A Wee Bit West
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Day 2: February 20, 2010 A Wee Bit West |
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Before leaving the Empire House, I stepped out on the second floor balcony to snap a few
pictures. That's Rabbit Hash, Kentucky, on the other side of the river and
the log cabin that was once Rising Sun's poat office right next door. The
cabin is now a private residence.
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Then took a short walk to photograph some nearby murals.
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I then headed west. Driving to Vevay from Rising Sun seemed almost a
no brainer and so did continuing to Madison from Vevay. Last May, on the
eve of Madison's bicentennial, the newly refurnished courthouse caught
fire. Upper portions, including the large dome, were destroyed. It was
definitely a sad
sight when I was here for that bicentennial but restoration plans were
already being made. Today, the restoration effort is quite evident.
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On that June visit bicentennial visit, I ate at
Hinkle's for the
very first time and then had breakfast instead of their reason for being,
the hamburger. Today I corrected that and, because of a friend's
experience and my own observations, knew to order more than one. Too bad
that, though my mind was certainly focused on the 'burgers, my camera
wasn't. The scene at Hinkle's was reminiscent of my stop in June. The
place was even more crowded when I arrived and just as empty when I left.
The grill looked completely filled when I entered but, by the time I took
a picture, half the hamburgers had been served and partially replaced with
uncooked patties. My waitress said that cycle goes on all day.
A Hinkleburger is bigger than a White Castle, smaller than a Whopper, and priced under a buck (99 cents). They are grilled with onions and served with pickle which means a White Castle like taste. It's kind of like a jumbo White Castle -- without the holes and corners. |
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I made my way to the Broadway to wash down my lunch and to finish and post
yesterday's journal. The restaurant was fairly busy and the bar fairly
slow when I walked in but that was soon reversed. Madison is less than 50
miles from Louisville, Kentucky. The Louisville-DePaul basketball game
played on one of the bar's three TVs and drew respectable attention. But
most of the attention and almost all of the cheering was aimed at the
USA-Sweden Olympic curling match playing on both of the other TVs. No one
understood the game completely but everyone understood some part of it and
everyone was immersed in it. I left before either event ended but learned
later that both Louisville and the USA were victorious. I know the
Broadway crowd was ecstatic over at least one of those victories.
The 1929 Milton-Madison is slated for replacement by 2012. I thought I had read something about some financing problems but, when I went looking, found nothing at all along those lines. In fact, the most recent article I found was a February 17 report of the bridge receiving a $20 million TIGER grant. TIGER stands for Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery. It is not the philandering golfer trying to buy forgiveness. |
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The bare trees allow a better view of Chapman Harris's than
normal. It was once
an Underground Railroad "station" where the blacksmith Harris, a
former slave himself, frequently worked his anvil at night as an audible
signal to Railroad travelers waiting across the river.
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Back in Vevay, my car pulled itself right up in front of Cuzz's. A couple
of regulars sat at the bar and -- something I'm not used to seeing here --
a woman stood behind it. Two buddies shot pool in the back room. I was
surprised to see Stroh's among the choices. I used to drink it every time
I stopped here but it wasn't available on my last visit. It returned just
about six weeks ago Marcel, the lady bartender, told me. Today I finally
took a picture of what has to be one of the most massive urinals outside
of a courthouse, capitol, or old train station. I've asked a couple of
times but haven't learned its history and didn't even try today. Here it
is, the monumental Cuzz's urinal. You may be
surprised, as I was, to learn that this is only the second urinal
appearing on these pages. I must be more selective than even I believed.
And here's another surprise, Cuzz's: the
movie. Sadly, all shots of the urinal must have been left on the
cutting room floor.
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