Idyllic in Indiana

Our next stop was to Indianapolis, Indiana where we stayed at at lovely KOA campground approx. 14 miles from the Capital City.  However, the area had been hit with torrential rains the night before we arrived and there was some flooding in the campground.  Fortunately, the site we booked was on a high-rise so we were not affected but others were and had to move.  We settled in for our three nights stay and hoped we would be warm enough as temps have dropped to High 40s F.

Indianapolis is a very cosmopolitan city with its European-style plazas, lots of restaurants, art galleries, gorgeous buildings and many parks.  We learned the State Bird is a Northern Cardinal; the State Stone is Limestone; the State flower is the Peony (which I have many of in my gardens at home in Saskatoon); the State Pie is the Sugar Cream (don't ask me because I've no idea as yet!); and, the State Tree is the Tulip Tree (again, I have no idea as I have not heard of such a tree before).

It is also very sporty with its Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Indianapolis Colts football team, and where approx. 69,000 fans watched the 2012 Super Bowl; Bankers Life Field House where the NBA Indiana Pacers play basketball; and, Victory Field where the Indianapolis Indians play AAA baseball.  Then of course you have the Indy 500 Motor Speedway which we are definitely going to visit.

Many flags are flying at half mast every where we've been because of the Boston bombing - what a terrible tragedy.  We have followed the man-hunt from the TV and learned that it was at the Indianapolis University where all the photos from the scene where reviewed one by one to determine who was responsible for this action - that's how they found the two brothers who were walking away from the Marathon when everyone else was glued to the race.

Our touring of the City started at the Indiana State House, for some reason it is not named the State Capitol.



We were fortunate to join a small tour group, consisting of a teacher and five students who are enrolled in political studies, that had just started with Jim, the tour guide.  One of the students is a niece of a sitting Senator and she certainly came in handy later!!

 

Inside the State House was very busy.  Both the House and Senate were in Session so the Chambers were not open for the public but that's when the niece of the Senator came in handy - she arranged for us to visit both Chambers during a break they took.

 

Here is Tony in the Senate Chambers with its newly refurbished furnishings and carpet.  We had two Legislative Assistants address us to explain some of the ideas, proposed policies and acts that are currently being discussed and debated.  Tony asked what the party split was in the Senate and in the House and learned that Indiana was very much Republican.

This photo was taken after we left the State House to show the Soldiers and Sailors Monument up the street.  Today it is not open but we'll come back tomorrow to climb up to the Observation Tower

This is the Canal that winds through the City.  It is very idyllic and here you can see the trees are starting to blossom.  It is very lovely but we wish the clouds would drift off instead of lingering as we know rain is coming!!

Here is the Monument that is huge and has a circle (a roundabout) with traffic rumbling around it.  The fountain is beautiful.  There are four roads that lead off from the Monument and they are all laid out with red bricks for a block or two.  We had a choice of walking up 330 steps to the Observation Tower or pay $2.00 each to ride the elevator - so we coughed up the 4 bucks and took the elevator.

Here is the view from the top of the Capitol with its flags still at half-mast because of the Boston bombing.  The red brick roads are wonderful.

At the bottom right of the photo is The Christ Church Cathedral that is the oldest structure around the Monument.  In the background is the War Memorial and if you look closely, Tommy our truck is parked right beside the War Memorial - we can see him but you probably cannot!!

In the afternoon we drove out to the Indy 500 grounds which is massive in size.  We spent 2 1/2 to 3 hours in the Hall of Fame Museum, touring the track and the buildings on the track.  Wow! it was amazing.  The Indy will take place the last weekend in May but there are many, many events beforehand such as the choosing of the Queen and her Princesses for the big Parade, the many fetes that take place during May and the whole marketing of the cars that will race at the Indy 500 miles race.

It must have been a slow day today as we were the only tourists scheduled to take the whole tour of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway so we were the only ones on board this bus that took us around the track and Bob, the driver, along with Paul, the tour guide, took us into all the buildings - Media, Administration, Garages, Meeting Places - we even saw all the Princesses getting ready for their part in the upcoming Parade. 

Here are the new Jaguar cars practicing at the track - the noise was unbelievable.  There are seats for 300,000 and we learned that the hospitality suites (with 80 tickets for each suite) cost $65,000 each day; Box Seats in the Penthouse are $150 each day; Box Seats in the Paddock are $90 and the lowest price on the Race Day is $30 - The Indy 500 covers two weeks with entrance days, practice days, qualification days and ultimately the Day being the Sunday, May 26, 2013.

Today, the temps have been very low in the 40s F so we've been very cold but Bob kept the bus very warm so we really enjoyed our tour around the track.  In the Museum, we enjoyed reading about all the Winners' Cars and seeing the trophies.

We really enjoyed visiting the Indy 500 and will definitely watch it at the end of May when hopefully we will be home in Saskatoon.  We learned all about the huge number of Media that come from around the world, the logistics of handling 300,000 people and transportation in and out of the facilities, and, the celebrations that take place with the Winning Car and Driver - it's incredible.  Here is Tony with the Winning Car in 1911 and one hundred years later, the 2011 Winning Car.

That's it for Indianapolis as we have to leave tomorrow morning but we are very impressed with this City.  It was very interesting to learn that Abraham Lincoln's Funeral Train came through Indianapolis before he was laid to rest in Springfield, Illinois which is where we are headed.  We expect that Springfield will be all about the 16th President of the United States of America and we are eager to learn all about his presidency and The Civil War that occurred during his term of office.

Wait for us in Springfield, Illinois as here we come.