Why do I feel like I need a vacation when I return from one? I just spent eight days "on the road" with my husband, youngest son and the kid-across-the-street.
Our family vacation was part work, but mostly play-time. (My husband owns an entertainment company. People pay him "the big bucks" to make them dance and have a good time.) Hubby was booked for a wedding in Eureka Springs, Arkansas so we loaded up the whole fam-damily into our mini-van (I can't believe we have a mini-van...the new millennium equivalent to the Ford Country Squire station wagon) and drove the six-hours to Arkansas. Upon our arrival, I found the grandiose Crescent Hotel to be a bit sad. The halls are not air conditioned. To be more specific, it was darned hot. Our room was "quaint and cozy" just as described on the elaborate website. *Please note: another word for "quaint and cozy" is small and run-down. Thankfully, the room was equipped with a 21st-century a/c unit the I promptly cranked down to a more civilized 70 degrees.
The next time I talk about staying at a historic hotel, please, someone hit me over the head with a frying pan or take my temperature, or something!
The Crescent Hotel has had a variety of incarnations. Not to be confused with re-incarnation...the stuff of ghost stories and ghoulish tales.
The year is 1884 and the “healing waters” of the Ozarks had become well known across the nation. People were swarming to Eureka Springs in hopes of curing their ailments and easing their pains. Developers planned to take advantage of these travelers by building the most luxurious resort in the country. And so the Crescent Hotel was born. Unfortunately, people found out that the "healing waters" weren't so healing. The hotel began to suffer. In 1908, the hotel was turned into a women's college, more specifically, The Crescent College and Conservatory for Young Women. Beyond the time the hotel spent as a women's college, a "quack" doctor named Norman Baker purchased the hotel for a mere $40,000 (why can't I ever find a deal like this???) and opened his cancer hospital. People in the 1930's were desperate for a cancer cure and flocked to the hospital making Dr. Baker a very rich man. Over the years, many people died in the hotel and thus, the story goes, the property is haunted.
While my husband made people dance, myself, my son and the kid-across-the-street went ghost hunting. For a mere $18.00 a person, you can hear all the horrible tales as told by area locals that are really raking in the bucks. I counted 47 people on our tour. At $18 each, that's nearly $850.00 Not bad for a night's work. (My husband did manage to beat the ghosts, and we got a free room to boot!) They conduct ghost tours every night. If you're lucky (or un-lucky, depending upon how you look at it)you may see an apparition, or feel a "cold spot" hence, a ghost is nearby!
Sadly, the only ghosts we saw were those of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln floating out of our wallet...
The next day is Sunday and we enjoy a complimentary brunch, also part of my husband's stipend. Life is good. I almost feel like a celebrity. Or, more like the wife of a celebrity...
Next stop, St. Louis!!!! And the arch! The gateway to the west!!! When you're up in the arch, you can feel a gentle sway. It's supposed to do this, I'm told. Quite frankly, it scares me. I can just imagine the entire arch swaying too far one way or the other and all of the tourists crashing to the ground in a heap of cameras, sunglasses and bags of souveniers.
A trip to the top of the arch is a little cheaper than ghost hunting in Arkansas, but not much. They get you in the gift shop, where I bought t-shirts, key chains, mugs, the typical tourist-trash. Love St. Louis.
The next day we head for Louisville!! Woo-Hoo!!! The home of the Louisville Slugger! That's one tour I'll skip. Let the husband take the young son and the kid-from-across-the-street.
I love Louisville. Maybe it's just the fact that it's the south. Everything is more genteel and people talk with a slight southern drawl...or maybe it's the old southern mansions with their huge white columns and rolling blue-green lawns. I can just imagine myself inhabiting one of these grandioise houses, floating around the house in a strand of pearls and a cashmere sweater set, sipping a mint-julip and planning our annual Derby-party. Just a typical southern housewife... Sadly, after spending all my money on ghost-hunts in Arkansas and key-chains in St. Louis, there's no money left in the budget to buy a mansion in Louisville. Darn! Someday I'll learn to budget my money better!
After spending several relaxing days with friends in Louisville, (pronounced Lou-ville by the locals) we move on to my in-laws house in Tennessee. Very nice, down-to-earth folks.
Now, I'm not a country girl at all. My friends will tell you that taking me for a weekend in the country is like pulling off artificial fingernails, or selling off my handbag collection at a garage sale. But my in-laws do country living right; they live on a golf course in a resort!
Ah yes! Nothing like coffee on the deck as you look out over the ninth hole with the mountains in the background. I think I almost like the country!
The best thing about visiting my in-lawws, is that my mother-in-law is an amazing cook. She just "whips-up" these wonderfully tasty, stick-to-your-ribs meals. I can't stay too long or I'll find myself the star of a bad reality show about the 600 lb. Dallas mom.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)