy southwestern decorating scheme.

Suite at the Chocolate Turtle ( nighttime chocolates were, of course, turtles)

   
The very large back property invited us to sit and watch rabbits and quail feeding in late afternoon.

The rabbits ignored us completely.

A tour of Casa Ortiz was the first stop after breakfast outdoors at the Chocolate Turtle.  Casa Ortiz is a partially restored 19th century home filled with Spanish Colonial artifacts. We were given a private tour by a very knowledgeable and enthusiastic docent.

Patio of Casa Ortiz.  Wish I could grow hollyhocks like these at home!

 An authentic adobe horno (oven) made us proud of a similar one we have in our own back yard.

Imagine the taste of a loaf of bread cooked in this oven!

Saturday evening's entertainment was enjoying the music of a band in the gazebo in Old Town, Albuquerque.  It was a family event, with people of all ages, grandchildren to grandparents, dancing around the gazebo to corridas and cumbias.

Tanya Griego with her band

We ate a late dinner at the Church Street Cafe, where we had been instructed by our b&b hostess, Denise, to ask to be seated in the courtyard. A lovely setting.

Great place to savor my very large serving of guacamole.

It had been a short stay in Corrales, but we may have found the getaway spot we have been looking for. Corrales is enough like our home town of El Paso, Texas to feel familiar; and yet, in this rural setting, I can let my mind drift back to earlier times.  Are the ghosts of conquistadors, soldiers, and laborers still present on the Camino Real?