Indianapolis - Day 4

Today was nothing more than a very long travel day. We awoke at 5:00am, caught the shuttle to the airport at 6:00am and were immediately stumped by the idiotic self check-in counters that you are forced to use. We spent five minutes trying to shove our passports into the slot where the tickets come out before finally discovering the passport scanners a foot off to the side. Everything appeared to work OK until the very end of the process, when the terminal issued an error, claiming that it was unable to complete our transaction. Given our previous difficulties with the United/Air Canada Star Alliance partnership, we immediately talked to one of the United employees. The system had printed us off boarding passes before crashing, but she printed us new ones for the two United flights we were on.

We went through security, bought a bit of breakfast and sat down to wait a couple of hours for our flight to Chicago. The gate we were at had an earlier flight to Chicago that was boarding as we arrived. Once everyone was aboard, they announced that if anyone was in the terminal for our flight, there was room on this earlier flight. Since it really did not matter where we waited, we took the earlier flight.

In Chicago we sat around for four hours until our flight for Toronto left. The flight only took an hour, but we taxied for 30 minutes before taking off. In Toronto, Sandra had a small supper while we waited for our gate agents to arrive. Sandra wanted to confirm that our boarding passes from the self check-in counter were valid, since you can't leave anything to chance on these flights. After supper, there were two agents at the counter, so I walked up with the boarding passes. They said they were dealing with the arrivals and were not my agent, so I sat down.

For the next 20 minutes, various people on the flight to Regina arrived, were ignored by the two agents until abruptly told to sit down or that they could not help them. These two agents were very bitter and reminded me of most of the employees at the Regina General Hospital - constant complaining about their job and their bosses and how difficult things are, and absolutely no desire to help anyone. In fact, once the flight arrived, they were supposed to help people find new flights, since it was late arriving. In every case, they took the person's information, looked stuff up on the computer, talked among themselves about how stupid things were and then sent the person to the main customer information desk. You know, it has been far too long since we have flown WestJet. I am so sick of Air Canada.

When our agent arrived, the poor guy was jumped by everyone who wanted to talk to him. The majority of people wanted their seats changed because they weren't sitting together, including a number of adults. I was a bit surprised, as he actually rearranged half the plane to accommodate everyone. I checked, and our boarding passes were fine, so there were no issues boarding the plane.

Our flight to Regina was uneventful, but longer than it should have been. The plane had to be de-iced, so we were late leaving, and the flight took longer than it was originally scheduled to. Regardless, we finally arrived home, got our luggage and then waited for a cab. It was better than last time, as there were actually two airport employees taking names and making certain that enough cabs were arriving. However, the cabs were very slow in coming. I don't know what all the problems are with this city and airport cab service, but there are problems and they aren't really fixed yet.

The boys were ecstatic to see us and Xander was even more excited when he found out we brought presents. He put on his jersey and posed for pictures. Evan didn't last long before he had to go to bed, but Xander and I stayed up late playing video games. Thus successfully ends my convocation trip.

Indianapolis - Day 3

Game Day!

We slept in a little bit again today and discovered a note under our door from the hotel. Most of it was regarding a busy checkout period, since the hotel is full, but at the end they mentioned that there would be a pre-game party downstairs starting at 10:00am. As that was when were were expecting to go for breakfast, we figured we should go a bit earlier. The lobby was fairly full of people in Colts gear waiting for breakfast and people not in Colts gear waiting for their cars. There was a wait for breakfast, but we were seated right away, as there was a table beside the front door that no one else wanted, due to the chill. Being tough Saskatchewan folk, we sat down and ate there.

After breakfast we got ready and then walked over to Lucas Oil Stadium, which is only two blocks away from our hotel. At the gate, they patted us down and searched Sandra's camera case. After that, we were in the stadium, though I had to force the doors open due to a massive air pressure difference between inside and outside the stadium. As we stood there trying to find our way, a staff member came up to help us find our seats. It turned out that the seats we purchased were actually the seats provided for the club seating. As we did not have access to the club area, we had to go the long way around to get to our seats, rather than using the posh elevator.

Lucas Oil Stadium is very impressive. There are a ton of seats and they all appeared to be cushioned, with a decent amount of leg room. The stadium was nice and warm and we immediately took off our jackets once we arrived. I had been worried that our seats wouldn't be that great, but they were awesome - right at the front of a section that really wasn't far from the field. I think it was the perfect spot to watch the game, as you could see everything that was happening. We arrived early, so we just sat and waited for the game to start.

The game was extremely good as it included everything I wanted to see, with the exception of a coach's challenge. The Colts dominated the game and ended up defeating the Bengals 35 - 3. One of the big highlights of the game was when Peyton hit Marvin Harrison on a post pattern and Marvin ran for 67 yards, coming very close to a touchdown. Marvin's career may be nearing its end, but the fans in Indianapolis are still VERY appreciative of him, as some of the loudest cheering of the day occurred when he caught that pass and when he caught his touchdown pass. Conversely, the loudest boos occurred whenever Chad Johnson touched the ball. Speaking of the cheering, it was very eerie whenever the Colts had the ball, as the entire stadium would go quiet. I don't think I have ever heard that many people make that little noise.

Sandra took a ton of pictures (somewhere around the 300 mark) and managed to get a picture of every touchdown, though in a couple of cases you will just have to take our word for it, since all you can see is a player and no football. We had a couple of happy drunks sitting beside us, who spent most of the game talking on their phone, leaving for more beer, or discussing the latest movies they had watched. Near the end of the game, the one guy started talking to me and was utterly amazed that someone would come from Canada to go to a Colts game. He was a cook in the US Army and was at the game with his brother, who was also in the army and had just returned from Iraq. After the game was over, they took the time to phone their sergeant and had me talk to him, just so he could talk to a Canadian Colts fan.

We left the stadium and went to a restaurant near the hotel for supper. It seemed pretty packed when we arrived, but they were seating people very quickly and we managed to get in and eat in a fairly short time. We then returned to the hotel and watched the rest of the football games. It has been a very good weekend.

Pictures

Peyton warming up


Cheerleaders


Colts team introductions


Opening kick-off


Peyton in the pocket


Housh stiff-arming the defense


Peyton directing his team


Rhodes scoring the first touchdown


Dallas Clark fumbling at the goal line


Marvin Harrison's touchdown


Marvin Harrison's big pass


End of the game

Indianapolis - Day 2

We slept in this morning, which is likely the first time we have both done that in the past three years. It felt pretty good - sleeping in is one of those little things that you have to give up once you have kids. We awoke to snow falling, and it continued to fall all day - those big fluffy snowflakes that everyone loves to see in the winter time. The temperature hovered around zero and there wasn't much wind, so we did not find it too uncomfortable to be outside.

We started the day by taking the bus to Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Oddly enough, after riding the bus here, I have come to appreciate the loonie and toonie more, as trying to shove dollar bills into an automated machine in order to pay for a bus ride is far more annoying than just dumping coins in a slot. Anyway, the bus goes straight from downtown to the Speedway and our bus driver dropped us off right at the entrance to the museum. It is a tunnel that goes under the short straight between turns one and two, but I didn't realize that until we had walked through it and turned around to realize we were inside the track. The infield is huge, which should be expected, given that the track is 2.5 miles in length. It was snowing pretty hard at this point, so there were no bus tours around the track, since even though the track is "flat", it is banked slightly in the corners and is likely a bit treacherous in bad conditions.

However, the museum was open, so Sandra and I spent a bit over an hour going through it. There were a whole bunch of winning Indy 500 cars from throughout the years, including Jacques Villeneuve's car from his win. I did not know his car was there, so it was very neat to see it. There was also a replica car that you could sit in. I got in and there is no way I could ever drive an Indy car. The cockpit is too small for me. We also watched a short movie on the history of the track and then looked at some more cars, including a couple of Cup cars - the last car that Richard Petty drove and Tony Stewart's winning car from the 2005 Brickyard 400. Tony's car was preserved exactly as it had come off the track, which was very neat to look at. As we left to catch the bus back downtown, a security guard asked if we wanted to see the track and directed us to a spot with some small stands. It is hard to tell that you are looking at the track, since it is covered in snow, but we took some pictures anyway.

We took the bus back downtown and then went to look at a couple of tourist locations. The first was a war memorial that is a huge pillar with a statue on the top. The statue must be about 9 stories up, since it is level with our hotel room window and we are on the 9th floor. I figured that the memorial was for a big war, such as World War II, but I was surprised to discover that it was for the War with Mexico in the 19th century. I was a bit amazed that Indiana would create such an elaborate monument for such a small conflict until we walked a few blocks to the north and found the monument for World War I, which is utterly freaking huge. It covers about half a city block, and is built at the top of a huge stone stair case. It is a giant square structure based upon an ancient building that was one of the seven wonders of the world. Apparently the people of Indiana really love to create big monuments. We climbed the stairs and walked around the structure, as it provided a good view of downtown. By this time we were cold and hungry, so we headed back to the hotel.

During this time, I kept noticing the interesting way that they dealt with the snow. Basically, they cover the entire city with a layer of salt. While we waited for the bus at the Speedway, a couple of plows/sanders went by, and they were dropping salt over the entire road. Once downtown, we saw people with wheelbarrows of that melting stuff, covering all the sidewalks with a layer of it. We even saw a pick-up truck putting down a layer of salt in a small parking lot beside the hotel.

We went to the mall for our late lunch/early supper and ate at Johnny Rockets, a chain burger restaurant that tries to emulate the 50s diner experience. We ate at the bar and had some phenomenal hamburgers. We then spent the next couple of hours shopping. We spent an obscene amount of money at the Colts Pro Shop, buying a jersey for each person in the family. I got a Peyton Manning jersey and Sandra got a Dallas Clark jersey. I wanted to get the boys a Reggie Wayne and Marvin Harrison jersey, but they did not have any Marvin Harrison jerseys for youth/children. Apparently, Marvin's career is nearing its end, and they don't make many of his jerseys any more. So, I got Evan a Reggie Wayne jersey and a Joseph Addai jersey for Xander. The rest of the mall was mall-like. Sandra bought some clothes, and we went through Nordstrom's, where there are some absolutely shocking prices.

After finishing shopping, we went out to see the first memorial at night, since it was covered in lights for Christmas and then returned to the mall for ice cream. Tomorrow is the football game!

Indianapolis - Day 1

We have safely arrived in Indianapolis, where it is no warmer than it is at home. It is currently 18F, which is around -8C and the forecast for the next couple days is for temperatures below zero, so I'm quite glad the football game is in a dome.

Today started off with a very rough morning. Xander didn't sleep much during the night and Sandra had to hold him on his bed and on the couch all night long. He was very clingy in the morning and did not sound very good. It was really difficult to leave him. It was even harder for Sandra, as she had the extra complication of being very tired. Just to make things perfect, when the cab arrived, Sandra was taking Xander to the bathroom and he pee'd on her pants. I was outside shoveling the driveway and walked back into the house to see pretty much everyone crying. Not the greatest way to leave for a trip.

The flight from Regina to Toronto was uneventful. Sandra slept, while I finished off my assignment. It took almost the entire flight, but I got all the code working, which made me quite happy. We had a quick late lunch in Toronto and then flew to Indianapolis on one of those tiny Bombardier jets. As a native of Saskatchewan, it is sometimes difficult to realize how populated the eastern part of the US is, but I was reminded of that fact when, during the flight, all you could see out the window was a landscape full of lights. As we landed in Indianapolis, I kept a watch for Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but I'm pretty sure that the way the plane arrived meant that the speedway was on the other side of the aircraft. I did see Lucas Oil Stadium from the plane, though.

Once we got our luggage, we took a cab rid to our hotel. The cab driver was pretty crazy - speeding down the Interstate and changing lanes whenever he felt like it. We drove right by the stadium in the cab, as our hotel is only a block away. In fact, if the Colts were still playing at the RCA Dome, we wouldn't even have to go outside, as there is a skywalk from our hotel to a mall and then to the RCA Dome. The hotel is very high class, which isn't where we normally stay, but the location was a big factor. The mall is huge - three or four levels covering most of a city block. We walked over to the mall for supper, as there is a Taco Bell in the food court, and Sandra and I LOVE Taco Bell.

We phoned home from the hotel and Xander is feeling better, though he made Grandma watch Wall-E twice during the day. That made both of us feel better, though we just realized that we completely forgot to mention his birthday this morning. Actually, given how difficult it was to leave him, maybe it was a good thing that we forgot it was his birthday.

Tomorrow we just have a couple of things planned. We are going to go shopping at the mall, as I want to buy some jerseys and Sandra just wants to shop. We are also going to go to Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I checked the bus schedules and it appears that there is one bus that we can take from the mall straight to the track, which is what we will do tomorrow morning. We discussed taking a cab, but the cab ride here was crazy, and $3.00 is a lot cheaper than $30.00.

As an aside, I was reminded of the difference in Canadians versus Americans (or possibly small city versus larger city) today. Our cab ride in Regina cost $11.20, but the cab driver immediately told me that $11 was fine. After a few seconds fumbling to find a loonie, he then said $10.00 was fine. The cab ride in Indianapolis was $30.85, though the meter said $29 and change when I started taking my money out. I gave the driver $30 dollars and he objected, pointing out that I had not given him enough money. Not as bad as the cab drivers in Paris, but still not as friendly as in Regina.

Indianapolis - Day 0

Tomorrow morning, Sandra and I leave for Indianapolis, in order to go to the Colts and Bengals game on Sunday. The trip is a gift to me for finishing university. Sandra figured that we needed to do something special to celebrate and as I have never been to an NFL game, I decided that was what we were going to do. While I am not technically a Colts fan, I am a huge fan of Peyton Manning, so I am taking this opportunity to go and see him play. I picked the game early this year when the NFL schedule first came out and I figured it would be a great game - two high powered offenses, with the Colts at home. Of course that was before Carson Palmer got injured and the Colts decided to underperform. So, I am hoping that it will still be a good game, even if Cincinnati doesn't show up to play.

We paid an arm and a leg for the tickets, as we missed purchasing them when they went on sale, and all the Colts home games sold out fairly quickly. We ended up buying them from Ticketmasters ticket switch site, where season ticket holders attempt to recoup their costs by not attending two games a year. Originally, I wasn't going to spend a lot of money and had picked tickets way up in the nose-bleed section. However, Sandra was concerned she would not be able to see from that far away, so she approved paying more for better seats. We ended up with tickets on the third deck, at the 35 yard line on the opposition side of the field.

I was pretty excited to attend my last class on Tuesday, and the excitement for this trip was building all the way until this evening. While I am done classes, I am not done my last assignment, and after staying up until 2:00am the previous two nights working on it, I really hope I can get it finished tonight, so that I am not working on it while we are in Indianapolis. And to make things worse, both kids have become sick in the last couple of days. Evan has a cold and is teething, while Xander developed a very nasty cough today. He sounds hoarse, his nose is running, his cheeks are extremely red and he keeps breaking out in coughing fits that make him cry. It makes me feel pretty bad leaving them here in Regina.

The rest of tonight will be spent getting everything packed up and ready to go for tomorrow, as well as attempting to finish my last assignment. With any luck, tomorrow evening will just be a relaxing evening in the hotel room.