OCTOBER 14, 2014 | DAY 13 of #ONTHEROAD1014

On the day we left Louisville and headed for West Virginia we woke up early to explore two more spots. It was gloomy and rainy, which is never that fun for exploring, but we didn’t let that stop us – and in turn it set the mood. Our first stop was the Seelbach Hotel one of the oldest and finest hotels in America, where F. Scott Fitzgerald was inspired for parts of the Great Gatsby. Sadly, all my photos from inside the hotel are blurry, perhaps the ghost of the Seelbach feel it’s a no photos establishment.

After the Seelbach we went to the art hotel, aka 21C Museum Hotel. A hotel with a full-fledged modern art museum off the main lobby. It’s been so long and my notes have gone missing, so I don’t know what the show’s title was or the name of most of the artists. I checked their website for past exhibitions and recall the Gina Phillips work, but there was a whole second collection I can’t find any information on. All I recall is that it was work from artists all around the world.  If you know any of the artists below please comment with their name and link to website and I will correctly label the work.

Artist – Walter Oltmann

Artist – Lalla Essaydi

Artist – Gina Phillips

Artist – Gina Phillips

Artists – Jennifer and Kevin McCoy

While we walked down hallways and continued to explore the hotel as much as we could without a room key, we found this photo of John Waters. Mr. Waters is one of my idols, I love his creative spark, relentless spirit and authentic self. Now I don’t know John Waters personally, but like Dolly Parton, he owns who he is regardless of what the world might think of him and doesn’t apologize for being himself.  Seeing his photo was like getting a sign I was on the right path, I was supposed to be on this trip and just experience what it was going to bring.