The group had spent the entire day exploring the grounds and the buildings. After making sure there were no walkers in the buildings or lurking on the grounds, they pulled their vehicles into the circular drive and shut the gates and secured them again with the chains. Some of the men had gone off to walk to walk the perimeter while the women had rummaged around in the main building. Both wings were in disrepair, one looked as if it had never actually been completed-the insides were mainly partitioned off rooms but no walls or wiring or plumbing seemed to have been done. The other wing had apparently been the reason the second wing had been started-some of the walls were crumbling, on the third floor there were areas the roof had fallen in, and the floors were not safe to walk on.
After quick tours of the two wings, the women of the group started exploring the main building. The main floor had a vast lobby complete with a massive stone fireplace. There were still some couches and chairs scattered around by the fireplace, all covered in sheets to prevent dust. Apparently somebody had believed the place would be open again at some time.
Isabeau had scrounged around in the lobby offices and found some old stained and tattered brochures. She ran to the other women and read from the brochure excitedly. "Oh my! Listen to this! This place had accommodations for music and dancing, boating and fishing, a billiard room and.." here she squealed excitedly.
"What?" Andrea, Amy and Beth demanded, all flushed with excitement.
"It says here they had warm baths, mineral baths," Isabeau exclaimed breathlessly. "The mineral baths were supposed to relieve or cure all types of illnesses. The water comes from the mineral pools underground. And there's a mountain cascade on the river that they got their cold water from. Apparently they had their own plumbing system to pipe in the hot and cold water-we need to see if the water still runs here!" And with that Isabeau shot off toward the kitchen area with the three women running behind her. They passed through a large and ornate dining area, the tables and chairs covered with dustcloths, and what looked to have been a bandstand for musicians to play while the guests dined.
Isabeau pushed open a swing door at the far side of the dining room and entered the kitchen. It was vast, pots and pans and utensils scattered everywhere. There were restaurant sized refrigerators and coolers and stoves and ovens. "According to the brochure, this place could hold a thousand guests, not to mention the large staff that would've more than likely lived on the grounds," Isabeau explained as she trotted over to the sinks. She quickly yanked all the handles on full force and waited. The other three joined her and they held their breath as they waited. After a couple of minutes, a slow trickle started from the faucet. Isabeau placed her hand under the water –"it's warm," she said. They all started turning faucets off and on at the other two sinks to see if any water would flow. After a few minutes all the sinks had a slow trickle coming from them. "Well, maybe the pipes need cleaning," Isabeau murmured.
"What about the toilets and showers?" exclaimed Beth. They all turned to her and nodded excitedly.
"There should be some public restrooms here in the lobby or in the bar, if there is one," Isabeau murmured. They followed her back out the door and toward the lobby. Finding the restrooms, they split up and went into both the men's and women's. They tried flushing the toilets, and one in the men's and two in the women's worked but very slowly. They tried the sinks in the bathrooms and again got only slow weak trickles of water. But this was far better than any place they had happened upon yet.
"Let's check the bedrooms," Andrea suggested.
"Well, they're actually suites," Isabeau said, reading off the brochure again. "Looks like each suite has a sitting area, a restroom and a bedroom."
"Kind of like your own apartment," Amy said. Isabeau nodded in agreement. "The people that came here must have been really rich," she continued.
"Well, remember stuff was a lot less expensive back in the day," Isabeau started, "but even then yes, only really wealthy people would've been able to afford to stay in a place like this."
"Why is it abandoned," Beth asked.
"Well, places like these used to be advertised as a place to cure TB, arthritis, syphilis, paralysis, alcoholism, drug addiction, pretty much you name it. There were a lot of these places that advertised the benefits of the hot mineral springs. But as medicine advanced and people became more educated these places fell out of favor. Some stayed open as resorts, like this one probably did. And then eventually folks wanted more exciting places to stay. These resorts were abandoned. I had read some were being renovated to open as resorts again. For all we know, there may have been plans like that for this place. I mean, it's on a gorgeous piece of land, great view of the water-they could actually have turned it into an expensive retirement village or something like that," she answered.
They headed up to the second floor, climbing the grand master stairway from the lobby.
"It's like being on a movie set, one of those historical movies," Amy murmured. At the top of the landing, the staircase split off to the left and the right but together on the second floor. Standing by the railing at the top of the stairs, they counted five doors on each side of the hallway. Moving toward the doors, they began to fling them open and peek inside. There were gasps of surprise and delight from the women at the opulent furnishings in the rooms. They set about opening windows to air the rooms out and removing dust covers, quickly going from one suite to another. Each suite did indeed have a sitting area, some with a fireplace, the bathrooms were what would have been luxurious for that time with marbled floors and immense claw foot tubs with detachable shower attachments. The bedrooms were furnished with heavy dark cherry furniture appropriate for the time period of the resort. The majority of the beds were full, no queen or king size, with elaborate carved head and footboards as well as magnificent carved dressers and vanities. All the floors were carpeted in some thick, soft carpet that for the most part was stain free. The women wandered from room to room in amazement, and each sent up a little prayer that this would be their home for a while at least, maybe permanently. For most of the group, these rooms were far grander than any they had ever occupied, or would have ever experienced had the virus not happened. After checking all the rooms and making mental lists of things they needed to do to ready the rooms for sleeping if indeed they were going to stay here, they trooped back downstairs to the lobby.
Chapter 19
Isabeau left the girls to check on Carl. They had settled him on one of the large, soft couches in front of the fireplace and Lori had settled beside him in a large leather chair with matching ottoman. Carl was half sitting up, talking quietly to his mother.
"How are you feeling?" Isabeau asked him. Carl smiled up at her, an eager look on his face.
"Is there really a lake out back? And apple trees? And there's running water?" Isabeau laughed at the eager look on his face.
"Yes, yes, and maybe," she replied. "We'll have to probably have one of the guys look at the pipes, some water comes out but not like we need. In the meantime we have plenty of fresh water in the lake out back. And I'm not sure what kind of fruit trees there are, but there are indeed some kind of fruit trees out there." She grinned back at him, his excitement infectious.
Lori shifted in her chair. "And how are you feeling?" Isabeau asked her.
"Better now that I can put my feet up," Lori replied, sighing in contentment. Isabeau nodded at her. It would be a godsend if they could indeed stay here-no telling what they would find further down the road and Lori would need a good, safe and comfortable place soon in order to safely deliver her baby.
After checking Carl's forehead for fever, and his wound which seemed to healing well, Isabeau headed out the front door in search of the men.
Chapter 20
Merle was standing in the driveway, smoking and squinting in the direction of the right wing. Isabeau walked nearer to him and looked in the same direction.
"What is it?" she asked.
Merle took a deep drag on the cigarette and slowly blew out smoke rings. "Baby brother and Rick and Glen are checking this old wall out. Looks like it goes all around the property, and still looks pretty much in one piece. Whoever put that wall up knew what they were doing. And it sure cost them a shitload of money to do it," he muttered.
"Well, that's good right? Maybe we can stay here for a while and if nothing else stock up on food and water before we have to move on," Isabeau said quietly, watching Merle closely.
Merle nodded, "I think you might be right. Haven't seen anything so far to think otherwise. It's almost too perfect. How is it no one else has camped out here yet? How is it no walkers are here?" He grumbled.
"Well, if it was abandoned, no telling how long ago that was. And if it was abandoned, there wouldn't have been any staff or maintenance or gardeners around here to keep it up. Maybe because it's off the beaten path people forgot about it. Which would be very lucky for us, and hopefully no one remembers it's here," Isabeau offered.
"What's it look like inside?" Merle asked.
"Oh, man!" she exclaimed, excitement lighting up her face and eyes. Merle snorted at how excited she had gotten. "There's a huge lobby, and kitchen that the water might eventually run in, and all the bedrooms are actually suites-like little apartments. We opened all the windows to air them out, and there's room enough for everyone. Oh and there's a billiard room" she added proudly.
"Huh?" Merle frowned.
"Pool tables-two of them-in a big room off the dining room, and a bar!" she exclaimed happily.
"Well why didn't ya say so!" Merle shouted happily. He started off at a trot to go see the pool tables and bar. Isabeau didn't have the heart to tell him there had been no liquor found in the bar, just some beautiful glassware and a handsome mahogany bar, with leather banquettes around the walls along with a few small tables. There was actually a small area for a band and an area to dance in as well. The whole place reminded Isabeau of some place in an old black and white movie where glamorous people went on holiday in their furs and jewels. She felt like pinching herself –it was a miracle they'd found this place. She silently prayed things would work out and they could stay here.