Road Trippin Picture Pages!!

        

   A little background information for you: I had a week off of work and during that time my mother and one of my best friends came to stay with me.  The week included one little road trip to Indianapolis, IN to see The Rosebuds and Bon Iver, lots of hanging out, some shopping, cooking and eating local fare, spending time in Columbus parks, and napping.  But now my staycation is drawing to a close.  Big Sigh

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The road trip to Indianapolis began early afternoon on Monday July 25th.  We had decided to make stops at the quirkiest roadside attractions along the way.  And research had been done ahead of time.  In fact, what we were really looking for was the largest ball of twine.  No joy. But Marisa, the navigating genius, found us several other awesome attractions.  So westward we headed, armed with a lovely GPS lady who politely guided us from Marisa's blackberry.

The three photographs above were taken at Clara's Pizza King in Richmond, IN which was our first stop.  During Marisa's extensive research into the quirky, she found several mentions about this pizza parlor.  Apparently, this location of Pizza King is the best.  I mean, you place your order by telephone at your table, there is a double-decker bus parked in the restaurant and the breadsticks are the best I have ever eaten. 

And they have Ms Pacman in the entryway.  This kind of game totally reminds me of when I was a kid going to get pizza with my family.  I love it.  Notice the Twenty Year Reunion... Really??  This pizza place is a winner!!

Stop 2: Do I really need to say anything? I will say this.  This shoe, which is the size of a car, is located about a half an hour from Indianapolis.  It can be found in front of a travel lodge with a sports theme.  Only in the United States......

This is called a Twisted House. It is part of a twelve acre sculpture garden at the Indianapolis Art Center in Indianapolis, IN.  This place is TOTALLY cool.  Admittance is free. All sorts of classes are offered.  There are all different kinds of artwork on display in the interior portion of the center.  Marisa and I were sad because we only had a limited amount of time to check it out. 

Final Destination!! The show took place at the Murat Theatre in downtown Indianapolis, which seems like a pretty cool city actually. I have traveled through Indianapolis about a bazillion times but never been downtown.  We ate dinner at a little Mediterranean place nearby.  It was very tasty.  Our initial plan to stop and eat at The Steer In ( of Diners, Drive ins and Dives fame) was foiled.  On Mondays, Steer In closes at 3pm.  Bummer!  Anyway, The Murat Theatre is located in Old National Centre.  This place was very cool.  This is a shot of the opening band The Rosebuds, who were great by the way!! 

Bon Iver.  My favorite band. Traveling with nine  musicians: two drummers, a whole bunch of horns, a percussionist, two synthesizers, violins, and normal rock gear of guitar and bass.  Let's just say it was an explosion of sound.  Absolutely amazing live show!!  Never mind the fact that it was so hot in there with the doors shut that you felt like you were going to melt.  So if you don't know them, check them out!

A tower on top of Old National Centre.  This shot was taken after the show when walking outside in the heat of the night was a much needed because it was so damn hot in the theater.  We are thankful that neither of us passed out during the show.  It was touch and go for a bit!

On the way home, after the obligatory stop at a gas station to stock up on late night road trip junk food, we rolled into Vandalia, Oh.  During Marisa's research, she discovered that road trippers consider this donut shop a must.  Conveniently, Jim's Donut Shop is open 24 hours.  But at 1am on a Tuesday morning, all they had left were cake donuts.  But I stocked up with a unusual flavors: Oreo and red velvet just to name a few.  They were tasty. And I am not a huge fan of the donut.