Bill and I had a wonderful reservation only breakfast, seated in the outdoor alcove of the Inn. It meant we were alone for our start of the day, before heading to the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in the center of Santa Fe. We had not been to mass since spring but thought this would be a great time to go. Upon our arrival, they asked if we had a reservation. (No, we did not.) “You are in luck! You two are the last walk-ins to be allowed in!” After submitting our names and phone number for contact tracing, spritzing on hand sanitizer, and agreeing to masks throughout service, we were seated in the distanced designated seat.

Since today was the feast day of St. Francis, and the namesake of the Basilica, Archbishop John Weston presided over the service. The orchestra and singing were astounding for a Sunday mass and we felt like we were at a performance. There were probably less than 100 attendees in this beautiful Cathedral, constructed in 1869 on the site of the original adobe church and founded in the same year as the city of Santa Fe in 1610. Once the sacrament was distributed, we had to leave the church and partake outside. We walked around the church park and saw an engraved tree with the Prayer of St. Francis adorning the trunk.

We walked around the beautiful shops in the square until our 11:30 reservation at the Georgia O’Keefe Museum, passing a  bronze statue outside the YMCA building with four children forming the letters. Only a few were allowed in at a time, and Bill and I enjoyed the exhibit immensely before our next reservation for lunch at the Plaza Cafe overlooking the square. It was another perfect weather day to sit outside and enjoy the music from the park and people watching.

This was a day of reservations only, and we are getting the hang of it, so we made reservations for the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum for tomorrow. We had thought about a drive to Taos, but our activities took too long and we have a long drive tomorrow to Oklahoma City, so we picked up our laundry and relaxed for the afternoon. I am impressed with the way New Mexico handles the COVID precautions, even in the restaurants.