"Mission Accomplished"

August 11, 2009
Our original plan was a trip to The Shoppes at El Paso, which is an outlet shopping center. On the way I was reading about things to do in El Paso and I told Rick about the Mission Trail. The Mission Trail consists of three old mission churches that range from 150 to over 300 years old. We decided to take the side trip which was actually all the way on the east side of Old Paso>
www.themissiontrail.net/
The drive to get there took us through diverse neighborhoods with some older, shabbier looking homes, commercial areas, chile fields, pecan groves, and Mexican restaurants or food stands advertising their fares about every 500 feet. The three mission churches are Ysleta, Socorro (which is also a town in New Mexico), and San Elizario. At the last church there were two ladies walking around to each door to try to go inside. They told us that they were keeping the church locked up because someone had stolen one of the statues of a saint inside the church a few weeks ago. I guess that nothing is sacred, not even a saint!

After our religious excursion, we went to the Sunland Park Mall which is the biggest one in El Paso. It is very nice inside with lots of big plants and light streaming in but it is also cool and a good respite from the intense heat in the middle of the day. We had lunch at the Greenery Restaurant. They have a very diverse menu and everything is very fresh. I had a turkey sandwich on jalapeno bread with green chiles and avocado. Next door they have a marketplace attached with fresh meats, cheeses, angus beef cuts, seafood, a huge wine selection and lots of gourmet items.

From there we continued to the Shoppes at El Paso. The inventory was not that great so I only purchased a lightweight sweater at Ann Taylor for $12. We were hot, tired and ready to head back to the hotel in Las Cruces for some rest.