American Road Trip 1979 on Kodachrome

boojum said:
@Retro-Grouch I tried to post this in a message to you but it is too long so the board will have to suffer it along with you:

When I was in the Chimayo area in '09 I had a contact who was local. Indian given shortly after birth to New Mexican Spanish and raised by them. He had solid roots in both cultures and his natural dad took him as a youth to the mystic holy places of powerful stones and so forth. He had a good job in the VA and did well because he could get along with the New Mexicans, Mexicans, Indians and Anglos. He was a fun guy but had that disease which claims so many Indians, the bottle. Great guy with amazing pull. Got us into a few "closed:" churches that are famous. The insides with the agonies of saints in carved, bleeding and tortured figures. Very Latin and alien to my life. It was a trip into another world.

We saw the "holy pit" later revealed to be a hoax filled by the priests at night. Oh, well. All in all a very different place and an interesting one. The babe I was with had lived in Chimayo for two or three years and shot a lot of pics on our trip. I, regrettably, did not. I will not have the opportunity again to get into those "closed" churches.

A little laugh, the babe had connections down in ABQ whom we visited. And we went out for dinner at a joint where the locals eat. Their son wanted get one up on me and see how thick my mud was on hot stuff. He ordered his stuff "Christmas Tree" so I did the same. He figured he had bagged me. LMAO I grew up eating hot foods and liberally use Tabasco and Tabasco Sriracha. When I plowed through the tacos or burritos without breaking a sweat he was at first disappointed and then welcomed me to the club. This has happened before. Folks rarely think a pale Anglo like me eats that stuff.

I know you are eatin' good in NM.
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Yeah, the chile thing is a whole macho stud routine. I have a neighbor (Anglo, and my age, old enough to know better) who grows Habaneros and Ghost Peppers. He plucks them off the plant and eats them raw. Hours of wholesome, fun entertainment when guests come by. 🔥
The next morning? Who knows! But cue Johnny Cash singing "Ring of Fire".
On our first visit to NM, we went to the Santuario de Chimayo. Inside the church, I was stunned by the representations of tortured saints and Jesus writhing in agony on the cross. It felt absolutely Medieval! I was raised Catholic (no longer am), but it was a very genteel, East Coast version. I found Chimayo frightening, and my partner, a very lapsed Congregationalist and Agnostic, couldn't really understand my reaction. Nevertheless, he had the good sense to get me the hell out of there, and sat me down to a good plate of tamales and chiles rellenos. That cured my heebie-jeebies, but I've remembered that experience vividly. What's one person's pious faith is another person's terrifying fanaticism. I try not to judge. But...
 
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rfaspen said:
Please never compare NM and Texas. Nothing against Texas, but.....
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Oh, I hear you!
I had a side gig, briefly, working in a gift shop at the Albuquerque Airport. We sold lots of tourist tchotchkes, many showcasing the NM state flag and its Zia symbol:
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I can't tell you how many Texans came into the shop, pointed at the bright yellow hats with the Zia, and proclaimed, "Ya know what that's for? That's so us Texans know where to aim!"
Nyuk. Nyuk. Nyuk...
 
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lynnb said:
USA40-25 Sausalito, 21 June 1979. I’m curious to know what that vehicle is on the right. Sure is ugly..

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A mid-late 1950s Chev or Pontiac, my guess is 1956 or 1957. Iconic now, but they were a dime a dozen and as cheap as chips in all the used car lots in North Am in the early '70s. Two passengers, gas guzzlers, cement block suspensions and uncomfortable as anything to drive. Many had gun racks behind the front seat. The building is typical 1890s California kitsch architecture. Unlike SF, Sausalito had (and may yet have) seemingly endless streets of those as they survived the big earthquake of 1906. A pleasant town, refreshingly unpretentious after a few days or a week of the unending energetic yuppy hype vibe of SF.
 
lynnb said:
USA40-23 San Francisco from Sausalito, 21 June 1979.
It would be interesting to compare this with today’s skyline.

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I had a small 26' Pearson at South Beach Marina in SF. It was a great joy to sail up north to the Bay proper and across to Angel Island, through Raccoon Straight and then to Sausalito. The change from SF to Sausalito was jackets and sweaters to T-shirts. And the view on the run east from the GG Bridge gave is a starboard view that you have there. It was an easy run and time for lunch. Usually kielbasa, good cheese, baguettes from Bakers of Paris in SF and Martinelli's. That view is the same from a cheap Pearson as it is from a multi-million dollar Swan Nautors, just wonderful. Thanks for the memories. ;o)
 
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