A Western Gathering?

Too bad about La Pinta, but I still think we should eat out to avoid all the trouble of catering unless there aren't any restaurants available.
Thanks, Asherman and Natalie, for all you've done; it's really appreciated. Looking forward to meeting both of you.

Yes, Asherman. Thanks for all the effort you've expended on this event.

A -10

According to the members of Dine.com, the top rated "Mexican" restaurant in Albuquerque is "El Pinto", not "La Pinta". The second highest rated is Los Cuates. Check out that website.

I've mearly mis-represented the name. El Pinto is the masculine form of la Pinta, and I had the wrong gender. Back in Texas during the 19th century a bloody little war brokeout over a similar error. A well-regarded hispanic rancher was accused of stealing some horses. The sheriff needed to go out and investigate the accusation. He didn't speak Spanish, and had to ask a local man to come along and translate for him. They rode out to the accused's place, and were invited up onto the porch. There the sheriff asked to see any horses the accused might have on hand. The translator indiscriminately used the male gender for horse. Since the rancher had no stallions in the corral, he replied that he had no horses to be inspected. Now the sheriff had seen horses in the distant corral, and thereby was led to believe that the rancher must be guilty because of the lie. The sheriff tried to arrest the rancher, who resisted violently and escaped into the hills. Thereafter, a long period of warfare existed between the Anglo and Hispanic communities. Oh well, in this case I think it unlikely that any deaths will result from my blundering.

Sorry about that, and even more sorry that we were unable to get reservations. Las Cuates (The Twins), is indeed one of our favorite restaurants. When putting together a catered meal, we intended getting the enchaladas from las Cuates. The problem with Las Cuates is that there isn't a private room, and the large dinning areas tend to be somewhat noisy. There are two Las Cuates sites, and we will be checking the second location out this week. Personally, I like Las Cuates a whole lot; their salsa is unique in a part of the country that prides itself on individualized salsa reciepes.

There are something like 165 Mexican restaurants in this town, and we've only tried around sixty so far. Bear with us. We do have a backup, but are still looking for something that better meets the groups need. Natalie is on the telephone as I write this checking places. Hopefully this afternoon we will be able to go out and do a site evaluation of some of the potential places.

Asherman, there's a movie on that horse-mare episode: "The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez".

And did you know the word "cuates" derives from Nahuatl (Aztec) and means"snakes"? A whole lot of Aztec cosmology behind that word.

Fbaezer, I remember seeing that movie many years ago.

What about all of us sharing first names? It might help to become a little more familiar with who's who before we all arrive.
Guess what mine is?

Diane and first names
Diane, I hope people will only reveal their first names via private messages, not in the forum. Too many wierdos out there and armies of spammers.

BumbleBeeBoogie

BBB, I've never had a problem, but Diane is a fairly common name.
PM'ing or just waiting until we all arrive in Albuquerque is fine with me.

Diane,

(excuse me guys, the girls have to talk a minute.) You, Joanne and I and any other ladies planning attendance should talk about what we're going to wear. (giggle) Not, I might add, that it will influence me at all in what I bring along. I just like to talk clothes. And please no one tell me to be informal, what ever that means. I'm never formal.

OK, I am listening vicariously here, please don't be offended, I would like to join you all. Quiet is good, you can make your own noise. Space. Any lodges around there?

You never know. Diane and I palled around in New York and waltzed into at least five restaurants, losing count now, with room for talk, which happened to be right near where we were standing when we were hungry.

The quietest was the one in the theatre district, after theater started....

What you wear doesn't matter, whether you are having fun being there...well, you will, and that will vaporize costuming cares. Not that you shouldn't dress for fun, as not to worry about it. Of course, I have only met other women, so who am I kidding.

On photos, I have met various on line people and taken pictures and not taken picture of them. I think it is important to listen to people's choices re photo'ing,
and offensive not to. It isn't cute to just ignore their wishes.

lola

the red leather thing

I'm sure you look absolutely fabulous in red leather, Blatham darlin...........

BumbleBeeBoogie will wear....?
For our Western gathering, BumbleBeeBoogie plans to wear a gownless evening strap.

Yes indeedy!

A -9

Ossbusco,

Come on down. The hotel of choice is the Howard Johnson's on Pan American. There is a link there to reserve space on page 12 or 13. You may want to checkout a few of the following pages where regional background and activities are touched on. The telephone number for Corazon can be had via PM.

In re. Dress:

Casual dress here is almost mandatory. Formal usually means that someone has passed an iron over the cloth sometime during the last week. Cutoffs, tee-shirts and short sleeve shirts are very "in style" here. For those unused to bright sunlight at over 5000 ft above sealevel in a dry climate, sunburn is a danger. At least one set of light-weight long sleeves, and long pants will help protect your skin. Whites, light colors and pastels tend to work better than basic black. A wide brimmed staw hat isn't just useful to fit in, it will provide welcome shade from the sun. Staw hats can be purchased here for as little as $20. Comfortable walking shoes trump pretty little clodhoppers. I wear sandals a lot.

Swim suits are optional, but have pitty on the rest of us if you haven't the figure of a greek god(ess). We probably have enough towels. The lawn is shaded by pines, the patio is covered and has a misting system for cooling. The house itself has two air-conditioners and a swamp cooler. What I'm saying is that, I expect everyone to be comfortable no matter what you choose to wear. We will designate guestrooms as "ladies" and "gents" changing rooms, so you can easily change as many times a day as you wish.

Dinner may be somewhat more dressy, but I haven't worn my tux since retiring. Long sleeves and pants for the gents is good enough. No ties or sportscoats, as they are too formal for anywhere we will be going. The ladies may want to bring a dress, or slightly fancy pants suit, if they want to dress up. Do travel light! Luggage on aircraft these days is hardly worth the hassel. If you need additional clothing, I'm sure it can be arranged here inexpensively. Wal-Mart, Target, and K-Mart all have outlets close.

In re. Dinner:

It really is a shame about El Pinto being booked solid for the 24th. The Casa de Benevidez is a credible choice, but they don't take reservations so we would have to just show up and take our chances on the wait. Natalie and I weren't able to get out for site visits yeseterday (digging in the garden, a cable was cut). Natalie is a docent at the Pueblo Indian Cultural Center this morning, but we hope to evaluate five restaurants later today for suitability. In a worst case scenario, we can always revert to catering.

I didn't know Albuquerque is only 2200 feet lower than Mexico City. I was expecting more oxygen.

I'm so sorry ya'll.....if I'd planned further in advance, I could have made the trip. I just can't afford it....

The fares I found are excellent though if anyone else is still looking.

I'm expecting as many, if not more, pictures than we took at the Florida Gathering!

Love,

Rae

Natalie and I have spent the afternoon evaluating restaurants. We've eaten well, but far too much. The good news is that we've found a good substitute for the El Pinto on the 24th. We've made reservations for 12-16 people at the Cervantes Restaurant with arrival expected between 7:30 and 8 p.m. The ambiance is nice, the food tasty and the entree prices reasonable. We will have a private room with a capacity of up to around 25, if that should become necessary. Noise levels in the room are low. A variety of drinks are available. New Mexican dinner entrees run from $7-$8.75. Steak dinners were around $18, and many items on the ala carte menu less than $7. All in all, a good meal for any budget or taste. We were favorably impressed, and will probably eat at Cervantes on a regular basis in the future.

We are recommending Weck's on the corner of Louisiana and Montgomery for breakfast. The servings are large, the quality of the food excellent, and the prices hard to beat. We expect to have coffee, tea and some pastries and a bit of fresh fruit during the morning of the 24th for those whose breakfast appetites are small. Watermellon, fresh fruit, and finger-foods are the planned snacks for afternoon. How we handle lunch will be determined by the folks in attendance.

The County Line would not take reservations for dinner on Friday the 23rd, so we will take our chances of getting the view table(s) and the length of wait necessary. As a backup, we have reservations at another local steak and BBQ restaurant in the same neighborhood for the evening of the 23rd. We haven't eaten at the backup restaurant, so it's a bit of unknown.

We expect that anyone arriving on the 22nd will dine with us here at Corazon ... no menu planned at this time. RSVP if you expect to eat with us on the 22nd, please. What sort of dinner arrangements for the 25th will be needed? Who expects to still be in town Sunday evening, the 25th?

We can do a lot, but need guidance as to our guests needs and desires.

Ossobuco, how I wish you could come. Yes, NYC was great fun with the real emphasis on friendship, followed by comfort vs style in choice of clothing.
Having grown up in Tucson and spending lots of time with relatives in CO, the sun is something you really need to pay attention to or risk ruining your vacation.
I'm bringing a swim suit--why shouldn't I since it sent me into a bout of almost terminal depression? I plan to get some good swimming in to make up for the hours of misery after trying the damn thing on. Asherman, save a large towel for me--I might wear it into the pool over my suit. LOL
The rest of the time I plan on wearing shorts and sandals with the exception of a dress when we go out to eat. Very simple.