A Cultural Day in Indy

After weather delays and rerouting through Charlotte, I finally make it into Indy at midnight. I made it to my rental car and the hotel (nice thing about driving around at midnight is no traffic!!) and tried to make my plans for the next day, only to find no internet…seems like par for the course of the day. So I gave up and went to bed around 2am. Boo.

Set the alarm for not too early and woke up at 9am, took the best shower I’ve had in months (my apartment has NO water pressure) and walked down the hall for breakfast at the hotel. No green smoothies in the breakfast bar, so the cereal was calling. Maybe not the best choice. Time will tell.

My first stop of the morning was to the Indy Winter Farmers Market in the City Market building. I wanted to check out the options for winter produce and perhaps an opportunity for future CSA (community supported agriculture) source. I wasn’t very large but it seemed like a good place to go. It didn’t have the amazing allure of the Lancaster Central Market I visited in September but it was nice. There were veggies, lots of pork (is it that season?), baked goods and the like. What was all worth it was finding the other side with the City Market, which reminded me of a smaller Reading Terminal Market in Philly. The big score was a juice bar and I could get my green drink after all! Yay!! This place was the real deal and they juiced their drinks, which I actually found that I missed the chewiness of my own drinks…good to know. Also I'm pretty sure the people who work at the juice place think I'm a total nut, as I asked if it was ok if I took a picture of their booth...I'm just trying to be polite!!

Next I walked through downtown to the canal and the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art. I heard there was an exhibit on the Greatest Photographs of the American West by National Geographic. Well worth it. I am constantly amazed at how they can get that one perfect picture and the captions the go along with it wraps it all together. Very moving. There also was a lovely collection of art about Native Americans and by them. I seem to gravitate toward these types of museums, makes me think of Arizona. One thing I have found about museums that cater to the American Indian is that they have WONDERFUL cafés and this was no exception. They usually have a wide variety of foods based on different tribal cultures and there is always buffalo. The Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian also has a great café, if anyone is interested. I’ve always wanted to have an excuse to take pictures of food, and now I have it. Yay!!  The salad and soup were so good I wanted to get their cookbook at the gift shop, alas, there exists no such book. The clerk said that making a cookbook was a great idea…guess I’m just full of them. 

pork adobo soup with half salad

Right next door was the Indiana State Museum. I heard there was an exhibit on Maze there and wanted to check that out. Also turns out there was an exhibit on James Dean, who is originally from Indiana. I don’t know much about Mr. Dean, he is not of my generation but I guess I need to see at least 1 of his three movies – East of Eden, Rebel without a Cause or Giant. He is an icon, after all. Any takers, maybe we can rent all 3! I did learn that he and my father share the same day of birth…which is coming up soon (yikes!).

 

this pillar looks a lot like the Philly LOVE sculpture

All in all a nice day of walking and the weather was nice, I think the high was projected to be 61 and it felt like it. Now I have to figure out what I'm doing for dinner. I'm not really a fan of eating out by myself...maybe that's why I do a lot of cooking at home? I did see a tapas restaurant on my way to the market this morning so I think I'll check that place out, taking with me my trusty Kindle. Tomorrow's activities include brunch with potential future coworkers and driving around different neighborhoods to get an idea of the city. Then Monday is the interview. Phew, whirlwind weekend.