Imagine my relief when I opened this morning’s newspaper to read the headline: “TIER 3 ON THURSDAY,” saying that Oahu residents will be able to have larger gatherings starting on Thursday, due to the drop in coronavirus cases. The latest 7-day average of new cases has remained below 50 for two weeks and under a rate of 2.5% positivity. In fact, yesterday in Oahu there were only 29 new cases with a 1.1% statewide positivity rate. This is most welcome news!

This means that social gatherings of up to 10 people can take place and retail and service businesses may operate at 50% capacity. Restaurants may have up to 10 unrelated people in one party. Funerals may have up to 25 people and churches, which up to now have had to operate at 50% capacity, are now allowed (no number was specified).

I took the news to mean a green light on my fall travel plans. I’ll be flying to Albuquerque in the middle of October, to meet up with my husband’s cousins and sister in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The family on his maternal side was extremely close during their growing up years in Port Angeles, WA. His mother had two older brothers with three daughters each. In Carl’s family, he had a younger sister—making for a total of 7 girls and only 1 boy, Carl. He told me that being the only boy in a bunch of girls meant that he was a “pill” most of the time!

Over the years, the cousins have had a number of reunions, as you can see by the photos below, some of which took place at family funerals.

This year, they decided to include me in the festivities, which will take place in Santa Fe. We’ll be staying at La Fonda, a hotel advertised as the only hotel on the historic Santa Fe Plaza, and adjacent to the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi.

From the cathedral’s website: The City of Santa Fe was founded in 1610. That same year the first church was built on this site. The original adobe church was replaced in 1630 by a larger one, which was destroyed by the Pueblo Indian Revolt of 1680.

The expelled Spaniards returned in 1693, but were not able to rebuild the church until 1714. This new church was named in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi, the Patron Saint of Santa Fe.

The only part of this church still existing is the small adobe chapel dedicated to Our Lady La Conquistadora. Brought from Spain in 1625, the statue is the oldest representation of the Virgin Mary in the United States.

The Cathedral of Saint Francis of Assisi was officially elevated to a basilica by Pope Benedict XVI on October 4, 2005, when it was named the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi.

I looked at a map to find out that Santa Fe is only 328 miles away from El Paso, Texas — and you know who’s in El Paso? My very good friend and duet partner, Jieun Kim Newland! I will be staying with her for a few days before uniting with my sisters in Washington, DC from where we’ll be taking a tour to France, Spain and Portugal!