Indy Vacation

On Thursday, we drove down to Indianapolis for a long weekend filled with eating, racing and enjoying the sights & sounds of downtown Indy.  Thanks to Dad, we were Preferred Guests at the downtown Sheraton and enjoyed lots of his perks.  :)  Being in the heart of downtown (we could see Monument Circle out our windows and we were less than a block away from it) gave us lots of delicious eating opportunities and the chance to do a lot of walking.  Mom met us there and we started our marathon eating adventure at Buca di Beppo's.  Friday, we went to the Circle Mall and explored the Rhythm Discover Center.  We definitely had a great time banging on a variety of percussion instruments and making lots of noise.  We wandered around the mall, walked over to Mass Ave. and got caught in a brief rain shower.  To avoid getting more wet, we checked out the City Market, which was pretty quiet as it was closing time.  I would've enjoyed checking that out more when it was actually open, but it was a nice place to get out of the rain.  :)  Friday night we ate at PF Chang's.  Saturday was race day for Michael & I.  We got to IMS mid-morning and enjoyed watching a Sprint Cup practice and qualifying for both Sprint Cup & Nationwide.  We had great seats and the Nationwide race was the first ever at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for that series.  The weather was perfect and it was a fun day.  Gummy & the boys went to the Indianapolis Zoo and saw lots of animals.  Josiah apparently LOVED the elephants, especially the baby.  :)  Fortunately, Gummy shared her pictures with me so you get to enjoy them too!  Sunday, we headed back to the track and went into the infield where we got to see a few of the cars going through tech inspection and also wandered around the merchandise trailers.  It was hot and sunny but again, a great day.  Our seats were "better" (though I liked the Nationwide seats better!) and we enjoyed watching Jimmie Johnson fly away from the rest of the field on every restart.  The race could've used either a little more side-by-side racing or a few more wrecks to make it a little more interesting, but it was still a lot of fun. Not something I'd want to do every weekend, but definitely a fun event.  There are a few more tracks we'd like to visit on race day and we decided that we could skip the Nationwide race and spend that money on race scanners or pit passes for Sprint Cup.  It'll be a few years before we go on another of these weekends though... Anyway, while we were at the Sprint Cup race, Gummy & the boys were enjoying the Children's Museum of Indianapolis.  They definitely enjoyed the Lego "room" and the Hotwheels exhibit.

Sunday was also our 12th anniversary.  Time flies when you're having fun! :)  Gummy & the boys ate at Noodles & Co. and Michael & I ate at The Old Spaghetti Factory.  (we were stuck in race traffic for about an hour, so didn't make it back in time to eat with them)

Monday, we went to a local pool that had a couple waterslides and splash fountains and enjoyed another hot day staying cool in the pool.  Monday night was California Pizza Kitchen for supper.  I almost forgot to mention The Chocolate Cafe, which we tried out twice, it was that good!  It's not a vacation without eating too much and having lots of desserts.  :)  Tuesday it was time to say good-bye to Gummy, as she headed to Traverse City, MI and we headed home.  Today is laundry day but with a few more vacation days to go, we've made a few "stay-cation" plans.

For now, I think you'll find plenty of pictures at Winkflash.  As usual, they're all out of order and mixed up.  :(  One of these days I'll find a better alternative....