There was not much going on today. We slept in a little and had a slow start. We went to the plaza in Santa Fe. It was OK. It reminded me of Old Town Scottsdale. Maybe if we hadn't been from the southwest, we might have enjoyed it more.
After walking around the plaza, we joined our AZ friends for lunch at a local favorite called Horseman's Haven. It's a little hole-in-the-wall family restaurant that our neighbor recommended. We were also referred to that restaurant when we asked some locals. It serves New Mexican cuisine and they are famous for their green chili sauce. They have different levels and we were told to stick with level on, and on the side, since it is a bit spicy. They were right, it was really good and really spicy. I had it on a chicken enchilada and Stan had the "3-D Burrito".
After lunch, we took the boys to baseball. We dropped them off since they had to get the field ready for the game. So, Nikki, Stan and I went to a nearby mall and walked around. It was a nice mall. Not a lot of major stores. It had a lot of boutiques and specialty shops. After window shopping, we got an ice cream and then went back to the ball park, where the guys were just warming up.
The Santa Fe Fuego is part of Pecos League of Professional Baseball Clubs. The guys that are on this team try out every year and it's a summer league. The head coach is Ethan's hitting coach, Bill Moore, who has been around baseball in AZ since the 60's and seems to know everyone who has ever coached in AZ. The guys who play on the team get paid about $55 a week and live with a host family while they are in Santa Fe for the summer. It was fun when they hit home runs...a volunteer passes around a hat and the fans put in money and the money collected goes to the player who hits the home run. That night, they must have hit at least 6 home runs. The players are responsible for getting the field ready for the game and cleaning up after. But what I really noticed was how much fun they were all having and they all genuinely were happy to be there. They welcomed Ethan and his pals and helped them to feel welcomed.
E and Nat on the field
Offering some pitching advice (I think)
Kind of funny here, they were hitting off a tee right before this photo when the one guy just to the left of Ethan noticed Ethan's gigantic feet and they were all comparing shoe and hand sizes. Ethan had the largest hands and feet of the bunch, but was the shortest.
The team before the game started.
Ethan's new hat
Bill Moore, their hitting coach
The game ran late and it was really cold out (in the low 60s with wind). The Fuego ended up winning and the boys had a chance to thank their coach after the game.
