croquet

I don't think of croquet as an American game, and so, seeing a croquet lawn set up out of the window at La Posada, Winslow, at breakfast this morning, I took it to be some strange nostalgic whim on the part of the British chef who runs the Turquoise Room restaurant there, and in which I was, at the time, eating the habitually excellent Arizona Green Chile Eggs.  But there is, it turns out, an American Association for the sport, with its own national rules (played with a six hoop set), and so on.  I doubt I'll ever be tempted to play - it's always struck me as golf for people who are full of Pimms and don't want to walk very far. But I love the setting, with the train rumbling past in the background ...