A Visit to Elephant's Trunk and the Merwinsville Hotel

Today I did a repeat of a trip I made 11 years ago. Although I'm not doing The Artist's Way--I gave up on daily pages about a year-and-a-half ago--I realized this was a perfect artist date for me. 

After I took Lola to Taylor Farm and we had brunch at home, I headed to Elephant's Trunk flea market. I arrived around 1; it closes at 2. I had hoped to get there earlier, but I was satisfied with my time there. I did maybe a third to a half of the vendor tables. I bought a few things. I saw a pair of shot/liqueur glasses that I liked--the tops were shaped like white wine glasses and the stems were metal and shaped like grapes and leaves. We have more than enough liqueur glasses, but these were really cute. Then the vendor offered me five for $5. Sold.

Next I bought a political button: Betty Ford for President for $1. I saw other political buttons (I collect them) but they were pins I already had or were for candidates I didn't know. 

My final purchase was a promotional container of Bourbon in the shape of Mount Rushmore. Oddly enough, after I saw a promotional Crown Royal barrel, I thought about the Mount Rushmore container I had bought for my sister in honor of our trip there. When I saw this one--I had to get it. 

My real reason for this trip was to visit the Merwinsville Hotel. I had received an email about the hunt for 50 spheres hidden in various places in Litchfield and Fairfield Counties in honor of the 50th anniversary of the hotel's restoration efforts. The hotel is open Sundays from 2 to 4 for visits. Plus after writing about the hotel for a class assignment, I remembered that I had wanted to write about Sylvanus Merwin. 

Now's the time to write a book about him. Yes, I'm writing a time travel book (stalled at the moment) but why can't I work on two? They're very different so each can be a good break from the other.

I went on a tour of the hotel, put aside a few things to buy (t-shirt, a wine glass, and two beer sampler glasses) and started looking for the sphere hidden there. I found it among the logs in the fireplace. I was so excited. I really wanted to find one. I imagined myself searching in the outhouse on the hotel property (ugh) and visiting all the other places on the list. Yay for me. Once home, I registered my sphere online at the hotel's website.

I also talked to a woman conducting a tour who knew a lot about the hotel. She will send me some materials, including a story by a Virginia Smith. 

It's weird Virginia Smith is the name of my grandmother. In a recent true-crime assignment for my writing class, the victim was George Smith--the name of my uncle. 

I hope this portends something good.