Good morning everyone!! Audreyal Koinva reporting here, back in Apache Junction, Arizona. It is Thursday, December 6th, 2018; and Savannah and I returned back to Arizona on Monday, December 3rd, 2018. It feels great to be back home, but like every show we attend, we very much miss being there.
For me, this was the very first time attending The Poeh Cultural Center's 2018 Winter Market Show, and I'm very happy to be thought of and invited to do this show. We met a lot of other great artists there, not to mention all the customers visiting from many different places. Care to hear our experience? Okay!! Here we go!!
We got invited on Thursday, November 29th, and began our journey on Friday, November 30th. Driving up passing Payson to Heber was very scary for me because it was snowing. Oh how much I absolutely love the snow, I'm not used to driving through it. I drove slow not giving too much care about who I was angering behind me on the road. I was saving lives (laughs).
Made it to Heber, Arizona; and then onward to Holbrook, Arizona. It was so beautiful and clear from what we could tell. But driving from Holbrook to Gallup, New Mexico, the snow clouds came. There was minor traffic on the road that must've just happened of a diesel truck that was turned on it's side. I was sad to see such an accident, and prayed that everyone involved were okay. Because of this, we drove extra careful around larger vehicles.
Crossing the border, the skies were beautiful and the drive was smooth. Reaching Albuquerque, New Mexico, it was a bit windy and chilly when we stopped for a bite to eat. We were going to eat at the casino but we were eager to make it to Pojoaque, New Mexico before it got too dark. So we kept on going.
It was so nice to seeAlbuquerque again. I haven't been there in two years so it was exciting for me to be back. Traveling through a major city on a Friday around 5pm can get hectic during traffic, but luckily it wasn't bad at all so we were thankful for that.
Driving towards Santa Fe, we had to turn off onto another highway that Savannah and I have never been on. And around that area, our cellphones were having a hard time connecting to Google Maps. By this time, the snow clouds made one side of the sky black and the other side bright due to the sunset. We were driving right under the dark snow clouds. We've never been to Pojoaque before so we kinda needed our maps at this point.
From this highway to another highway was quite tricky, so we slowed way down and hoped for the best until we actually seen a sign with a familiar word to our destination.
We made reservations at the Cities of Gold Casino hotel which was right next to the casino itself. I was amazed at how close we were to the Poeh Cultural Center. 0.6 miles away, can you believe it? It was awesome!!
We checked into our hotel, and went looking for a Walmart straight away to gather more things for our day the next day. We got some healthy snacks and drinks, grabbed some dinner to take back to the room to enjoy. In the morning, we were running late. The hotel was kind enough to give us a $10 breakfast voucher from the restaurant in the casino. We went in, ordered and figured we wouldn't be able to dine in, so we asked for our breakfast to go. Thanks to the voucher, we only paid $0.83. Eighty-three cents. That was also very kind of them.
Drove the 0.6 miles to the show and it was freezing after making two trips to the car. I must say that I was a bit disappointed at where they had us set up in. It was like a kitchen with an emergency shower as soon as you walk in, with a huge kitchen sink, a counter that had a large food scale and a metal dish sanitizer machine. It was quite embarrassing because people would peek in, see those things and walk back out. I tried to enlighten the situation and tell others we were about to make bread since the Pueblo ovens were outside. I don't think anyone got it (laughs).
We enjoyed the show, got to connect with a lot of awesome people. I even got to meet a Santo Domingo woman who is Antelope clan in her tribe. Her and I are relatives because I'm also from the Antelope clan. She came out from behind her table and gave me a hug. She told me I now have another family in Santo Domingo. You don't know how happy I was to hear that. I will be sending her a Christmas card; and if you would like to receive a Christmas card, enter your PO Box and/or home address to: audreyalkoinva@hotmail.com
The entire weekend was so enjoyable, we can't wait to return next year. Hopefully next year, we'll be somewhere a lot more noticeable and respectable. I shouldn't really complain because it actually was last minute. Last minute but very thankful for it. Thank you all so, so much for stopping by and wanting to learn all about my work the The Hopi People. I hope to see you all again soon!! Follow us on Facebook and Instagram!! Our IG (Instagram) is quite new so give us a while to really begin posting there. Safe travels everyone!! +Audie