Saturday summary, photo-bullet style.
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On our way from Lubbock to Santa Fe, we passed a number of establishments named after various people we know (well, not really, but you know what I mean). Our favorite was this sign in honor of Dave2. |
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We took highway 285 to get to Santa Fe, which turned out to be a big mistake. A portion of the road was down to a single lane shared by the traffic going each way. So we spent quite a while just sitting and waiting for our turn. My guess is at least 20 minutes, but I’m not really sure. |
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When we finally did get to go, we soon discovered that for a large portion of the supposed single lane road, there was really no lane at all. It seemed very odd to be driving on a highway and have it become basically a dirt road for a good stretch. |
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While we were stopped waiting for our turn, we decided to take the top down on the convertible. Wow was the weather perfect for this. It was so nice — definitely one of the best convertible rides I’ve ever had, right up there with driving around Kawaii in a convertible a number of years ago. |
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We finally arrived at our destination, the Santa Fe Sage Inn. One of the nice features is a complimentary shuttle to and from anywhere in downtown Santa Fe (probably a 4 square mile area, I would guess). We took advantage of this to head to where we had last heard Karl was, but he was no longer there. |
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Eventually, we met up with Karl, Geeky Tai-Tai, bellaventa and Libragirl at the Hilton. We got some food and drinks and hung out at the Hilton pool for a while. Eventually, it was time to go get ready for BeerHer.
The order in the picture, from left to right, is: Libragirl, Geeky Tai-Tai, me (in back), Karl, Wayne and bellaventa. |
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We all met up again at the Santa Fe Brewing Company for BeerHer, along with NYC Watchdog and Poppycede, as well as… |
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… Sarah!
It was great to get to meet and hang out with all these new people, though I felt like I already knew several of them. It’s a strange sensation meeting for the first time, someone you already know. The Santa Fe Brewing Compony turned out to be a perfect venue for the inaugural BeerHer, and we found an S-shaped table that was just right for the number of people we had. |
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Later on, Marty and his wife Reba joined us for the tail end of BeerHer. It was wonderful to meet them as well as Marty is another one of those people whom I felt like I already knew. |
After BeerHer ended, Wayne and I decided to head for a casino for a little while. We wound up at the Camel Rock Casino, about 15 minutes north of Santa Fe. We arrived too late for Craps, and there were just a few BlackJack tables open. We played BlackJack for a while and then hit the slots. We both made reasonable donations to the casino so that we can have good luck tomorrow.
Next up, probably some more casino time, some photo tourism and the main event, TequilaCon 2009!
(I’m staying up later each night of this trip. At this rate, I may not sleep at all tomorrow night.)
Renagerie 
#1 by Iron Fist on April 25, 2009 - 9:12 am
Good times. See you tonight!
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#2 by Ren on April 26, 2009 - 2:07 pm
Iron Fist – It was great to meet you last night, even though we didn’t manage to talk much. I’m already looking forward to next year!
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#3 by Faiqa on April 25, 2009 - 9:19 am
Looks like so much fun!!!
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#4 by Ren on April 27, 2009 - 7:00 am
Faiqa – Indeed it was! Sorry you didn’t make it, we’ll have to meet some other time.
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#5 by hello haha narf on April 25, 2009 - 11:11 am
there are some magnificent people down there. i’m so glad you had the opportunity to join in the fun.
it really is weird to meet people you feel as though you know already. when i told people last year that i was driving to meet 60 bloggers from around the country, they kind of freaked and i had to keep explaining that i was only putting skin on friends i already had.
p.s. thanks for the topless photo…wayne looks happy!
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#6 by Ren on April 27, 2009 - 7:01 am
hello haha narf – Wayne’s a happy guy, generally. It’s one of his best qualities.
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#7 by martymankins on April 25, 2009 - 11:23 am
Great photos from both Day 1 and Day 2.
It was great to meet up with you and Wayne. Wayne is taller than I expected and you are shorter than I expected (that’s meant as a compliment)
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#8 by Ren on April 27, 2009 - 7:02 am
martymankins – Thanks. I’ll try get some more photos up soon.
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#9 by Jen on April 25, 2009 - 3:21 pm
Ren, sounds like you guys are having fun. Take the Casino DOWN tonight!
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#10 by Ren on April 27, 2009 - 7:03 am
Jen – I decided not to go back to the casino (I was having too much fun touring the town with other attendees). But Wayne apparently won back his money.
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#11 by Avitable on April 26, 2009 - 9:39 am
Looks like it was fun!
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#12 by Ren on April 27, 2009 - 7:05 am
Avitable – Definitely. I sure hope I can work out attending Avitaween this year.
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#13 by Avitable on April 27, 2009 - 4:06 pm
Me too – you and Wayne can take another road trip!
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#14 by Geeky Tai-Tai on April 28, 2009 - 3:49 pm
Ren, I sure had a fun time meeting you and exploring Santa Fe. I hope we can meet up again some day.
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#15 by Ren on April 29, 2009 - 10:51 am
Geeky Tai-Tai – It was great to meet you as well. I’ll definitely try to attend other blog events in the future, so we should be able to meet again at one of those, at least.
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