Indianapolis, Indiana

Once Kris and I drove from Illinois to North Carolina, and we stopped at the Slippery Noodle in Indianapolis.  That was my sole Indianapolis experience until this past weekend ... and we went there again!

We planned on going to Indy for the Big Ten Tournament.  It was only my second time going to the tournament, and it was my first time going to it in Indy.  I was so excited!  Then the world turned upside down, the tournament and the NCAA tournament were cancelled, and before everything really got crazy ... we decided to go anyway.  We couldn't get a refund on our house, my parents were already taking care of the boys, and we wanted to cheer up.  (Again, this was still all before it turned serious and the words 'social distancing' became a thing.  Ah, last week!  You were so young!)

We went with our great friends, Jess and Peter.  Jess is also Kris' cousin.  First, since we were bracket-deprived, we decided we would do our own bracket of breweries.  We discussed their beer as well as their ambiance, entertainment, location, games, animal presence - all of it.

Over the two days we visited (and judged) Upland Brewing Company, Fountain Square Brew Co, Indiana City, Metazoa, and Sun King.  Out of all of them, Fountain Square won us over as the best one overall - although all of them had aspects that we liked, Fountain Square had comfortable seating, dogs coming in and out so there was always some activity, a really nice guy working there, PLUS giant connect four and darts.  The darts might have been the one that really did it for me.  I haven't played darts in a long time and it was so fun!  We decided we would be Wardins (Jess and Kris) against married-ins (Peter and me.)  They killed us, and it was STILL fun!  Indiana City, Sun King, and Metazoa were our various second choices.

Friday - Day One

From our VRBO house in Fountain Square (a sort of up and coming neighborhood, not the brewery) we walked to the Fountain Square area and checked it out.  We drove downtown to see the arena we weren't going to be watching games in ... and I wondered if we would be able to park, since I didn't know what Indianapolis was like.  But since there was no tournament there was PLENTY of street parking, and we easily parked.  Some Spartan fans cheered at us when we were walking by and bought us drinks.  They said we should go to the Slippery Noodle later that night to see the band The Why Store, and we thought it sounded like a great idea.  The owner of the Slippery Noodle was with them and thanked us for coming in advance.

Happily - and another reason I wanted to go - my brother Gage just happened to be staying in Indianapolis for the night!  He's an airline pilot and just pops up all over the place.  We met him and ate at The Tap, and then we went to the Slippery Noodle ($10 cover, couldn't get out of it) to see The Why Store, which we loved.  We walked Gage back to his hotel, then drove home to our VRBO.  So great to see him, if only for a few hours!

Saturday - Day Two

Saturday we drove to Eagle Creek Park to run.  They have a lovely three-mile path around a large lake, with more water on the sides.  They even had little exercises to do along the trail.  This was a beautiful spot just 15 minutes outside of the city.  Totally worth it.  We saw no eagles, but we did see lots of other giant birds, and some I couldn't even identify!  (They looked like small pelicans.  Can Indiana's birds be so different than Michigan's birds?!)

We went to the strangest - but great - breakfast restaurant.  It looked and smelled like a Mexican restaurant, but it was described as a breakfast place.  Sunshine Breakfast House & Grill.  It was fantastic!  Fusion all the way.

We wanted to go to the Indiana Medical History Museum (a place for mental disease research), but due to everything being cancelled, I called to see if it was open.  She said that they didn't open until 10 until the hour, and I couldn't reserve a spot, but the earlier I got there the better.  We waited outside the door for 10 minutes in the snow/rain, because I was bound and determined we were getting it - and it's a good thing we did!  They cap the tour at 8 people per hour, and they only have tours certain days.  (I see now they closed on March 15 due to COVID-19, so we got there for their last day of tours.)

It was really interesting to see the autopsy room, the operating theater, and see all of the old artifacts - they were all set up like people had just walked out and left them when they ran out of money, which is just what happened.

Another super interesting part of this tour was a room full of jars with people's brains and other organs in them.  Each jar had a story of the person's life and how they ended up in the mental institution.

For dinner we ate at St Elmo Steak House, which I've heard Kris talk about for a long time.  It was a fancy place with great food and a super nice server.  (How nice?  He gave me his card and I now follow him on Instagram because he grows an amazing garden.  Andy.  You can ask for him.)  Kris loves this place because of the steak, and I had some too, and it was great.  I might eat steak now.  That's how good it is.

I wanted to see the State Capitol Building and the Sailors & Soldiers Monument I'd seen from far away.

We drove up and parked right next to the Monument, and I was amazed.  I googled a lot of things about Indianapolis after our plans were dashed, and none of it prepared me for how beautiful the Monument was!  It was GIANT, it was artistic, and I loved it!  It was as moving for me as the Arc de Triomphe!  Why had I NEVER heard of it before?!

Suddenly an announcement came on that the show was starting in 10 minutes.  It was windy and cold and we all decided that we could definitely wait for 10 minutes ... we had no idea what was coming and didn't know about any show.

At 10:00 p.m., the show began, and I loved it!  All around us, on all the buildings, and on the Monument itself, there was a light show/movie/musical tribute to the people who died defending our country.  It was really moving.  I don't want to give anything away, but it ends in freedom.

Kris later said that I didn't remember years ago he climbed it with my dad ... I hadn't remembered, and I want to go back during the day and climb it too!  (You know, when this is all over.)

We went to Kilroy's, another place Kris fondly remembers from the last time he was here, and it was full of college students!  It was such a happy, joyful, St Patrick's Day atmosphere.  Someone put on Mariah Carey's 'All I Want for Christmas is You' and everyone happily sang along, trying for the high notes.

We had such a great time with Jess and Peter, too. A nice last hurrah, even if we didn't know it.

On Sunday we drove home, and on Monday Indiana closed their bars and restaurants.  If I could do it all over again ... I would have taken that extra toilet paper roll from my VRBO bathroom.

Thank you, Indianapolis, and I'll see you again another time!