I woke up at 3:45 in the morning to catch a 6:40 flight. Halfway through my drive, I realized I left my bag of liquids (toothpaste, cologne, Purell, etc) on my bathroom sink. The plane ride was easy, it only took 25 minutes and only about a quarter of the seats were occupied. I think I slept the whole way, in what amounts to barely more than a power nap.
I landed and took the 8 bus on a 45 minute ride to downtown. I got off at Ohio Street and had to walk seven blocks south on Capitol to get to the Crowne Plaza, where I was staying. On my way, I passed the State Capitol and St Elmo Steakhouse.
I didn't expect the hotel to be under renovation. I also didn't expect it to be at the site of the old Union Station. There is a lot of iron and metal inside, it really does feel like a train station that was used a century ago. There are even hallways where you could walk out of your hotel room and there's be a locomotive staring you right in the face!
My room wasn't that great, the lighting system is laid out poorly, the outlets are hard to teach, and the drawers always feel like they're about to collapse. But at least it was suitable and it was my own. First hotel room I ever stayed in alone.
I changed into a pair of cargo shorts and my Mets mesh shirt and headed north to the Sailors and Soldiers statue, which is in the middle of a circle that divides downtown Indy. It's almost as tall as the Statue of Liberty.
Then, I went to City Market, which has a lot of small food stands, kind of like a Quincy Market in Boston. But it reminded me more of the one I went to in Baltimore, kind of low quality and not in the best neighborhood. But I took an everything pretzel, actually it was a row of three everything pretzels. I liked it, though the salt seemed a little strong. The pretzel was also topped with sesame seeds, poppy seeds, and garlic. I ate half of it with honey mustard and over the course of the entire day, I finished the whole thing off.
From there, I walked north to Massachusetts Avenue, a diagonal street that has become a very trendy shopping district. I stopped into the oldest shoe store in America, Stout's shoes.
I them headed north to the Indiana world war memorial. This site has a long series of steps just like the art museum in Rocky, and when I was done running them, my calves had a nice burn going. I took a quick look at the Veterans memorial plaza, which looks like the Washington Monument, and then headed south.
I was starting to get hungry, so I walked down Illinois St, past the mall, to Harry & Izzy, which is the sister restaurant of St Elmo. Basically it's an upscale, yet approachable, American eatery. I sat at the circular shaped bar and I appreciate that both bartenders introduced themselves to me. Allie was really pretty and said mentioned when I had a little horseradish on my face. Said she was looking out for me if a cute girl sat next to me. Two minutes later, a 40 year old business guy takes the adjacent seat.
What I didn't know was they had a $20 pre-fixed lunch menu. I could pick one of two entrees and I could also pick two items between two apps, two salads, and two desserts. I chose the half prime rib sandwich with a side of cole slaw, along with the famous shrimp cocktail and a romaine hearts salad. So I skipped dessert! The salad was nice, romaine with candied walnuts, a few veggies, and a champagne vinaigrette. As far as the shrimp go, I never expected that cocktail sauce to taste so hot! That was some intense horseradish! But I was impressed how large the shrimps were, I certainly didn't get skimped on that. The sandwich consisted of thinly sliced prime rib with an onion jam, white cheddar, and a side of horseradish sauce all on an onion roll with a cup of jus for dipping. The meat was moist and the horseradish added just the right amount of kick. I barely tasted the onion or cheese though. And I also liked the slaw, which was made with mayo, vinegar, and celery seed. Oh, I almost forgot. I added a fried chicken slider for another five bucks. Sesame bun, dill pickle, garlic aioli and a thick, crispy, juicy piece of fried chicken. Tremendous. And it only cost me about $36 with tip.
I had back north one block and visited the circle center mall. I never planned to buy anything and I didn't. But I found myself in the Colts team store and wound up in a ten minute conversation with the guy working there, which was very cool.
Wanting to clean up and charge my phone, I headed back to the hotel, where I checked in for my Wednesday flight, changed clothes, and surfed the Internet for a few minutes. After checking in for the plane at 1:30, I headed west to White River state park. I took some photos of Victory Field, home of the AAA Indy Indians. They were playing Buffalo, which would have been a hell of a lot more fun than what I wound up doing. I could have made fun of Josh Thole and Mike Nickeas...
Anyway, I walked through the park and found the Segway tour booth. I had researched these tours online, but never gave them much thought. 48 bucks seemed like a lot too. But I guess I'd always been a little curious about these vehicles, so on spur of the moment, I signed up to take a tour of Indy on a Segway.
I got the feel for it pretty quick, shifting my weight on my feet wasn't too hard to do. Even steering came quite easily, so I was excited to get going. I rode with five other people through the park, aside the central canal, on the Cultural Trail, over the downtown bridges. There was even a stretch at the end of the tour where we had to drive five or six sharp curves right in a row. That may have been one of the coolest parts, it was challenging and fun. I was ready to ride it all the way to Ohio.
I laid out in the sun for a half hour, before heading back to the room for a dip in the pool and a shower and I put on my new black plaid shorts and my new orange Melo t shirt. I was ready to invade Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
I met up with a couple other Knicks fans outside, which was cool. I went inside at 5:30 and headed straight behind the Knicks bench, where several players were doing warmups. I saw Raymond Felton shooting 3's, Steve Novak dribbling, Tyson Chandler working on a low post game, and that stiff J.R. Smith warming up while wearing headphones. I even saw the now retired Rasheed Wallace shooting some long distance shots...um, yeah, retiring was a good idea Sheed.
As for the game, it could not have gone worse. The officials called technical after technical on the Knicks and the Knicks whined and whined over the calls. Mike Woodson made one stupid decision after another. Mainly, that would be playing Smith and Kidd, while leaving Marcus Camby, Pablo Prigioni, Novak and Chris Copeland on the bench. I left midway through the third quarter and headed straight back to the hotel. I much rather would have been home sipping Jack Daniels. I knew the game was over and once again, I was right when I wished I could have been wrong.
I had no interest in seeing or talking to another human being. No one. Especially the idiots who were going to tell me it's just a game. People who say that crap either almost always win or they don't know what being a fan is like.Anyway, I turned on channel 26, which was supposed to be NBC sports network. I wanted to watch hockey. I flip it on and it's the food network. Friggin Chopped is on. I called the front desk and they realized they didn't have it...terrible job by them. I hadn't had dinner, so I called room service, ordered a burger and a Bass, cost me 30 bucks...fell sleep around 12:30.
Woke up at 6:30, feeling groggy, and I didn't change my clothes. I wore the same sleeveless t and ripped shorts I wore to bed to the fitness center. Although it took me four minutes to find the stairs and another six to find the fitness center. I had to weave though tunnels and construction zones, only to find a bench press, two leg machines, give cardio machines, and a universal gym, which I hate. I did pull downs and the bench press and abruptly left. I admit I was in no mood to do a long workout.
I would have showered but the drain was clogged from the previous afternoon. So I changed clothes and walked south to Shapiro's deli. I got an egg sandwich with American cheese and beef bacon on a poppy seed bagel. Six bucks...not cheap. I also got a peppered beef sandwich to go, which I'll try later. Them I went back to the room, packed up, checked out and walked back seven blocks north to the bus station. At least I had a decently cute girl to walk and talk with the whole way from the hotel. I do like redheads after all.
So now I have to wait two hours in the terminal for my flight and I can't go early because I checked a bag...and I better make it...because if I don't get the 1:30, I don't know when I'm getting out.
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