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!