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Action-Packed... Tuesday?
For most people, Tuesday at Saratoga is what is called a "Dark Day." It's a day for the workers and track-goers and the horses to rest. There is no racing on Tuesday, but for me there was a ton of excitement. I had a signing at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.
The signing was at 10 in the morning. I will admit that I had reservations about doing a signing that early on a weekday. The great news is that I was wrong. I blew through stock in about 20 minutes and had to replentish the piles from the boxes in my car. Not only did friends show up, but people who heard me on the radio, read about me in the paper and saw me on television.
Really amazing.
Following my signing, I had a few minutes to sit with one of the greatest horses of all time, Seabiscuit:
Afterwards, I headed to a few outside-of-the-track, away-from-the-museum spots where scenes in BUG BOY take place. One of the wonderful things about Saratoga is that many of these places have not changed appreciably since 1934.
There is the Adelphi Hotel where Jack's debutante friend, Elizabeth Reed, stays with her family during track season. I assure you there are no Hummers in my 1934 novel, but if you swapped that abomination with a Duesenberg this photo would be pretty accurate. If you look closely, there is a raised terrace at the base of the yellow pillars. This is where Elizabeth looks down to Jack on the street:
They call it Saratoga Springs for a reason. There is a large underground spring that comes close to the surface just under the city. There are more than 100 springs through the area that have been built and are free for public consumption. BEWARE: some of the springs are more "minerally" than others so some of the water tastes like sulphur. But some people believe the minerals have restorative powers!!!
Here is a close-up of the water coming from the spring.
And here is another spring I came upon. Imagine little pavillions like this on various street corners and in all the little parks throughout town:
This is the Canfield Casino, one of the old social clubs. Most of the original social clubs, like the Brook (where a few scenes in Bug Boy take place), are gone now, but this one has been preserved. It's right in the middle of Congress Park and now houses the Saratoga Historical Society. They also have catered events here.
Here is the antique carousel that sits in Congress Park. Originally, I had a scene on this carousel. It was a fun little scene where all the backstetch buddies were hanging on horses and joking about being in a real race. Then I found out that as a result of the Great Depression the carousel had been removed from the park between 1933 and 1940 or so. I suppose that's the nature of writing historical fiction. So, I relocated the scene to Victoria Pool at Saratoga Spa State Park, which was under construction at the time.
The day was slipping away so it was time to head home, but I couldn't leave the area without driving by the Lincoln Bath House. For those of you who read Bug Boy, you'll remember what happens in the Lincoln Bath House. For those of you who have not read it, you'll want to!
Back then, this place was brand new and, providing over 4,500 tratments per day, it was the largest bath house in the world. As I mentioned before, the springs at Saratoga are high in mineral content and people believed this water had restorative properties. Saratoga Spa State Park was built at FDR's urging during the New Deal. The idea behind the park was to offer health getaways to people. Visitors would stay at the Gideon Putnam Hotel and meet with a team of doctors. These doctors would prescribe things like mineral baths, massage, pressure washes, walks, rounds of golf, swimming in the pool, and of course drinking of the mineral water. Sounds like a nice few weeks, huh?
If you want to read my blog entry about exploring this deserted bath house, chillaxing at the still-functioning Roosevelt Bath House, and my exploits on the back of a robotic Thoroughbred race horse, check out my post from March 2007! You won't be disappointed!
The signing was at 10 in the morning. I will admit that I had reservations about doing a signing that early on a weekday. The great news is that I was wrong. I blew through stock in about 20 minutes and had to replentish the piles from the boxes in my car. Not only did friends show up, but people who heard me on the radio, read about me in the paper and saw me on television.
Really amazing.
Following my signing, I had a few minutes to sit with one of the greatest horses of all time, Seabiscuit:
Afterwards, I headed to a few outside-of-the-track, away-from-the-museum spots where scenes in BUG BOY take place. One of the wonderful things about Saratoga is that many of these places have not changed appreciably since 1934.
There is the Adelphi Hotel where Jack's debutante friend, Elizabeth Reed, stays with her family during track season. I assure you there are no Hummers in my 1934 novel, but if you swapped that abomination with a Duesenberg this photo would be pretty accurate. If you look closely, there is a raised terrace at the base of the yellow pillars. This is where Elizabeth looks down to Jack on the street:
They call it Saratoga Springs for a reason. There is a large underground spring that comes close to the surface just under the city. There are more than 100 springs through the area that have been built and are free for public consumption. BEWARE: some of the springs are more "minerally" than others so some of the water tastes like sulphur. But some people believe the minerals have restorative powers!!!
Here is a close-up of the water coming from the spring.
And here is another spring I came upon. Imagine little pavillions like this on various street corners and in all the little parks throughout town:
This is the Canfield Casino, one of the old social clubs. Most of the original social clubs, like the Brook (where a few scenes in Bug Boy take place), are gone now, but this one has been preserved. It's right in the middle of Congress Park and now houses the Saratoga Historical Society. They also have catered events here.
Here is the antique carousel that sits in Congress Park. Originally, I had a scene on this carousel. It was a fun little scene where all the backstetch buddies were hanging on horses and joking about being in a real race. Then I found out that as a result of the Great Depression the carousel had been removed from the park between 1933 and 1940 or so. I suppose that's the nature of writing historical fiction. So, I relocated the scene to Victoria Pool at Saratoga Spa State Park, which was under construction at the time.
The day was slipping away so it was time to head home, but I couldn't leave the area without driving by the Lincoln Bath House. For those of you who read Bug Boy, you'll remember what happens in the Lincoln Bath House. For those of you who have not read it, you'll want to!
Back then, this place was brand new and, providing over 4,500 tratments per day, it was the largest bath house in the world. As I mentioned before, the springs at Saratoga are high in mineral content and people believed this water had restorative properties. Saratoga Spa State Park was built at FDR's urging during the New Deal. The idea behind the park was to offer health getaways to people. Visitors would stay at the Gideon Putnam Hotel and meet with a team of doctors. These doctors would prescribe things like mineral baths, massage, pressure washes, walks, rounds of golf, swimming in the pool, and of course drinking of the mineral water. Sounds like a nice few weeks, huh?
If you want to read my blog entry about exploring this deserted bath house, chillaxing at the still-functioning Roosevelt Bath House, and my exploits on the back of a robotic Thoroughbred race horse, check out my post from March 2007! You won't be disappointed!
