Day 3,723—an Interlude about Caves and thinking about 40 hours of running next week —

I took this picture of the inside of this abandoned Chinese food place because I saw a police officer looking inside it yesterday. I didn’t see much there. I wonder what he was looking for. 

 

On Thursday, my wife and I went to the Lemp mansion for lunch. We had both gone there once for a wedding and I have run past it many times but never thought that much about it until I read a book about St. Louis a couple of weeks ago. I remember in college I knew people who were part of the dinner theater that they do there, but I cannot say I have given it much thought.

         The current owners have turned the historic house into a bed and breakfast/restaurant/dinner theater. I also think they do ghost tours, which is a weird thing, but my wife and I both like old places, so sometimes the tours include information about the haunting. I wouldn’t say I believe in ghosts, but the Lemp mansion definitely felt off. I don't think I would want to stay there overnight. 

  

       What interests me more than the dark history of the place are the caves in the basement. I haven’t seen them in person, but at one time there was a bowling alley, a theater, and a swimming pool below the Lemp Mansion. The tunnels went all the way to the brewery and there was an intricate cave system all around that area with entrances by the river. Also, there was an amusement park of sorts that was in one of the caves. It was supposedly gaudy but successful.

         Only a short time ago, caves were a common experience that was both dangerous and profitable. But that all changed when they put the highway right there through the heart of the cave system. They destroyed the entrance to the cave where the fair once was and made all the cave systems in the surrounding area unsafe.

         I have always been so fascinated with caves. I’ve never gone spelunking or anything, or even out of curiosity, explored a tunnel, but I would love to spend time in a furnished cave. If I had the money, I would build under my house and create elaborate open spaces underground. When I was a kid I saw the homes made out of the mountains by the Grand Canyon, I loved how they mostly lived underground in caves that they carved out of the mountains.

I’ve been thinking about next week and what I might do before I go back to classes the week after, and I have come up with this idea of having a 40-hour running week. I was thinking of trying to average 8 hours a day Monday through Friday next week. I guess one of those days is the 4th which might make it difficult, and I still have kids to watch, but if not now, when? That’s what I kept thinking about that and, “Something is always better than nothing.” I wanted to originally run 200 miles this past week, but I didn't for good reasons. Now, I don’t know if I want to still do 200 miles in 2 or 3 days, but maybe 40 hours of running Monday through Friday, or just total, and I can think how I want to do it each day. I could try to run 200 miles Monday-Wednesday next week. My only concern with that plan is being able to pick up and watch kids in the afternoon and evening.

I am going to do something special this last week. And I will continue writing about my early experiences with animals and finish the two stories I have started.