It’s not really clear why there are three African elephants in Indiana, nor why their names are Makia, Lovey and Lou. That they spend part of the year in Florida, a thousand miles away, is also not clear. But there they were, and Leilani got the job of applying oil to their toenails. No, don’t ask why it’s necessary. Possibly to keep their feet in good condition, possibly just cosmetic. At least it wasn’t bright red.
So where are we? Between the oddly-named towns of French Lick and Paoli there’s a place known as Wilstem Ranch and all six of us stayed there for four days in a timber cabin in the woods. It was Leilani’s first experience of elephants and although a little cautious of their size, applied her nail polishing skills with gusto. Everyone else had the opportunity to hose down or otherwise polish an elephant, after which a ‘selfie’ was, of course de rigour!
Next day the adventure continued. This time Leilani, and mum and dad Anna and John, took to riding ponies. John had ridden before but it was a first for Leilani and Anna, although it didn’t seem very long before they had the animals responded to their commands – or maybe the ponies just knew what to do!
Now Kim and Mike had done this horse riding business last year in outback Australia and knew that there was a price to be paid in the nether regions. They boldly volunteered to look after the little ones while mum and dad took to the hills. It provided and opportunity to see the bison, zebras and goats, as well as the other horses, ponies and donkeys, and of course for Granddad and Nye Nye had their grandchildren to themselves for an hour or so.
Day three found us visiting the French Lick resort, which has recently completed a $600 million refurbishment. Originally opened in 1902 capitalising on the local mineral spas, it sported the then largest dome in the world, some 200 feet in diameter. It’s remains impressive today. We avoided the casino, instead taking a scenic tram ride and easing the legacy of yesterday’s horse riding in a variety of rocking chairs. Leilani enjoyed joining in with a large group of older children playing dodgeball, a game that none of us understood but that didn’t stop Leilani who simply made up her own rules. The older kids were quite superb in the way they managed to include her in the game while keeping the rough and tumble just clear.
Our last day came all to soon. Crossing the state border to Kentucky we visited Churchill downs, home of the annual Kentucky State Derby and enjoyed a gigantic smokehouse meal of ribs and various other dishes unfamiliar to Kim and Mike.
The final night of our stay found us around a camp fire, a first for Leilani and George. As the temperature dipped to not far off freezing we found the fire to be essential for our outside meal. Not the Mike bagged a spot closest to the warmth.
Kim of course found time to take lots of photos of wild flowers. Just for once these will not be included – perhaps in a future blog if readers demand it. It took nearly the whole day to drive back north to Milwaukee. Back to routine for John, Anna, Leilani and George. Back to a pile of washing for Kim and back to a building project for Mike.
A great break and two more States added to the list of our travels.
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