More Flying Stars, Pennysmiths, and Velociraptors on Velocipedes

Okay, I’m going to rush through this one. Sorry. But I know you’ll forgive me. You’re good that way. Understanding. Compassionate. And besides. You knew I was a slacker when you met me. So no complaining now. And you in the back row? I saw you rolling your eyes. Don’t do that. Or at least take ‘em off the floor when you do. And stop playing marbles with ‘em. You might get dints.

Where was I? Oh, yes, I’m going to rush a bit because I’ve written a lot about our trips to Albuquerque in the past, and if I’m not getting bored with it, I’m guessing you may be. So, I’ll breeze along here for a while and we’ll get to Taos and Santa Fe sooner rather than later.

About the photos: First, the “Bird Dog.” Yeah, yeah, I know. The first time you saw that joke you laughed so hard you fell off your dinosaur. But, heck. Best I could do on short notice. Second, Martha at Old Town, This is one of the massive gates to the area. And, third, the interior of one of our favorite restaurants in Old Town, the High Noon.

Oh, and one last thing: a velociraptor on a velocipede. Why? Because why not?

So we headed off to breakfast at the Flying Star Cafe on Rio Grande. We hadn’t realized it, but it turned out we’d been to this particular Flying Star several times before. (I don’t know how we managed to forget the address, but I manage to space out on a lot of stuff, why not this as well?) We used to frequent it when we lived in Albuquerque and we’d take jaunts to Corrales and other parts north. (An aside, if you ever get a chance, do visit Corrales.[1] It is basically a rural village completely surrounded by the cities of Albuquerque and Rio Rancho. We had some wonderful times there.)

So we were pleasantly surprised to find ourselves at the familiar Cafe. I’ll post a few pictures. It is a terrific place with interior and exterior dining options and some fun decorations and art on the inside. I think my favorite of the latter is the flying dog that hangs from the ceiling in one location. (Oh, I get it. Visual pun. Bird Dog. Right. Okay. To quote the immortal and clueless Les Nessman, “It’s a joke. And a darned funny one, too. Snicker.”[2]

The food was excellent, and afterwards we toured the immediate area. The restaurant is in a sort of strip mall which also contains one of the best bookstores in the city, Bookworks.(3) We both bought books. We always buy books. But you knew that. Inevitable. Like Monday comes before Tuesday.

Then it was up the way to Pennysmiths Paper, a stationery store in the same collection of shops. Rather nice. Worth a visit.(4)

From there, it was down to Old Town, which I’ve described many, many times. We did our usual tour. We weren’t able to see our friend Connie at Old Town Antiques.(5) But we’ll try again on our next visit.

Then it was time for lunch. And, of course, we went to High Noon, the only restaurant which we frequent in Old Town, and one of the few in the area that actually offers really good food. Many of the others, alas, have succumbed to what I call “tourist trap syndrome,” where high rents force you to offer meals which are high priced (for the customer) but cheap (for you), and where there is no motivation to keep up quality, given that your customers are coming from distant places, and will probably never return, and so you really don’t care if there is any repeat business.

Anyway, we ate. I had Green Chile Stew, one of my favorites. Martha had a southwestern salad with chicken. All good.

After that, we did a few chores. We had to find a pharmacy ...which took longer than we’d thought. Somehow our map app search for a “pharmacy near me” send us way, waay, waaaay up Central, which is to say, Where God Left His Velocipede. Or was that Velociraptor? Six of one. Then we went to a grocery store and bought some bread, cheese, and wine for dinner. Finally, we headed back to the Airbnb. And that, basically, was our day.

Wasn’t that exciting?

Okay, it wasn’t. But, heck, I did the best I could with the material at hand. Next time I’ll make up something. Maybe we’ll get kidnapped by Martian velociraptors on velocipedes on the way back from the grocery store. But they let us go when they heard my seventh attempt at humor. I mean, heck...that would be enough to make anyone toss us out of the UFO over the Rio Grande.

But...seriously...

Though nothing really exciting happened that day, we had a lovely time. After all the lunacy in our lives for the last few months...ranging from the political to the personal...it was a vast relief, verging on the heaven-sent, to just have a moment or two in which we simply had a good time.

Indeed, we didn’t know it yet but we were on the verge of a resolution...

A plan...

To make us a little bit happier.

More to come.

***

Footnotes:

1. See “Corrales,” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corrales,_New_Mexico

2. To those poor benighted souls who have never watched WKRP, Les Nessman is the show’s bewildered and ineffectual newsman. Les, played by the talented actor and screenwriter Richard Sanders, is earnest, oblivious, and gloriously, fabulously, and magnificently incompetent.

I identify with him more with every passing day.

See: “Les Nessman,” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Nessman, and “Richard Sanders (actor),” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Sanders_(actor)

3. Again, if you’re visiting, definitely give it a shot. Bookworks’ webpage is here: https://bkwrks.com/

4. Pennysmiths Paper has a website here: https://www.pennysmiths.com/. Note, except for the fact that you may occasionally find Stephen King books on display, this has nothing to do with Pennywise. Though, admittedly, a killer clown hiding in the remainders section might make an interesting addition to any bookstore’s ambiance.

5. Again, I’ve written about Connie and her shop many times. It is definitely a must-see if you’re in the area. Here’s the webpage: https://oldtownantiquesabq.com/

Copyright©2026 Michael Jay Tucker

Care to help out?

I provide these blog postings for free. That’s fine and I’m happy to do so. But, long ago and far away, I was told that if you give away your material, that means you don’t really think it has any value.

So, to get beyond that, I’ve decided to make it possible for you to leave me a “tip” for my posts.

If you like what I write or the videos I produce, and feel you could make a small contribution to support my efforts, please go here:

https://michaeljaytucker.gumroad.com/l/lzumj

That will take you to a Gumroad page where you’ll have the option of leaving me a few pence by way of encouragement.

Again, I don’t mind if you don’t. I just want to provide you with the option so that I won’t feel quite so much like I’m just tossing my works into the wind.

Either way, thanks hugely for dropping by the blog :-)

~mjt

#StampOutEnnui #MichaelJayTucker #MarthaTucker #MarthaAndMichaelChronicles #StompEnnuiLikeItWasABug #explosive_cargo #Xcargo #StampOutEnnui #MichaelJayTucker #MarthaTucker #MarthaAndMichaelChronicles #StompEnnuiLikeItWasABug #explosive_cargo #Xcargo #Saint_Michael #Michael_The_Archangel #NewMexico #Taos #Albuquerque #SantaFe