The Tower

When I talk to people about our travels from Washington to Oklahoma and back (or vice versa), I usually am asked about and give the following information: We drive. It takes around twenty hours. We do it in two or three days. Usually we drive one leg of the trip through the night. Harvey does all the driving.

It would be way faster to fly, but we enjoy our family road trips, and one of the reasons is the opportunity to see new cities and old friends who live along the way. Several times we've stayed with friends in Ohio. And over the past year, we've spent time in Memphis and Nashville. When we drive through the night, we usually arrive at our midpoint destination sometime midmorning, and we try to check into our hotel early so Harvey can rest for a few hours. Then we spend the afternoon and evening exploring the city (museums, restaurants, shops, playgrounds).


On our way back from Oklahoma over the holidays, we decided to stop in Indianapolis. We had passed through before but never spent time there. We had only one afternoon and evening, so we couldn't enjoy all the city had to offer, but we stayed downtown, so we visited areas that were within walking distance of our hotel. Everything we did was free of charge (except for the food, of course).


First we headed over to Circle Centre, a downtown mall, where we walked around and ate lunch. Then we visited the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Monument Circle. The Monument is a stately tower, and inside are 330 steps up to the observation deck. I don't think when I heard "330 steps" I really understood the toll that would take on my thigh and calf muscles, so I mindlessly followed as Harvey began leading our family up the stairs. (There was an elevator too, but we had been riding in the car for hours, so we could use the exercise, right?)



Soldiers and Sailors Monument in downtown Indianapolis
Before the big climb
As cold as it was outside, I was dripping with sweat in my heavy coat and scarf as we arrived at the top. The view was beautiful, but it was so cramped up there and I was so exhausted that it wasn't long before I was ready to head back down. Thankfully the kids didn't seem fazed, so we quickly walked down and moved on.

Next was the Indiana World War Memorial, an impressive structure dedicated to soldiers from Indiana who died in World War I. It also houses a museum of American military history. We spent an hour or two there, enjoying the collection of war artifacts and reading about the history behind them. 



The Indiana World War Memorial

Entrance to the Memorial

The walls of the corridor were covered with lists of Indiana veterans.

I found a couple of Schantzes!
Then we had dinner at Weber Grill Restaurant, passed by Monument Circle again to see the Christmas lights, and headed back to the hotel to rest before the ten-hour drive ahead of us the next day.


The tower in Monument Circle all lit up for Christmas
So that's one more city in the books for us. Thanks for the memories, Indy! I hope we make it back to you one day!

Comments

Popular Posts