The "Buffet" anniversary, 7 years of marriage

On our first anniversary we weren't sure what to buy each other for gifts. After some debate we agreed that instead of filling our house with gifts that we need to keep track off, and are likely to break or lose, we would spend time together each anniversary creating memories that couldn't gather dust, and most likely would as most memories do improve over the years. This year with that idea in mind we booked a room in the French Lick Casino Resort, in Southern Indiana. The resort borders the Hoosier National Forrest. The drive from Bloomington to French Lick (who came up with that name, seriously?) was very scenic, especially the part that took us through the National Forrest. After 30 miles of hills, farm lands, and trees, the tiny town of French Lick is announced by the sign for the West Baden Springs Resort claiming it to be the 8th world wonder (as we discovered later on our trek, Southern Indiana seems to be a bit obsessed with the 8th world wonder, every tiny hick town claiming to have one). The resort is a large yellow building, quite impressive in size, if altogether lacking in architectural detail. It is a historic landmark dating back to 1840. Parts of it burned down and were renovated around the turn of the century. The inside of the hotel definitely shows it. I had the impression of walking into a different era, which typically would be a good thing, except that the resort wasn't trying to recreate a glamor era, as much as it simply seemed to say: yeah, we're still here. There was a touch of neglect about the hotel. Upon arrival Aaron and I dressed up to go for a fancy dinner at the Hotel's Steak House. After glancing at their menu and lack of cozy atmosphere we agreed that $60 a steak was a waste of money. So we headed out to find a romantic restaurant in the resort, that wouldn't break the bank. Our choices were limited to the Pluto Pizza Place in the bowling alley, the Colonade Buffet that had Chandeliers to rival the biggest opera houses in brightness and size (not very cozy), a sandwich bar, and the Diamond's Trattoria in the Casino, which really wasn't a trattoria at all, since it didn't have one single Italian item on the menu. We walked the length of the resort twice (little less than a mile) before hunger and fatigue finally compelled us to eat dinner at the overly bright, Colonade Buffet, where we enjoyed the distant company of senior citizens and young families. Hungry but determined we tackled the buffet, and decided to have a good laugh about it all; the shrimp that had to be completely peeled, the hard rolls, the middle aged seating hostess with big, poofy hair, the tired looking chefs, and the Afro American waitress who may have been part of the hotel since 1950 and whose accent we barely understood. The food was on the low end of mediocre, but hungry as we were, we were grateful nonetheless. As it goes with compulsive eaters and buffets, we had a bit too much, and went for a walk in the beautiful garden to assist our digestion. The garden was lovely, except for the sewer and sulfur smell. After walking the length of the garden and having gone through all the smelly-garden jokes we could come up with, we retired to our room for some marital good times.
The next morning we enjoyed the best part of going away...the staying in bed until we feel like getting up, without someone banging on the door and yelling, MOOOOMMMMY! Originally we had planned on having breakfast in the room, but after we saw that the continental breakfast, a muffin, danish and some juice came to $13, we opted for the Colonade buffet instead; all you can eat for $12. The middle aged poofy haired seating hostess was replaced by two young girls with pony tails. The amusement still held, with them wearing black floppy pants, and 20 year old cream colored, poorly fitting, sagging, tailored jackets over their trendy t-shirts. If at the very least, they had tried to match the color of the T-Shirts to their jackets...
Anyway, the breakfast buffet this time around was fabulous, from the crispy bacon, perfect pineapple, to the Waffles. Much to my delight I had the BEST WAFFLES since I've been in America, sweet, light, fluffy, buttery without being greasy or heavy, topped with my favorite toppings fresh, perfectly ripened strawberries with whipped cream.

After our breakfast we decided to split up as I wanted to go horseback riding, and Aaron wanted to go work out and swim. It has been 15 years or more since I've been on the back of a horse. I was highly amused that they had steps for the tourists so they wouldn't have to try to climb the horse themselves. I honestly don't know if it was the western saddle or my lack of muscles that made it uncomfortable, but it was nonetheless fun to be riding again. I felt a thrill rush through my body when I got back on the horse. It was like my childhood came rushing back to me. I'm pleased that handling horses still feels like second nature to me. I think I'm going to get back into it when I'm in Europe.
At 1:30 pm we made it to the Cave Country Canoe rental. A shuttle took us 7 miles upstream. Two staff members helped us into the canoe. Remembering our disastrous attempt at ocean kayaking in Sardegna where we turned over about 40 times much to the amusement of the hotel guests, I was a bit nervous, but after the first mile we got the hang of it, and made it all 7 miles without tipping over once. The river was at least 20-40 feet wide at parts, with class 1 rapids in a few spots. I felt very Lord-of-the-Rings-y paddling down the river, except that I wanted to be wearing an elfish cloak instead of a silly life jacket. With only 4 feet depths I really doubt I needed one. The river was clear most of the time and we could see the ground. We saw several turtles taking a sunbath on branches sticking out of the river, and a cute family of ducks. Our shoulders and arms burned within half an hour as well as our back and pelvis muscles (who knew I had so many muscles?), but the peaceful gliding of the canoe over the silent water surface was worth the burning. It took us almost 3 hours to complete the trip, with water levels being somewhat low at times, i.e. we got stuck in some spots, and Aaron interpreted the scratching of the canoe over the stones as the river telling him to lose some pounds.
In the car we headed back to Bloomington, tired, happy, and hungry. In Bedford we decided to round out our anniversary experience with a dinner at the Old Buggy Buffet, making it three for three. Our persistence paid off. Not only was the interior absolutely charming, with wood beams arching the ceilings, quilts hanging from the staircase, and an authentic old buggy, the food was truly exceptional as far as buffets goes. The ham was so tender it melted on my tongue. The waitress was cheerful and friendly. (And Aaron just asked me to add that the Mac and Cheese was exceptional.)
Time will not have to improve much on these memories.