Month: February 2016
Location: Indianapolis
I grew up watching ‘Formula
1’ racing and was a big fan of Michael Schumacher and the ‘Ferrari’ team. This meant an annual visit to Indianapolis to
see the race, but since I was in Graduate school, that was it. There
wasn’t much time – or money – for exploration and as such, I had not seen much
of the city other than the racetrack. I
had picked Indianapolis in February, taking a huge chance by hoping to avoid
snow or a blizzard. I kept an eye on the
forecast and it looked like I may have gotten lucky. A month prior to arriving, I learned that the 'Children’s Museum of Indianapolis' was
having some sort of a “Museum By The
Moonlight” thing the night I was in town – an adults only event of course. I bought a ticket for that and as is my wont,
booked an ‘Escape Room’ for the next
day. But that was it in terms of
planning. Furthermore, I was going to be
there for just one night, meaning that I had to be extremely efficient.
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| Downtown Indianapolis |
I arrived in Indianapolis on Saturday morning and took a cab
to the hotel. I was sent up to my room,
which was as messy as a used room can be.
So I came back down and they sent me to another one. The reason for the chaos was because I had
inadvertently arrived in Indy during the
“NFL
Combine”, and I am sure all the hotels were full. The first thing on my agenda was brunch and I
had been told to visit a place called
‘Café
Patachou’, which was also termed as
“Student
Union for Adults”. It was also
walking distance from my hotel and so I arrived their shortly, to find that
there was a wait. It does seem to be a
popular destination amongst the locals.
Fortunately, I found a seat at the countertop and perusing the menu, I
saw an item called
“The Omelet you can’t
refuse”. With a lofty claim like
that – backed by the server – I had to order it and I must say it was quite
good. I was sitting next to a gentleman
who was wearing
‘NFL’ credentials and
sure enough, he was with a team and here for the
“Combine”. I chatted with
him regarding his team’s prospects and then called an
‘Uber’ for my next destination.
 |
| 'Lilly House' |
I was headed to the
‘Indianapolis
Museum Of Art’, but entered
‘The Art
Institute of Indianapolis’ by mistake.
Now, these are 2 very different places and 2 different locations. Fortunately for me, I caught it in time and
my driver was kind enough to wait for my correction. He was a nice chap, and as we talked about my
past visits to the race track, we chatted about our favorite
‘Formula 1’ moments. He encouraged me to visit the
‘Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum’,
where apparently you can get a tour that takes you around the track! I had some time the next morning and thought about checking it out. I arrived at
the art museum and as I looked at the daily program, realized that I was just
in time for a guided tour, which was on
“Paintings
from Flanders Region”. In the end it
was just me and another lady, along with an enthusiastic tour guide. It turned out to be a nice tour with some
really good insights on not only the artwork, but also the artists from that
era.
 |
| The 'Greenhouse' on the museum grounds |
My fellow companion on the tour mentioned that right after
this tour ended, she was on her way to another tour of
‘Lilly House’, a mansion on the grounds of the museum. Built in the early 20
th century,
it belonged to a prominent businessman from that era. I decided to join her and as we walked there, I learned that my fellow
tourist was from Connecticut – my home state – and was in Indianapolis on
business. We joined the tour just as it
was about to get underway and while it was nowhere close to the mansions of
Newport, it did reflect the wealth of the family that inhabited it. After the tour I walked about the gardens and
the huge property on which the museum resides, including a
‘greenhouse’. I then took a
walk through the museum itself, and it had been a nice way to spend an
afternoon.
 |
| The 'Canal Walk' |
I took an
‘Uber’
back to downtown and asked the driver to let me off near the access point to
the
‘Canal Walk’. There is a canal that runs through the
downtown, with a walkway on both sides and it is a great place for people to
run, walk or just hang out. Plus, there
are paddle boats for rent if folks feel like sharing the waterways with the
ducks. It is a perfect early evening
activity and fortunately it had been a pleasant day for this time of the year. I set off in one direction, walking past
people and dogs and babies in strollers and canal side residences where I
would live were I in this place. I
turned around and walked back on the other side towards downtown and now the
path went past parks and museums and other commercial establishments. It made me nostalgic for my time in
Pittsburgh and my weekly Sunday afternoon
walks by the river.
 |
| 'Monument Circle' in the evening |
I came back to my hotel and changed to go out for the
evening. My museum event was at 8 pm and
so I asked the concierge for recommendations for a cocktail lounge. I was pointed towards the center of the city
and a place called
‘Nicky Blaine’s’. The most prominent landmark at the heart of
the city is a
“roundabout” called
‘Monument Circle’, which has a
‘Soldiers and Sailors Monument’. This is where everyone assembles in the
evenings and is one of the busiest places in the city. It is also where the restaurants are bars
are located, and it took me some walking around to locate the entrance to the
place, which looked like it was in a basement.
As I entered inside, it checked all the boxes that I love in a lounge, such as the lighting and the ambiance. But there was one problem…a big problem. This place is also a
"Cigar Lounge" and there
were people all around me lighting up like it was going out of style. I asked the hostess if there was a
“non-smoking” area and she said there
wasn’t one. I found a corner which did
not have anyone nearby and zipped up my jacket in order to prevent the stench
from getting on my clothes. I ordered a
cocktail named
“Love At First Sip”
and just it arrived, people filled up the seats around me and the thing which I
was most afraid of happened – I was drowned in smoke. I dunked the drink and got out of there fast,
but the damage had been done. Even if I
checked-in my jacket, the stench was on my jeans and people at the museum event
would probably peg me as a smoker.
 |
| "Museum By The Moonlight" |
I took another
‘Uber’
to the museum and on the way the driver pointed out some of the
“hot spots” in the area if I were to be
hungry later. I arrived at the museum
and it was buzzing with activity. I went
inside and checked in my coat before entering the main area where the party was
already underway. My map for the evening
showed me that there were food stands all over the place and spread across
multiple levels. I started by grabbing a drink and set off to explore. This is a children’s museum, meaning there
are activities designed with kids in mind.
Give the people a few drinks and that premise goes out of the
window. All the adults were having a
great time playing games in areas such as
“Archeology
Dig” and
“Egyptian Tomb”. Being a regular volunteer at
‘Adler After Dark’, I have seen plenty
of such events and everyone usually has a great time.
 |
| The party was on |
I walked about sampling the goodies at various stops and at
one stage sat – well, lay down on my back really – on a revolving stage staring
at some
“Chihuly Glass” artifacts on
the ceiling, which under the circumstance was quite
“trippy”. Every museum such
as this has a
“Dinosaur Gallery” and
very soon I found the one in this place; and this is where the party was really
happening. On
“New Year’s Eve” in Orlando, I had seen the
“Battle of the DJ’s” at
‘Epcot
Center’, where people wear headphones and only they can hear the music
being played by one of the 2
‘DJs’. There are usually 2 different channels and
one can switch between the
‘DJs’. I saw a similar thing happening here and
grabbed a headphone. It was a lot of fun
and I shuttled between the 2 channels as I walked over to see the other areas of
the museum…well till I was chased down by a woman who said that the headphones
needed to stay in the
“Dinosaur Gallery”. Well, I guess they were worried that people
may steal them, but I thought that it would have been fun to see people rocking to the beat
in different areas of the museum.
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| The "Battle of the DJs" at the "Dinosaur Gallery" |
I worked my way up to the top floor, eating the goodies and
visiting various galleries, all of which were designed for kids. Besides the wide array of sweet and savory
food, I was impressed by some of the galleries which taught the children
principles of
“civil liberties”,
“inclusion” and
“empathy”. I was getting
quite full and had seen most of the museum – though I did not feel like
standing in line for the slide which was as popular with the adults as it
surely is with the kids during daytime. I
went back to the
“Dinosaur Gallery”
and was lucky to get the very last headphone, since the crowd had grown and the
place was now almost full. For the next
hour I partied with the folks till it was time to leave. I collected my
“smoking jacket” and called an
‘Uber’
to go back to the hotel. I had packed a
lot in today and had a lot planned for the next day as well.
 |
| Main floor of the 'Speedway Museum' |
The next morning started with breakfast at the bastion of
fine foods –
‘Starbucks’. I was looking for a cab to the
‘Speedway’, when the valet offered me a
limo ride to my destination – well for a price as I learnt later. The driver was well versed in Auto racing and
we discussed
‘Formula 1’ on the
way. I was one of the first to arrive at
the museum this Sunday morning and got a ticket to the
“Grounds Tour”, which included going around the famous track. There was some time to go before that and so
I walked about the museum floor, which is lined up with all sorts of race cars,
both historical and contemporary. There
was a film crew filming in the corner and I walked about while carefully
avoiding them. They announced that my
tour was about to get underway and I climbed aboard a bus with several other
tourists and we were taken around the track, including stop for pictures next
to the famous
“brickyard” finish
line. We also visited the garage area as
well as inside the building which hosts the press, the victory podium and
interview room. It was a very
informative tour and all of us who are fans of automobile racing had a good
time.
 |
| I even stood on the famous "brickyard" |
I called a cab to take me back to downtown for my other
pre-planned activity – “
Escape
Room”. I was continuing this fine tradition from my travels and arrived at
my destination after getting lost at
‘Monument
Circle’. I met my team - which was 9 other people who
knew each other - and we were shown to our room after the usual
explanations. This room was a bit tricky
and required some skill from our side – both mental and physical – to steal a
painting of
"Mona Lisa" and
escape. I was pleased to decipher and
provide a valuable clue, and with some acrobatics from a girl who was in fact
celebrating her birthday, we made it out in time. After taking our victory photograph I bid my
team farewell and made my way through an indoor walkway that connected the
downtown buildings, to emerge through a mall.
I had time for one more activity and so made my way to the
‘Indiana State Museum’.
I like visiting museums such as these since it’s a great way
to learn about the history of the place.
And when they say history, they weren’t kidding here, since the exhibit
on the ground floor started right from the origins of the planet, all the way
through the various eras! On the upper
levels they got into the history of the state – both good and the ugly. A walkway took me to another building where I
learned more about corn than I had ever expected or hoped for. It was time to head to the airport and that’s what
I did after picking up my bag at the hotel.
I had been in Indy for a day and a half, but it seemed like I had done a
lot, especially with the party at the ‘Children’s
Museum’ last night. Plus I had gone
around the track – albeit in a bus - where some of my racing heroes had
driven. I must say that accounts for a
successful trip.
