By this leg of the journey, I was tired. Like dead tired. I have been having trouble sleeping pretty much every night while away, sometimes due to the time difference, sometimes due to excitement, and apparently, sometimes due to allergic respiratory distress. So, when I rolled into West Baden, expecting to land at the luxurious "Artist's Cottage" that I had reserved, and instead got something more along the lines of Grandma's track home (imagine dead lawn, drab shag carpeting, ugly art, threadbare towels,no soap for taking a shower, and damn near plastic on the sofas), I felt a little disheartened. Not because I am a glamourpuss and afraid to rough it, but because this place was supposed to be where I splurged a bit and treated myself. Add to that the realization that...dun dun dun, there wasn't an internet connection, and I started to feel a bit lower. I tried to buck up, dolled myself up with some lipstick and a nice frock (for those who know me best, these are sure fire ways for me to feel put together and re-energized) and went out to the historic West Baden Springs Hotel for a cocktail and a nice meal. But, as I have mentioned, I was tired-this side of the grave tired-and I just couldn't rally. So, instead, I left, still starving, still feeling a bit blue and homesick. And I found myself at a little Mexican restaurant (thanks Mom!) that proved to be just what the doctor ordered. And when I say doctor, I mean like a Tijuana pharmacist, because the decent carnitas and margarita, the Spanish-speaking waiters, and the Norteno music playing quietly in the background transported me back to California. I left feeling full and whole again.
I went back to Grandma's and after wrestling fruitlessly with ways to try to turn my smart phone into a modem so that I could update the blog, or at least watch a stupid movie on itunes, I abandoned myself to sleep.
This morning I woke up feeling like myself again. I had coffee and cereal and then prepared for my day. The owner of Grandma's, Ms. Vesta Seville, had promised to show me around a bit, beginning with the West Baden Museum. Unfortunately, because of the Fourth of July, the museum proved to be closed. I plan on checking it out tomorrow on my way out of here.
Instead, Vesta showed me the old Ballard mansion (Ballard was a biggie in the circus) and his old barn, where some of the circus animals were kept. The barn now serves as the office for a local electrician, who unfortunately put vinyl siding on part of it. Still, you can get an idea of what it used to look like.
After my whirlwind tour of West Baden, I decided that I would try out the West Baden Springs Hotel again, now that I was fortified and well-slept. I have been sitting here at the bar ever since, taking full advantage of their internet connection, their delicious food and drinks, and of course, their beautiful atrium.
A little history on West Baden, and the West Baden Springs Hotel. This area was very popular, especially in the 1920s, for partying. It was conveniently near Louisville for the Kentucky Derby, as well as being an attractive destination in its own right for its mineral springs. The resorts and casinos here were built to accommodate the likes of Al Capone and other notable/notorious types, who would take their private railcars down here, party it up at the resorts, go down to the races, and then come back up here and party some more. The evidence of this lavish past can be seen in this beautifully extravagant building.
So, that's all the news that's fit to print around these parts. I'm going to go see if there are any Fourth of July festivities going on around here. At the very least I'll try to scare up a burger and a beer somewhere. Maybe I'll even drive out to the circus winter quarters and have a picnic. That sounds appropriately patriotic.
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