Indianapolis is only about an hour from where we are staying at Purdue University. The fact that it is the capital of Indiana, and the closest big city to where we are, we knew we wanted to go check it out.
This past Saturday we headed that way to spend a few hours in Indianapolis. Neither of us are race fans, but we did want to check out the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS), aka The Brickyard. They had a museum/collection right there at the speedway. On days where there are not races you can get a bus tour that takes you out onto the track. In retrospect this would have been really cool to plan. Saturday they actually were racing (followed by a concert by Kid Rock). We parked our car in town and walked along the outside of the track to the main entrance. We quickly got a sense for us how BIG the track was. There were some cars going around, maybe for practices? But they were a lot louder than we thought they would be.
I think tickets inside were about $40 and since we had other plans that day we decided not to go. But after having been there and to the museum it might be fun to go inside to watch a race sometime. You get in and out privileges and can take your own cooler full of adult beverages inside with you. Too bad you can’t do that at NHL games, we would have saved so much money already!
The museum was a bit of walk, again the track is huge, and it was HOT and humid outside. Getting inside was a nice relief and admission was a bargain at only $4.
So a big part of the museum are cars in three different room. However they are surrounded by trophies, memorabilia, historical facts/timelines, and a lot of other stuff. When you first walk in you see a 2015 Aston Martin. But then the rest of the museum follows a more chronological flow starting with the first winning car from 1911.
As you walk along the cars in time order you can see the gradual and obvious changes throughout the years. Everything from the tires, steering wheel size, and interior changes over time. They also had engines, transmissions, and trophies that accompanied some of the cars beside them. Again, we are NOT race fans. But as fans of history and the evolution of automobile engineering over time, I think we really appreciated it.
Amongst the vast array of cars there is an actual one that you can sit in. It either was actually used at the anniversary celebration in 2011 or was an exact to scale replica. Either way, sitting in it really gave you a sense of how low they sit and how small the area is. The steering wheel was tiny and the gear shifter is just a little lever right by your righthand side.
We spent over an hour total and way more time than we thought we would. After a visit to the gift shop we decided to brave the harsh humidity once again. We didn’t make it very far because right beside the museum is another gift shop/ snack bar. With apparently no open-container laws in public, one can easily enjoy an ice cold beverage on the walk back to the car.
Another big thing to do in Indianapolis is the Children’s Museum. Its apparently enormous and one of the best in the country. But after all the walking and time at the museum we didn’t have time to get their before they closed. So we headed to downtown Indianapolis.
Since we knew that we would spending time in Indiana, and being fans of the tv show Parks and Rec, John was adamant on enjoying a steak Ron Swanson style. We had made reservations at St. Elmo’s Steakhouse. Its Indiana’s oldest operating steakhouse (1902) and is supposedly the steakhouse that Ron Swanson always visits (and take his picture with his steak) when he has to travel to Indianapolis. Fortunately for us when we arrived it was NOT burnt down like it was for Ron Swanson.
The place was fancy. Exceptional service and waiters in suits/bow ties. We were prepared to “Treat Yo Self” so we lived it up! Started off with some nice iced beverages to beat the heat. They are apparently world famous for their shrimp cocktail. They make their own sauce with fresh ground horseradish, and then bury like 4-5 jumbo shrimp in it.
There was also a breadbasket, which wasn’t really worth mentioning. BUT the butter with the back volcanic sea salt on top of it is…
Now for the main attraction. The long awaited steak. John ordered a 60 day dry aged 24oz ribeye. The name alone is impressive and 60 days?! Thats quite the commitment to a piece of meat! John states that hands down best steak he has ever eaten anywhere at anytime in his life. Danielle, enjoying less of the turf and more of the surf, ordered potato encrusted halibut. It also was delicious, covered in a balsamic reduction and lemon butter sauce. Butter Sauce, I mean what more could you ask for?!
After the dessert course we knew we needed to take a walk. Outside John paid homage to Ron Swanson and posed.
Downtown Indianapolis has a ton of war monuments and other memorials throughout town. This was perfect as it was still early and we walked to walk around to assist the digestive process. In town is a monument circle with a glorious fountain and the notable Soldiers and Sailors monument at the center of it. Carriage rides take off from there and you can see the capitol building from there as well. There are plenty of restaurants, coffee shops, bars, etc to duck in and out of to avoid the heat. We took our time and walked around as much as we could. The Civil War museum there was closed but appeared small anyway. Most of it was just walking around outside.
A little further down there was another Civil War monument, as well as a statue of Abraham Lincoln since his boyhood home was in fact in Indiana.
In total we spent about 6 hours in Indianapolis. Visited a piece of history, enjoyed a fantastic dinner, and got to stroll around downtown. I am sure a few more hours earlier in the day would have allowed us to go to the Children’s Museum and see some more of the city, but the time we spent there was great. On our way out of town we drove right by the Colts stadium which was surprising close to the downtown activity.
If you ever find yourself in Indiana or traveling through the area then Indianapolis is worth the stop. Especially the IMS museum, its worth your time even if you are not a hardcore race fan!
Dietz Summer Road Trip 