The Hick from French Lick

Saturday, November 14 2009

Thanks to Wikipedia I'm reminded that Larry Bird is from French Lick.  That makes me feel better.

Decades ago there were two ritzy resorts in French Lick--the French Lick Spa and the West Baden Spa.  The latter went into decline years ago, and was a deserted, vandalized building until Bill Cook, a local boy who invented the stent and became one of America's richest men, decided to restore and revive it.  At the same time, the French Lick Spa was in a severe downward spiral, so he bought that, too, and refurbished it at the same time.

In 1964 my husband and I spent a weekend at the French Lick Spa.  When I found myself in southern Indiana, I succumbed to the need to revisit it.  So here I am.  But I didn't know about the West Baden restoration until I got here.  And it's pretty damned lavish.  I'm told it's the largest domed building in the world.  While I have no objective way of proving it, I swear to its vastness.  And to its ornateness.  In fact, both facilities are so enormous that they don't lend themselves to amateur photogrpahers.

Both resorts have wraparound verandahs with hundreds of rocking chairs so on a beautiful day like today one can sit outside reading a book.  This morning I splurged on two spa treatments--a pomegranate body scrub followed by a hot stone massage  Both were pretty terrific, and the massage relaxed me so much that I feel almost brain dead.  Or maybe it's just being in southern Indiana.  Whatever, it feels good.