Indian Mounds, Food and Cake!

 

     Saturday was a beautiful day in Illinois. It was much too pretty to stay inside, so we decided to take a road trip to Cahokia Mounds. We have talked about going for years, but we always seem to put it off. Cahokia Mounds is the largest prehistoric Indian site north of Mexico. I always thought it was all burial mounds, but actually it was once a large city and the mounds had a variety of purposes. The Late Woodland Indians settled here around 700 AD. The Mississippians arrived between 800-1000 AD and created a large community that after 1050 AD became a regional center with a population of 10-20,000 people. The community centered around Monks Mound (above) and a huge Grand Plaza where public gatherings took place.  

 

 

     Some of the mounds were used as final resting places, but others had buildings on top and were used for other things. There are several walking paths that you can take and each mound has a name/number. Some have be excavated, others have not. 

   

 

     Above you see a an example of what they have found to be one of the Stockade walls that once formed a boundary around the central part of the city. Excavation showed the deep holes where the posts had once been and they reconstructed a segment of the wall.

 

 

 

     Monks Mound is the one mound that you can actually climb to the top of. It is the largest prehistoric earthen construction in the New World. The base covers over 14 acres and it rises in four terraces to a height of 100 feet. The front of the mound is called the South Ramp. They found indentations in the South Ramp that they believe came from wooden steps that were once placed there. Thankfully, they have added new steps so that you can climb in the same place the Prehistoric Indians did, in a slightly easier way (although it is quite a climb).

 

     Above you can see the people on top of Monks Mound and below, you can see our view from about halfway up the stairs.

 

     The view from the top is amazing. You can see the St. Louis Arch in the distance as well as the buildings in the city. From the other side you can see another Stockade reconstruction.

     There is a lovely Interpretive Center at Cahokia Mounds with a gift shop, displays, restrooms and vending machines. It has a walk through museum type area that explains more about the history of the site. Cahokia Mounds is free, but they do have donation boxes around to collect money to continue research and maintenance. 

 The Interpretive Center

 

A mural that shows how the city once looked.

 Artifacts

 Part of the exhibit showing how the Indians lived.

 

     After all the exercise we decided to have lunch. I had done a little research and found a place called the Oatman House Tea Room.  It was a cute little house with tables inside and out. We sat outside because it was such a gorgeous day. It will be much prettier when things are actually in bloom in the back garden area, but we enjoyed ourselves anyway.

 

     We were greeted with strawberry muffins. We also ordered their specialty cinnamon iced tea, which was so good we bought some and brought it home. 

 

     My husband had the Cobb Salad and I had their Quiche of the Day, which was bacon and spinach. Our food was delicious and the service was as if we were in someone's private home. We would certainly go back. 

     From crazy cows years ago in Chicago, to Peanuts in Georgia, Mickey Mouse in Kansas City and Pigs, Alligators and Cars...we have seen decorated "things" in many cities during the past decade. As St. Louis celebrates 250 years, there are 250 decorated birthday cakes all over the area. Below is the one placed at Cahokia Mounds! How fun! If you want to read more about the cakes, click here.

    

Hidden in the Midwest-Part 1

 

     For many years we had talked about visiting French Lick, Indiana. My parents had been there several times, the hotels looked amazing and the history surrounding them sounded very interesting to us. It is less than 3 hours from our home and this week, we finally made the trip. Hint: We went for 2 nights (Sun., Mon.) to take advantage of our first senior (ugh) rate. They offer an over 55 package that includes $55 to spend in the hotel along with a reduced room price. Today I will show you the French Lick Resort, where we stayed. My next post will give you a tour of the West Baden resort, the sister hotel, located a mile away with a shuttle between the 2. The first thing we saw was the beautiful front porch of our hotel. We spent quite a bit of time out here, rocking and people watching.

 

     Entering the lobby, I realized that the pictures I had seen did not do it justice. Originally built in 1845 by Dr. William Boles, the hotel was built to bring people from the surrounding area to partake of the water from the sulfur springs that were on the grounds. The water was said to have miracle powers and people drank it, bathed in it and were convinced it healed all ills. After a fire, various expansions and several owners, the mayor of Indianapolis, Tom Taggart, bought the property in 1901 and turned it into an international, elegant destination that was visited by many of the rich and famous of that time.

 

     The guest list (and pictures currently on the walls) show visits by Clark Gable, Joe Louis, Bing Crosby, the Trumans, Elizabeth Taylor, the Reagans, Joe and Rose Kennedy and many others. It was also here, in 1917, that tomato juice was created and first served.

 

This picture was taken from inside the hotel

out into the courtyard area.

The grounds at both hotels are beautiful.

 

     We had a first floor room, by request. They were extremely nice to us from the moment we got out the car. The training of the staff is obvious as each person greets you warmly and offers to help in any way. Our room was lovely. It is a little smaller than newer hotels, but not at all too small. The furnishings are all new and updated, but hints of the past do show in the details. The crown molding in the room was gorgeous, the bathroom was large and had huge window sills (reminded me of an old school window) and the doors to the room still had the space where the transom window had once been.

 

I was surprised by how wide the hallways are.

You don't see that in today's hotels.

 

The indoor pool was gorgeous.

 

The outdoor pool was smaller, but still very nice.

 

I found this part of the hotel very interesting.

You could walk through a tunnel where

the walls were the original

foundation of the hotel.

 

At the end of the tunnel,

was this tiny 6 lane bowling alley.

You had to know the old school

way of keeping score to play here.

 

 

     The Pluto Spring Water is what made the French Lick Resort famous. Today, they have a beautiful spa with many elegant services. One of the things you can do is soak in a tub of the famous mineral water.

 

 

     This is the original Pluto Water Spring. Inside you can see words along the upper rim. It says, "While here take our Mineral Baths. What nature won't, Pluto will. America's Greatest Laxative." You can certainly smell the sulfur in the water when you get anywhere near this spring.

 

 

     As you can see from the pictures, much of the building looks to me like an old hospital from the outside. It is very bland in some places and then there are surprises like the gilded roof on this part of the building. The inside is entirely different.

 

I loved finding wonderful architectural

surprises as we wandered around the hotel.

 

     This hotel also has a relatively new casino attached to it as well as a convention center. The casino was fun (it had a smoke free room) and even though we are not big spenders at all, it provided some fun entertainment each evening. There is also a winery that is part of the resort. It is located near the West Baden hotel and we went there for a late lunch when we arrived on Sunday.

 

 

     The winery is in an old factory and while I have certainly seen prettier buildings, the inside was quite nice. The restaurant serves Italian food and everything we saw leaving the kitchen looked great. I sampled a few of the wines and they were delicious.

 

     We ordered a pizza and it was perfect. In fact, it was the best food we had the entire three days. I will talk more about the food in the next post. Suffice it to say that there had to be a down side...right? There are several shops in the hotel with everything from upscale clothing, candy, gifts and jewelry. You never really need to leave the property. I can only imagine how beautiful this hotel must be when it is decorated for Christmas. We are looking forward to going back on a weekend when there are more activities going on and music in several locations. It was nice to be there during the week though, it was quiet and not crowded. Another plus was that being there on a senior rate, we were just about the youngest people there!

Where Have I Been?

     You know the song lyrics, "I've been everywhere, man. I've been everywhere, man. Crossed the desert's bare, man. I've breathed the mountain air, man. Of travel I've had my share, man. I've been everywhere". Well, I haven't been everywhere...but it sort of feels as if I have been.

      I have been really excited to share the pictures of one of our stops. This resort is very near and dear to my heart because my daughter is on the opening team and has been involved from the very beginning, every step of the way. She and her team members have been in everything from business wear to hard hats and work boots. They have worked long hours, given up vacations and days off and are exhausted. They have also bonded in ways that they can't explain, laughed, cried and they take such pride in the new Disney Art of Animation Resort. It is the experience of a lifetime for my daughter and we have loved listening to her talk about the details. When we decided to visit her we knew we had to stay a few nights at "her resort" and we loved every minute of meeting her friends/co-workers and seeing the results of all their hard work.

      Currently, you can stay in family suites in the Finding Nemo, Cars and as of last week, The Lion King sections of the resort. They are working to finish The Little Mermaid, which will have standard guest rooms. We stayed in Finding Nemo, because I love anything water related and I love the movie!

     The first thing you notice when you enter the lobby of the resort is COLOR! Everywhere. My pictures simply don't do it justice. This resort is considered a Value Resort, but believe me...the detail and thought that went into the planning of this resort makes it feel anything but. We have stayed at the most expensive Disney resorts and some of the moderately priced and I was still very impressed. In fact, I felt like a kid again as I was experiencing something new!

This chandelier has actual animation sketches attached to it.

I loved the "paint" theme of the gift shop.

     There is a large food court with sitting areas divided by themed lighting and paintings. This is The Lion King area. The food was interesting and everything we had was delicious. They had everything from Mediterranean food to create your own pasta, burgers and salads. The gelato and pastry area had delicious desserts and breakfast was excellent. Remember if you are going to Disney to purchase one of the refillable mugs, you will more than get your money back.

     One of my favorite meals, the Surf and Surf sandwich. A perfectly made crab cake topped with fried shrimp and sauce. No calories here!

     The resort is designed to make you feel as if you are part of the scene. Everything is oversized and you do actually get the feeling of  "swimming" among the creatures. This is the outside of our Finding Nemo Building.

Note the size of the sea creatures.

     The view of the pool from our room. The pool is the largest at a Disney resort and while it isn't deep, it is pleasant for adults and wonderful for kids with the showering jellyfish and water play area. I'm not sure you can tell from my pictures, but even the trees and plants are designed for each area. The palm trees are slightly bent and the plants all look as if they are the kind you would see under water. The landscaping is entirely different surrounding each themed area.

     The rooms are so much fun. They sleep six people. I will say that sleeping six adults would be pushing it in my opinion., The main bedroom has the above queen size bed (don't you love that headboard). It also has its own bathroom.

     The "dining area" has this cute table and chairs. Yes, those goodies awaited us when we checked in, but we got a bit of special treatment from our daughter. I know they often make Disney Magic happen for families, but I don't think you always get an autographed photo from Mickey Mouse!

     Surprise! Remember that table and chairs from the last picture...it folds down into this bed. The headboard even has a night light to add a glow to Nemo. So cute.

     This is the living area (sorry this picture is a bit dark) and the sofa also makes another bed. There is a second full bath off of the living area.

A small "kitchen" area is really a nice touch.

In the main bedroom.

The bath off the living room area.

The bath off the bedroom.

Nightly movies at the pool.

     It has been a little while since we have stayed at a Disney Resort. When your daughter is a manager at one of them, you try to get her some down time by staying somewhere she doesn't feel "on" all the time. One thing about Disney employees is that they are always at work, even when they aren't at work when they are anywhere on Disney property. I see her pick up trash, answer questions and scan for problems even when she is "off duty". The cast here was wonderful. Our room was spotless, all cast members spoke to us in the hallways and most of them had no idea that we had even a slight connection to the resort. They are well-trained and enthusiastic. From the custodial workers to the General Manager they really do put the guests first.

     With so many pictures in this post, I will save Cars and The Lion King for my next post. Here is just a hint of what you will see...