Many people spend wedding anniversaries eating the defrosted cake they saved from their wedding or going to a fancy dinner with tons of bubbly and a view of the beach. My husband and I decided to take the not-so-traveled route and took a trip to Taos, New Mexico for four days.
Each day we did something new and followed a lot of wonderful recommendations we received from the locals.
Day 1
We booked a tiny home through Airbnb, which was amazing. After arriving around 4 p.m. we went into town to see what Taos had to offer. We found the cutest strip of shops filled with local artwork, crafts, clothing and delectable food.
We stopped in La Cueva Cafe for dinner, a tiny restaurant with only four tables inside. We ordered an agave wine margarita, fresh guacamole and chips, and the enchiladas de camaron enchipotladas and loved it all.
Day 2
Our Airbnb host was a couple from France and the husband is a chef. They offer a breakfast menu for their guests, which includes homemade croissants, butter, jams and lattes. We ordered these twice as they were so tasty. The couple even left a bottle of jam for us to take home as an anniversary present.
Breakfast croissants at our Airbnb.
Once we finished breakfast we headed to Taos Ski Valley. (Travel tip: Before we left home we purchased our lift tickets at Costco, which saved us more than $130 and also allowed us to skip the line at the resort. We bought our snowboarding gear off Facebook Marketplace and Amazon, which saved us around $600 each.)
The mountain and the mini town inside were so beautiful. We stayed on the mountain until 2 p.m. then headed back to our tiny house to rest before dinner.
For dinner we went to Taos Mesa Brewing, a local brewery that brews its own IPAs and other delicious beers. We tried the majority of their drink menu, plus two of their famous dishes – the wood-fired pizza and queso fondido, a skillet fired cheese served with thin bread slices made in-house.
Taos Mesa Brewing. (Photo courtesy of New Mexico TRUE)
After dinner we walked in town and ended up at the Sagebrush Inn for drinks and dancing. We met some fun and personable locals and enjoyed watching their one-step style of dancing as compared to our two-step style in Oklahoma.
Day 3
We woke up feeling extremely sore from snowboarding so rather than snowboarding again, we went to check out some recommendations the locals gave us and set out for Rio Grande Gorge. A steel bridge spans the Gorge, around 600 feet above the Rio Grande River, making it one of the highest bridges in the U.S.
An overlook at the Rio Grande Gorge. (Photo courtesy New Mexico TRUE)
After the Gorge, we made our way to Vivac Winery for some wine tasting, handcrafted chocolates, crackers and cheese. This place is a must-see spot for anyone visiting. The locals love the winery so much that when harsh weather was threatening the grapes, they pitched in to help by building fires to warm the vineyard and ensure the grapes would ripen.
We left the winery and stopped for lunch at Michael’s Kitchen, which we heard is known for its breakfast. We ordered the fish and chips and the classic burrito, which were both very tasty. In the afternoon we headed to town for some shopping and a local favorite Sabrosa where the bartenders handcraft margaritas from fresh fruit. During its afternoon happy hour, you can enjoy $5 house margaritas and select appetizers.
We ended the night with some friends at The Sagebrush Inn with $3 drinks and shrimp quesadillas (this is a must).
Day 4
This was our travel day so we enjoyed breakfast at the famous Taos Diner II (there are two in the city). We ordered the chicken fried steak breakfast and the chorizo breakfast burrito, which is huge, but delicious. Then it was time for the 8-hour drive back home.
This trip was phenomenal. We hope to make it back to Taos soon to revisit all these amazing spots and stay at the same Airbnb.
For more on Taos, visit Taos.org
– Kristen Fine