Day Three: Sleepy Eye

W. W. Smith Inn

What better place for a B&B than a city named Sleepy Eye? About 15 miles from New Ulm, it is a much smaller town, but it does possess one of the most elegant homes in this part of the country. The house is pretty much intact, it has never been chopped up in the way so many mansions here suffered.



While the decor might be a little too frou-frou for my taste, the woodwork, fixtures and windows are all original, many of them by L. C. Tiffany:



The stairway windows are especially fine. Even our bath had this little fairy-glass tableaux perched above the tub:



The town itself has suffered over the years, many of the store fronts on main street are empty. One might judge the health of a community by the existence of an operating cinema. It's been many years since there were movies in the “Pix”:



While walking “downtown” we were startled by a high pitched “beep-beep!” Two 15 year old girls, in matching outfits (twins?) on a small Honda-50 style motor bike had pulled up to the stop sign on the corner. Whether they hit the horn by mistake or they just wanted attention, it didn’t matter. They were young and happy, overflowing with the joy of existence. They laughed and smiled and, with a toss of their hair, were on their way.

“It doesn't get much better than that...” I said.

The Weaver gave me A Look.