Indianapolis for the Big Ten Tourney 2025

 

Indianapolis is a great city, and even better when the B1G TEN tournament is there!

We rented an Airbnb and drove the four hours down with our friends Jess, Peter, Lisa, and Brad.

Our house was on State Street, and we walked to St Joseph Brewery and Public House to eat. It was in a building that used to be a church, and I ate open faced bison meatloaf! I know I've had bison before, but I couldn't remember what it tasted like. I had my tonsils out recently and couldn't eat for three days, so everything I eat now is so GOOD. No exception here!

My shoes rubbed my toes, but it was 75 and sunny, so I walked barefoot to the next place - Natural State Provisions. 

It was right next door to a dog park, full of people! Or maybe the dog park was part of the brewery. Regardless, it was the place to be.

"Is there a more dog friendly town?" Peter wondered. Last time we were in Indy every place allowed dogs too.

We headed back to the house, and some of us went to the nearby Kroger to get groceries. It was a little sketchy, as in the other customers seemed to have made some rough life decisions, but not bad.

Right across the street from our house was State Street Pub. After we ate our groceries, we walked over to check it out. It looked closed, but it was open! We sat outside and talked to the people working and hanging out there. They had an old school record player, which was cool. The bartender said his band was playing Saturday night and invited us back then.

Friday

Game day! Jess and I got up and ran around the neighborhood and to a park with a great view of the city skyline. We stopped by the Tin Roof right outside the stadium, and it was everything I love about the tourney. We were sitting outside, it was sunny and warm, the guys next to us were chatty students, the people going by yelled Go Green at us - it was just a wonderful, happy atmosphere!

We had bought tickets online and had good seats to watch our beloved Spartans win! So fun, so exciting. On the way out of the stadium they handed us packets of beef jerky, and it was really good - Old Trapper. And I don't even like beef jerky! 

We'd heard good things about Tom's Watch Bar for sports. It was fine but kind of lacking personality. I really wanted to go up to the top of the Soldiers & Sailors Monument. (I'd seen the nighttime show but never gone to the top.) We rushed over there, hoping to get there before it closed, and we made it! We climbed the 331 steps for a great view and good history. We also took a picture in front of the giant B1G.

We wanted to be outside to enjoy the weather so we went to Pivot Bar & Balcony, which has an open rooftop. There were players' families and fans and everyone wanted to talk sports. Gage, who got in later than the rest of us, met us here! We wanted dinner so we ate at the Slippery Noodle and danced to the band, and then ended the night singing karaoke downtown! (Bring your ID! They wouldn't let Jess in.) We went to these same places last time and there's a reason why - they are GREAT. Fun people, great places! Gage and I sang and we all had a blast.

Saturday

Another game day! The wind was crazy. There were tornadoes and storms in other parts of the country. We stopped for Mexican food at Loco Fresh Mexican. In a close exciting game, MSU lost. We watched part of the next game, then watched the end at Kilroy's. (This time on the way out they handed us chocolate covered almonds. They were actually forcing them upon you!) People were also there celebrating St Patrick's Day, and it was super loud. We also ran into Frankie Fidler there!

We had fond memories of Fountain Square Brewery, so we went there and played darts and watched MSU win their hockey game, but it wasn't where the action was. We found that at the Dugout, which had a band and lots of people! We ended the night across the street from our house at State Street Pub, where we saw an eccentric band and then our bartender's band. Neither of them were our style, but that doesn't mean we didn't have fun watching them and taking in the entire atmosphere! 

Sunday

Since our team wasn't in it any more, we left. As Kris said, "I'm sad we lost, but I'm not sad about getting home 12 hours earlier."

Thanks for another great trip Indy!

Detroit, Chicago & East Lansing

Such a fun whirlwind of a weekend!

Detroit

Gage was in Detroit for a night. His copilot was in his class at the Air Force Academy, and he's also from Michigan. Gage, Charley and I met at their hotel The Book Cadillac, and we walked to The Anchor Bar to watch the Detroit Red Wings play. I ate the little cheeseburger sliders, and they were delicious. 

Gage suggested we find a karaoke bar, so we googled and called around to find one that was open. We also walked there - no coats, even though we all wished we had them - and ended up in such a cool place! It was named Sid Gold's Request Room. It was small, and the hostess asked if we had reservations. Since we were there 20 minutes before the karaoke started, she was able to get us in, and every other table had a reserved sign on it. It was full before it hit 9:00 p.m., and the music was provided by - not a karaoke machine, but a man on a real piano!  Looking online now, I see there are four of them in the U.S., but I hadn't heard of them. The crowd was great, the venue was fantastic, and it was really fun. Gage and Charley sang wonderfully, and the entire experience was great. I had parked at the Financial District Garage (just $10!) so I walked back and made it home by 12 because...

Chicago

I left for Chicago at 8:00 a.m. I love that you can drive to Chicago, and not only can you drive to the city, you can drive DOWNTOWN right into the busiest part! I parked at 875 North Michigan Avenue parking which is in the bottom of the John Hancock building. It wasn't super easy to find since the sign didn't state that, but I found it. ($55 overnight.) 

Our hotel the Knickerbocker was just a block away. I checked in, threw my stuff in the room, and immediately walked to the lake! I had driven on Lake Shore Drive along the water, and I was just dying to get there. It was about four blocks away, and then...Lake Michigan! The sun was shining, the water was so blue, and there were tons of people walking and running along the lake. I walked along it a long way to where it moves from cement to beach, and then walked on the sand. The skyline, the water - all of it was so beautiful. Sheer joy.

I met up with my friends in the hotel for our yearly reunion! I went to WMU with these girls. They all majored in engineering, and I was their lone English major friend. Some of them are my former roommates. (We lived in a house of seven girls at one point and my bedroom, literally, was a hallway. I liked it because I had a door on each side of my room and the rent was cheap.) They all have gone on to have great careers with impressive titles!

Erica - manager power supply portfolio, Hoosier Energy

Jen - Senior business process specialist, Hayworth

Joy - Director labor relations manufacturing, GM

Jodie - Owner, Little Caesars, formerly Vice president of global operations, Rockwell

Aletha - Senior director of inventory planning, Sweetwater

Sarah - Quality manager Chicago stamping plant, Ford

I mean come on! What powerhouses. We get together once a year so there's a lot to catch up on!

We headed out and stopped at Streeter's Tavern. It wasn't a place we could also eat, so we went to Pippin's Tavern. We split a lot of foods like giant pretzels and potpies. Then, out on Michigan Avenue, where there are tons of stores and people. 

We had a reservation at 6:00 p.m., where Sarah joined us at a fancy corner table on the second floor. People here were dressed to kill, and it was so fun to see them. 

We stopped off at Hopsmith after that to collect Sarah's boyfriend, and they set off to Sarah's apartment for a nightcap...but I walked back because...

East Lansing

I had to leave for East Lansing at 5:00 a.m., and not only was there a time zone change, I lost two hours because we also changed the clocks!

 The drive was so incredibly easy with zero traffic. I met Kris at Art's Pub in East Lansing, which has become one of our favorite spots to eat in EL. They have breakfast all day, all the food is great, and the service is fantastic. It was packed in there, but we had no trouble getting in and out to see the Spartan beat the Wolverines, then hoist the Big Ten Championship banner. What an exciting game! It was senior day, and there was tons of confetti and happiness in the air.