indianapolis

Visiting Indianapolis-May 2011

It is common to say that if you visited one city in the USA you visited them all. Partially it is true: there are more or less the same supermarkets, department stores, chain restaurants, some parks, local museums. But if one looks closely then its real beauty will reveal itself to visitors. I have visited many towns; some were the destinations of business trips while some were the places where I visited relatives and friends. Hardly ever did I plan a vacation trip to visit a town. Most time I found each town has its own personality, its past, present and the future. I was inspired by each visit and would like to know more about it and sometimes felt as if I made a new friend. Seattle, for example, I visited a couple of times. It is a quaint town, not too big yet not too small, there were many cafés along the streets; although there are more raining days than not; the Sun hardly ever shines there. People catch every moment when they can sit outside to enjoy the Sun and the attitude longing for the Sun made the street cafés popular. Of course the Space Needle, the symbol of Seattle manifests the modern characters of the city. Huge Boeing along the highway is hardly missed by any visitor. Santa Fe is a small town in high Colorado Plateau and has its own charm of adobe architecture which is the only style allowed for any building in town. Saint Louis was a gateway for new immigrates in the early days of the Country; the Arch was the symbol to enter the free World for the new arrivals. All in all I was fascinated by each town and each village I visited in US and never got tired of exploring. That is why I enjoy traveling in the USA.

This May I was invited to attend my young Niece’s wedding in Indianapolis. When David and I mentioned this to our relatives they were asking such as “what are you going to do other than attending the wedding in the state of Indiana?” “Is anything to see there?” I was surprised by those questions and wondered why they seemed to think that Indiana isn’t worth to pay a visit? After I reviewed the links on my Niece website and also suggestions from my brother Jim I found there were plenty to do and see there, only if we have allocated enough time.

Too bad we had to take a layover flight by United since the only direct flight was offered by Delta and the time was not good. The good part was that since I have premier status so we were able to upgrade to economy plus without extra charge. 

We drove to Ontario airport and parked the car there. It was the first time we used Park N Flight parking service. I booked on line and paid the parking fee in advance. We found the facility was good and service was excellent. We followed the GPS directions to the parking lot. As soon as we found a parking spot, a small shuttle bus appeared next to our car. Luggage was loaded and the driver handled us a small ticket indicating our parking spot: #632. Soon the shuttle was fully loaded with several parties and headed to the airport terminals. In few minutes we were in the terminal, checked in our luggage and on the way to the gate. It was so much better compared to LAX.

The seats in the plane were very good: we sat right after the first (business?) class cabin and there was plenty of legroom. I could stretch my legs straight without any trouble. David was impressed by the space.

The flights were uneventful. We arrived on time on both legs. Layover in Denver was a good time to feed ourselves, David had Macs and I had a sandwich from Paradise café; both of us were happy for what we had. BTW Denver international airport is a much advanced and newer airport compared with several airports around southern California. There are several terminals which are parallel with each other and linked by trains. There are several runways between the terminals and it is a much more efficient way for many planes to take off in a short period time. To cover the long terminal walkways there are two types of movers: one is driven by people for physically challenged passengers and the other type is long moving walk ways which shortened the walk considerably. Along both sides of the walkways in addition of the gates for boarding the planes there are many commercials: restaurants, newsstands, gift and candy stores, power charging stations and shoe shining stands. They were easy to access; there were crowds of people and it was really hustle bustle there.

Indianapolis is the capital and the largest city of the state Indiana and it has a population a little more than 800,000. We arrived at the airport on time. Good thing was that the car rental was right at the terminal. And we got our car quickly. Here I have to mention that these days the airport car rental is so much more expensive since there are many extra taxes added on.  Our basic rate was $14/day but I had to pay $68 for three days rental ($26 for all the extra fees!). It was not bad compared with other airport. I was planning a trip to Idaho in July with a flight to Spokane airport; the car rental basic rate was $18/day, yet the total cost was almost $300 for 4 days! It was similar in the Seattle airport. Unbelievable! The car we rented looked fine: it was roomy and powerful enough.  But later on we found it was a low-tech piece: there was no power lock, no power window, the doors had to be open or locked manually and individually. Wow, I did not know this kind of cars was still manufactured! 

Next morning after we checked out from the airport hotel, our destination was a park in the downtown area. The downtown is only a few miles from the airport. It is not easy to get a parking spot, as in downtown of any cities. We drove to White Water River State park and got a parking spot easily (it is paid parking though, fee starts at $3). We spent a couple of hours strolling in the park and the surrounding area. The place reminded me of my hometown Shanghai. The White River cuts the city into two; there are few bridges on the river connecting east and west of the city; just like Huang-pu River does to Shanghai. The park is pretty big; there are a couple of platforms used for summer concerts and other activities on a huge lawn. The lawn in front of the stages was meticulously maintained. Many tables and benches dotted everywhere. There were sections like amphitheaters with stair seating area that looks very inviting. There was more than 200 acres green area that makes the park the largest urban park in the state. A more interesting scene to me was that every table and every bench was occupied either by young students or small family gatherings. There were many more people sitting on the lawn enjoying the nice spring day. (The forecast reported that today is a good day and the following days will be raining with thunderstorms).

We walked across the lawn and reached the bank of the river. The fence along the bank was cast-iron painted gloss black and it looked great with the sky of blue and white as the backdrop. Here coming was a group of girls led by a middle age man who looked to be their grandfather. I went up to ask where the Canal Walk was and got a good direction. Not far from the parking lot the canal walk begins from the convergence of the River and the canal next to Wapahani Trail which is along the river bank. There are a couple of turns before the canal heads to north. It was peaceful and serene. I was surprised that there were not many people along the canal walk. But there were many joggers. Soon more water activities appeared: there were paddle boats and kayaks on the canal. On the walk there were some paddle trolleys and bicyclers in addition to the walkers like us. On the left side it was the Indiana State Museum and Indiana Historical Society. In Front the building there was a café serving drinks and sandwiches. What caught my surprise was that the place was very clean and there was no other commercial activity along the walk for a long stretch. People could walk either side of the canal since there were many bridges on the canal; some of which were only for pedestrians while some were for vehicles.  The spring weather was very pleasant and we were very relaxed by strolling on the walk. From signs displayed on the site I learned that the canal was constructed in 1830’s. This section of 1.5 miles was only a very small segment of a project which was aimed to connect Ohio River with other canals in Wabash and Erie to form 296 miles of long waterway. Due to the expense overrun and State bankruptcy in 1839 the whole project was abandoned. It made me think about the bullet train project in California in the making. I wonder if the 21^st century humongous project starting with 3.6 billion dollars initiating fund and requiring 48 billion dollars to complete will meet a similar fate of the canal project in 19^th century. Well, history repeats itself over and over again. No one would be surprised to learn a government-run project runs over the budget and delays the completion date due to unforeseeable factors. Right?

Finally in the middle of the stretch we encountered a small cafe:  the “Left Bank Café”. It’s the time to sit down and have a cup of coffee. It is a great place to relax and to see the world go by. It looked that the life pace in Indianapolis is a bit slow than in Southern California. People seem to know better how to live here. After the coffee break it was the time to head to the wedding site. But we’ll come back here later.

Two days later, on Monday, we came back to the canal walk to explore the other half. We parked the car near the other end: close to 11^th and Washington Street intersection.  The weather was a bit warmer than Saturday’s weather and it was a beautiful blue sky. Only a stone throw away we reached the beginning of the canal walk. It starts at a waterfall which I guess is recycled pumped water. In the elevated area covering the water outlet was a popular café. It was really attractive with great view and comfortable sitting areas, outdoors as well as indoors. We climbed to the elevated area from which we had a superb view: the canal water in front and the downtown skyscraper profile as backdrop formed an ideal picturesque view. On one site of the canal the modern and pretty building was IU human health department. We snapped many pictures.

As we headed south we saw there were more visitors today: many joggers, walkers with small children and travelers like us.  The water in the canal was so inviting. There were not only people using the waterway for recreation but also many animals: Canadian geese were enjoying the good weather and friendly environment; one of them came up to people to beg for food; ducks with their young ducklings stayed together for safety. Various birds were chirping away nice songs. Spring brought up all creatures out to appreciate the nature.

Under a bridge there were a couple of gondolas and a canoe. It resembles scenes of water cities and reminded us of Venice’s waterway. We went up to the bridge to view the canal from different perspective. Each stop showed a different yet beautiful view.  We were meandering along the bank of the canal and soaked up with the fresh air and peaceful surrounding. 

We then came upon a big plaque made out of black marble.  It was a memorial to the USS Indianapolis CA-35. The navy cruiser bearing the name of the city had a very unforgettable tragedy in the Navy history during the Second World War. She was on duty close to Tinian, an island occupied by Japan after the first world war and was captured by US in 1944. On 1945 July the ship was on a mission to deliver critical parts for the first atomic bomb. After the mission she was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine and sunk in twelve minutes. Approximately 300 crewmen went down with the ship. But more tragedy followed. More than 880 crewmen fell into the sea where more dangers presented in front of them. Dehydration in the hot tropical sea, and sharks swarming around the injured men were just imminent threats and the seamen in the water did not know if any help was on the way. Many fought off by kicking at the sharks and bearing the dehydration. But some could not bear the thirsty and started to drink the seawater and later on died with more severe dehydration. Some could not stand the shark threatening and just gave up by swimming into the deep sea…. There were so many that just died of the dehydration, injury or shark attacks. Among 880 there were only 317 survivors that were rescued after four days when a patrolling airplane spotted the floating crews. I was told that the Captain of CA-35 did not follow the advice that the ship should take a zigzag route to avoid torpedo attacks and instead he just took a straight line that made the ship more vulnerable. After the war he was put on court marshal. Afterward he lived in an isolated place, shortly after then took his own life. What a tragedy! On the memorial wall all the names of the crew members were engraved and so as was the story of the tragedy. We shall remember those who sacrificed for our nation and appreciate what we can enjoy today.  

After a couple of hours sightseeing we were ready to have a bite. The natural choice was the café at the beginning of the walk. What a place, great view and comfortable setting.  We had a great meal there and everyone not only enjoyed the food but also the ambiance.

Indianapolis is a clean place with good air and open space; a number of good universities are here. The wedding took place in a golf course lodge twenty miles away from Indianapolis. On the way we enjoyed the countryside scenery: lush green, quaint residence area. I did not see trash or graffiti anywhere. When we were out of the town I checked on a GPS to find the direction, I found there were many golf courses within a few miles radius. Interesting, there were so many in a not very populated area. Then again I was not surprised when I saw the lush and clean fields around the road. I am glad that my niece is going to be here for several years to enjoy the city! The weather held up well enough: few droplets before the ceremony, and then cleared up as soon as the ceremony started.  It was a very good wedding. We all enjoyed it. 

Sunday, the day after the wedding, when my brother and sister-in-law were busy, we headed to town for free time sightseeing. I never watched a car race, on TV or live. But Indianapolis is the home of the Indy 500 car race. Coincidentally the Indy 500 qualifying took place the weekend when we were visiting. To see the Indy 500 is a must then when the opportunity knocked. Sunday was a “Bump day” which means many car racers need to take part in the qualifying to determine which position they can have in the real race. I learned that lately the Indy 500 is gaining the popularity of the old glory after a decade or so low point comparing with NASCAR racing. We decided to give a shot. The weather was not that promising. The forecast said that there would be thunderstorm around 3pm, yet the race should start right after noon. We found a parking place which was a neighborhood front yard. We paid a fee to the house owner, it was noon sharp. We rushed to the stadium where there were number of spectators on the benches. I took a couple of pictures of David as a proof that he had been at the Speedway. The qualifying was under way. After looking at the car I compared with the picture on the pamphlet I figured it out that the Driver was a woman named Ann. Her top speed was 224mph. I tried to take picture of the car when it zoomed by our stand and failed. All I got on the camera was the race track without a trace of the car. It was going too fast, Boom! It was gone. The speedway arena is one of the largest race tracks in the world. Its circumference is 2.5 miles, i.e. 4000 meters a lap. Think about it: the normal track field is 400 meters. The Indy track can contain the whole Vatican, New York Yankee Stadium and Disneyland with extra space to spare.  When the car was on the other side of the arena, we had a hard time seeing it. When it appeared on our side soon it would disappear into dust. It was the first time I witnessed a car with that kind of speed. Each racer would drive three laps for the qualify race. But before the car entered timed track it would run around in the internal track in order to pick up the speed. In the real race the speed would not be that fast. Next guy had a similar speed. Before the third racer started the organizer called out: that everyone has to leave the stand because a thunderstorm was imminent. We reluctantly left the bench. Soon after, the pouring rain came down, then the lightning and thunder followed. After less than half hour the storm passed and blue sky with white clouds appeared. We were told the race would not resumed for at least one and half hour. We left for other interesting activity- Indianapolis Museum of Art, which was only a couple of miles away. 

We headed to the museum via 38^th Street along a huge cemetery field. The area was very quiet and the air was fresh and moist that made my breathing pleasant.  I am always fascinated with old cemeteries. Whenever I had a chance I always liked to stroll through a cemetery: in the Massachusetts countryside, Guildford Connecticut, Yale University campus New Haven, Arlington National Cemetery and North Sydney Australia; many places I visited provided me the opportunity to learn something of the life the people went through the time before me. Somehow I was attracted to the place.  When we drove around the town we noticed that there were many buildings for IUPUI (Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis), also we saw signs pointing to the campus of Butler University that played the NCAA championship this year. Not bad for a small university.

Soon we arrived at the museum. It was a big compound where several entities were located: the museum, a gardens, a green house and the famous Lilli House (J. K. Lilly Jr., a late Indianapolis businessman, collector and philanthropist’s home). It looked as if we could spend a couple of days here to enjoy the beautiful place.

It is the largest and most comprehensive museum in the state and free admission to the public. Interesting: there were not many visitors. The surroundings were very beautiful. We were attracted to a Japanese maple tree next to the entry way when we drove into the parking lot. The setting of the garden was so intriguing that we decided to check out the garden first. The curved path, the variety of flora and the structures formed a harmonic scene. We were meandering at the moist garden and let the time pass by. 

The sky became dark and soon a shower came. We entered the museum. The museum building was composed of two sections, a curved circular part and straight, square part. There were four floors of exhibitions.  We were overwhelmed by the scale and decided to have a bite at the cafeteria first. After the refuel of energy we ventured to the European art gallery first. There were classical to modern, paintings, sculptures, furniture and china; and many articles displayed over several halls. I found that Gauguin’s work was dominating somewhat. Many articles (paintings, sculptors and wood works) by him or his followers were represented. I learned that his style, contrary with impressionist, was bold and subjective; and it was known as post-impressionist. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Paul_Gauguin_010.jpg) was a bit close to the impressionist style but with much bolder colors and lines. The article of the following link (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gauguin_-_Suite_Volpini_K01Aa_portfolio.jpg) was strongly influenced by oriental paintings. Gauguin had a school to train young artists with his style in painting, wood-carving and sculptures in Ails France. In the museum several works from the school were displayed here. But somehow I still like the impressionist style better, such as the one by Monet there. In front of his “Charing Cross Bridge” I paused a long time. Too bad I could not take a good picture of it! I guess that the master piece can only be appreciated appropriately by being in front of it indeed. (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Charing_Cross_Bridge,_Monet_-_Indianapolis_Museum_of_Art_-_DSC00673.JPG) Many china articles (cups, vases, dishes and figures) made in Germany and England were so delicate and pretty as were perfectionist’s products. It was a rare collection to me.  After a while we realized we did not have time to cover the gallery so we stepped into the American Hall. We were only there for short time before we had to abandon the visit: there were just too much to see and I was very tired from standing to view the exhibitions. I needed a break. I comforted myself: next time we can come to see it again. I rested in the car for a long time. Then we needed to see the Lilli House. When we reached the entrance we were told the house was ready to close for the day. It was approaching 5pm. What a disappointment! Next time!

Well, after all the concern that there was nothing to see in Indianapolis was baseless. Next time if I have a chance to visit the city, I would go to see the universities closely, spend more time in the Indianapolis Museum of Art, visiting several other museums including Indiana State Museum and Eiteljorg museum; both of which were just next to the White River State Park and the Canal. By the way I need to mention here is that I saw snow peaks of Mountain San Gorgonio when we flew back to Southern California. It was May 21 st.

Sorry, I found the pictures I would like to included in the article were too big so there is no pictures in the blog, please refer the following link to view pictures

http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_68cbe0610100t6w2.html