Indianapolis Part Two

While in Indiana, I expected to see this:

Lucas Oil Stadium, Home of Indianapolis Colts and Peyton Manning

I was excited to discover this:

Canal & White River State Park - Indianapolis' cultural district with scenic canal walkways, filled with sculptures, fountains, and gardens. Businesses and homes are built along the canal and the walkway is filled with pedestrians, bicyclists, and runners. It was so beautiful and so unexpected.

But, the REAL SURPRISE, and something I didn't expect was this:

Lady Gaga was in Indianapolis the very same night as I was!!!

I couldn't believe it. I am such a big fan and I knew she was on tour, but what were the odds of here being there the same night as me?!? I sooooooo wanted to go - it felt like fate. So I went to the box office to see what kind of seats were still available (crappy). Marc was totally behind me going, but in the end, I passed. I kept telling myself that I needed to get to bed early so I wouldn't be trashed for the long car ride ahead. (But I also didn't have anything FABULOUS to wear and nobody FABULOUS to go with. And that is the whole point of going to GAGA anyway! To be FABULOUS. Because GAGA is (yes, you guessed it) FABULOUS. And if I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it right...)

So this was as close as I got to the stage that night:

Here I am at the back entrance with some cheeky security guy. Lady Gaga's dancers had just gone in (they all oozed FABULOUSNESS, even out of costume) and I was hoping to get a pic with one of them, but security was tight. So much so that he wouldn't leave his post so I could take a picture. I guess he was afraid that I might jump the fence, make a break for the locked gate and try to break my way in backstage.

He might have been right...

When in Rome (or in this case Speedway, Indiana)

Our drive from Iowa to North Carolina took us through parts of the country I have never seen before and while the journey was long, it was exciting to get a taste of Americana along the way. One of the states we drove through was Indiana. Now I am not a NASCAR fan, and know very little about race car culture, but when I think of Indianapolis and what it is famous for, I think of the Indy 500. So, when in Rome, right?

We visited the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum, located in the middle of the race track and took a one lap, guided tour around track. I have to admit, it was thrilling! And I learned something too. For the rest of you NASCAR newbies, this is what I learned:

• The track is nicknamed "The Brickyard" because it was originally made of 3.2 million bricks.
• The Indianapolis 500 is a 500-mile race. Drivers drive 200 times around the 2.5 mile track.
• The averaging speed of the drivers during the race is about 180 mph and some lap speeds top 200 mph. That's a lap time of less than forty seconds! Can you imagine driving 2.5 miles in less than 40 seconds? And you are not going straight either...

In front of an official pace car

A picture of the pagoda (taken from behind gasoline alley.) I had to include this picture because I was so surprised to find Asian influence at the race track.

Afterwards we ate at "Mug-N-Bun", a local drive-in famous for homemade root beer and it's breaded pork tenderloin sandwich. (I've added this link so you can see the sandwich in its entirety. We were STARVING, but neither Marc nor I could put a dent in it!)

Somehow this meal seemed a fitting end to our Speedway adventure.

If you're ever in these parts, be sure to check out the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Mug 'N Bun (or Mug 'N Bug as we kept calling it!). It's a guaranteed American experience.

Be sure to tune in next time! There's more Indianapolis, including my big surprise...

RWA: Readers with Attitude

With our recent move, I've been unable to blog and now that I'm finding some free time here and there, I'm feeling overwhelmed with the backlog of things to blog about! So I'm going to try to stick to short posts and post more often until I'm caught up. Let's see how it goes...

We weren't in Iowa City for long but while we were there we feel in love with the public library.

I know, you're thinking, "a library?!?" I thought the same thing. People told us how great it was when we first got to Iowa, but I didn't believe them. But this library is unlike any public library I've seen before. I can't even begin to adequately describe their selection of books, cds, dvds, video games, children's toys, preschool kits, etc. which were all FREE to check out, AND in really good condition. Marc and I were able to watch Japanese and Korean films that most video stores don't even carry, and Kyle couldn't get enough of their collection of kids graphic novels. And the programs! Every year they have a "Big Read," where the entire community is invited to read the same book (this year it was Fahrenheit 451) and the library gives everyone a free copy of the book and hosts discussion groups and guest speakers. The children's programs were the best I've attended and include music, storytime, arts & crafts, and puppet shows, to name a few, and are even broadcast on a local public TV channel for comfortable viewing from home. (This comes in very handy when it is 10 below outside and you don't dare leave the house.)

When the boys finished their summer reading challenges, in addition to a free, new book and other prizes, they got these cool (and slightly intimidating) tattoos:

Readaz with attitude!

I'm glad that the tattoos (and the attitudes) were temporary, but I can honestly say that I wish our time in Iowa City was not. We already miss the friends we made there and the places around town that made it feel like home. I don't know if we'll ever get back, but if not, we'll always have the library...