Sky City..

otherwise known as Acoma Pueblo.

Road to Sky City on top of the mesa

 
I'm a big fan of Trip Advisor when I'm planning any kind of trip (you can find my reviews under BlueSkyMom), so when I was looking around for things to see in New Mexico, I found Sky City.

Acoma Pueblo looking over the valley

Sky City has some great reviews and some horrible reviews.  The day before we went, someone posted a scathing review of the place because it was closed unexpectedly and the tribal police/security were very rude.

Outside the Sky City Cultural Center

Needless to say I was a bit nervous, I also knew that we would have to pay admission and a photography fee.  I explained to the kids that we were visiting someone's neighborhood, where real people lived.  These strangers were being kind enough to let us visit their homes and we all needed to be respectful.

Our tour group led by the only female guide.

You know, I was managing expectations :)  The first pleasant surprise was that the Pueblo was actually open!  I had mostly convinced myself that the Pueblo would be closed to tourists, but we got lucky.  We paid our fees and Nadim tied on his camera permit so we were all set.

Street within the Pueblo

The Pueblo is located on top of a mesa and our tickets included a shuttle bus ride to the top.  Sky City has been used as a set in movies, it was a production team that built the first dirt road up to the Pueblo and a second production crew built the paved road years later.

Ladder facing north

There were many traditional elements of the Pueblo intact, the ladders leading into the Acoma people's places of worship and small windows made using Mica found on the valley floor then dried over several years.

Window made from Mica

 But the Pueblo is a living place, not a museum.

Walking in the Pueblo

The day we visited was right after a community celebration and there were many, many people working on  their homes.  Trucks were parked all over the place and as our tour group walked by locals would come out of their homes and sell handmade items.

Water basin used historically for the Pueblo

We bought some Concho Cookies and an Apple Pie.  The cookies were awesome, too bad we ate them up before I could take a picture :)

The dome structure on the left is a bread oven

There was even some new construction going on, the workers kindly turned off their generator while our tour guide was speaking.

Traditional turquoise trim, these are the colors of New Mexico

On the mesa there is no running water or electricity.  Now about 10-13 families live there year round, tribal leaders included.  Most people live down in the valley north of the Pueblo, but they all maintain their Pueblo homes for use during festivals and feast days.

Catholic church

As with most of the Southwest, the Catholic church has a very heavy presence in the Pueblo.  We heard the locals' version of history, which differs greatly from the official version.  You know the whole "The Indians loved Father Whatshisname, and built him the church to glory God, etc, etc."  Well not so much, try "You either build this for me, or we'll kill you" - there's Christian kindness for you.

Heading down the mesa

Once the tour was over we had the option of riding the shuttle to the valley floor or going down the "safest" of the traditional staircases.  Guess what we chose??

Steps going down, down, down

Yep, the staircase of death..

The scariest part of the staircase

..ok, so we didn't actually die, but I sure wouldn't want to have to use the staircase to carry up containers of water on my head like the women did in the past.

Almost down

 I was so relieved when we got to the normal part of the stairs and then out onto the road.

The road back to the Cultural Center and lunch

The walk back to the Cultural center was beautiful and very hot.  We were ready for some lunch at the Yaaka Cafe and Nadim and I shared the most delicious Indian Taco.

Sky City was a great stop on the road to Taos and well worth the time investment.  Now we had a 3 hour drive ahead of us...

Tally ho :)

Road Trip to Sunnyvale..

Day 2!

When we are in Sunnyvale there is one place that I have to go - and that is Bean Scene.  Bean Scene is an independent coffee place on Murphy Street in downtown Sunnyvale.

I LOVE their wet decaf cappuccinos, the kids love their bagels so it is a win-win situation.

Bean Scene, best cappuccino in the States :)

The trouble with Bean Scene on a Saturday morning is it gets really busy, so if you want a table you've got to get moving early.

But with a drink like this waiting for you, its pretty easy to get motivated :)

Wet cappuccino!

 Part of the reason why Bean Scene gets so crowded is because of the farmer's market held outside.

I guess this guy isn't going anywhere.

I like this farmer's market, great products for reasonable prices - not like my local farmer's markets.
 

Checking out the produce

Right after breakfast we headed over the Bill Gate's Computer History Museum.

The main reason we decided to check it out was because the kids were free and it was close.  Actually I found the museum while browsing on Trip Advisor by proximity to my location.  I love Trip Advisor and Yelp - what did we do before the internet??

Entrance to the museum

So as you would expect the museum is pretty techy - we didn't even get tickets, we got these little metal clips that we put on our shirts.

an old computer

 Honestly, the kids were pretty bored by most of the exhibits.  Son 1 was interested in the WW2 Enigma code breaking section and also any of the targeting stuff used by the military.

Another old computer

Speaking for myself, I thought it was ok.  I might have enjoyed it more if the kids weren't complaining so much.  Nadim really enjoyed it.

Daughter playing Pac Man

Things got more interesting when the kids got to play "classic" games.

Of course, these games don't seem classic to me, but then I remember playing them at the roller skating rink.

Son 1 and Son 2 playing Pong

My favorite was Pong.  My Grandpa Johnson (my Mother's Dad) was very into technology and he had Pong at his house.  I remember playing the game anytime we went out to visit.  This must have been in the late 70's or early 80's - yes I am old.

Son 2 trying to figure out a game

Son 2, my naturally gifted gamer, tried to play this command game but couldn't get it to do anything.

Gaming was so tough before joy sticks.

3 generations of Kurani's picking lemons

After our excursion we got ready for a family BBQ, where a fun time was had by all.

The next day we left, but since Day 3 was really Day 1 in reverse I don't have anything new to say :)

Happy Trails!

Road Trip to..

to Sunnyvale!

We love road trips, driving in the car is so much easier than flying with 3 kids.

Since Nadim's Dad and brother live up north, we decided a Memorial Day road trip was in order.

Although, to be frank, the drive on 5 North is one of the most absolutely, mind numbingly boring drives ever.

But family is family and sometimes you've got to suck it up.

Anyhoo, here is our trip in pictures..

Day before

I've got the packing down to a science.  Two suitcases, one for Nadim and I, one for the kids.  Pillows, stuffies and toys for the car.  Don't forget a DVD player and the movie library.

5am Gas stop!

Yes we are crazy people who wake up at 4am so we can beat the LA traffic.  One year I let Nadim talk me into waking up at 6am and we spent an extra 2 hours on the road that trip.

I'm still traumatized.

5:45am Sunrise in Glendale.

6:15am Breakfast in Newhall.

I found the Egg Plantation on Yelp and since I needed a pick me up we stopped. They are known for their omelets but I got the strawberry waffle which was super yummy and my standard decaf wet cappuccino.

7:30ish Grapevine

At least the Grapevine is interesting, full of trucks, but interesting.  These are the last hills we will see until the Gilroy turn off.

7:45ish Fort Tejon field trip

Fort Tejon is now a state park.  The Fort being established in 1854 to stop cattle rustling.  I always try and include lots of education stops for the kids.  Plus Nadim and I usually learn something new too :)

8:30am  Central Valley

Ugghh, my least favorite part of the drive.  It is sooo boring.

Still the central valley, I've lost track of time.

Noon - Turn off to Sunnyvale - finally!

This is my favorite part of the drive.  We take Hwy 152 and I LOVE the landscape.  I think it is the contrast between green oak trees and the brown grass, coupled with the rolling hills.  Beautiful!

12:30 Gilroy

I like Gilroy, yes it smells like garlic, but I love the falling down barns and the homespun fruit stands.  It's also pretty fun to read all the signs out loud and torture Nadim :)

Fruit stand!  We bought some non-organic cherries on our way through.

1:00pm

Almost to Sunnyvale now.  We've seen more CHP officers on this trip than we have on all our other driving vacations combined. 

I hope you enjoyed your road trip to points north on the I-5.

Stay tuned for Day 2 of our road trip to Sunnyvale.