Well, at least the Hoosiers won

Indianapolis was next on my itinerary, a city that I had never been to, didn't really know what to expect, and a city which I had 3-4 nights... The reason that I didn't give an exact night figure will become clear later on.

Anyway, Vegas is over with... On with the show/snow!

Thursday

Thursday began in a casino, somewhere on the Las Vegas Strip... If I could tell you which I would, but that whole night is a bit of a blur to me... I didn't actually sleep at all, so really, after stumbling home in the sleepless daze I was productive enough to pack my bag, Skype with Chris, and make it to the shuttle to the airport... My flight to Minneapolis was at 9:20 AM, but due to America's security measures at airports it was suggested that I try to arrive at the airport about 2-2.5 hours before my flight...

So, being picked up at 7 AM, getting to the airport shortly after, and checking my bags left me with 2 full hours to clear security... Pretty safe to expect that I should just make the flight from there... Yeah, despite having to take off my shoes, belt and take everything out of my pockets I still made it to my boarding gate with, oooh, say, 1 hour and 50 minutes to spare... Again, I'm running on no sleep, so this is a special kind of torture for me, not being able to sleep because I needed to be awake for when the boarding gate desk opened so I could switch to an aisle seat, but falling asleep standing up... As soon as someone appeared at the desk I made a beeline for them, they told me that they'd not be officially open for another 30 minutes... I just paced back and forth in front of them for 30 minutes... I hate to think what the other passengers thought of this random guy pacing back and forth in front of the desk, but ah well, not really my problem now

Eventually, after watching the clock, I got to board... I was in the aisle, back row, right by the toilets... As soon as I clicked my seatbelt I was asleep... Absolutely out like a light... So, I couldn't actually tell you how the flight way, suffice to say, it went quickly... In descending into Minneapolis I could see out of the window and actually see snow for the first time... The ground was blanketed in it... I had to make my connection to Indianapolis, so, I was all worried about having to rush around the airport finding the gate, but luckily the plane I has just gotten off was the one we were using to go to Indy, which was a happy coincidence.

Cold Realisation Moment of the Day: *exiting the plane into Minneapolis airport*
Walking through the aero-bridge I had only a t-shirt on, I did have my heavy jacket, but I wasn't wearing it, I mean, I was inside a plane and I was going inside a terminal... Well, as I really should have thought of prior to exiting, especially given the amount of planes I'd previously caught, the bridge doesn't seal on the plane door, so the outside weather/temperature can still get in and play a role... -5 degrees Celsius outside... I could see my breath hang in the air before I even left the plane... Feeling the absolute cold of outside and seeing the snow on the ground, all the while it was 37 degrees at home, really made me think about whether giving up summer for a cold winter was a smart idea just for a sports junket... We'll just have to see what happens with that one

Spending 20 minutes in Minneapolis airport, I then boarded for Indianapolis, made smalltalk with the old women next to me who'd never flown before, then slept for the hour on the plane... Didn't even get served a meal because I was so heavily asleep... This was also a good result.

Arriving in Indy I corresponded via text with my ride, who was Paul, the manager of the Indy Hostel, picked up my bag from baggage claim (being sure to put on my jacket and beanie and scarfe before stepping outside), waited in the cold for 5 minutes and then jumped in the car and headed for the hostel.  That 5 minute wait was one of the longest, coldest 5 minutes I've had to deal with in recent memory (see Cold Realisation moment of the day moment again).

Indy Hostel

The ride to the Hostel was interesting, just hearing about the places to see in Indy and the weather and whatnot.  We arrived at the Hostel, I checked in, met a few of the crew members, Addison, Eric, Laura and took the tour.  I was in the 10 bunk dorm downstairs in the basement.  Given that I was there during the 'low season' there was no one in the dorm when I got there, so I got the double bed on the bottom bunk.  I have a ranking system in selecting bedding in a hostel dorm, I will sum it up below.

Sam's Hostel Bed Selection Priority Order
1. If possible select the double sized bottom bunk in the darkest spot in the room away from the entry
2. If 1 is unavailable, select a bottom bunk in the darkest spot in the room away from the entry
3. If 1 & 2 are unavailable, select a bottom bunk somewhere in the room, preferably away from the entry
4. If 1-3 are unavailable, select a top bunk in the darkest spot in the room away from the entry
5. If 1-4 are unavailable, select a top bunk somewhere in the room, preferably away from the entry
6. If 1-5 are unavailable, select a top bunk close to the entry and pray for sleep

*This is my ranking system, and it may differ to the ranking systems of others.  I am happy to debate the pros and cons of my system compared to your system.  Contact me via Facebook, or next time I see you in person for a heated but fun debate

Being the only person in the room at the time meant that I was able to get the number 1 selection off my bed selection depth chart.  I then took the rest of the tour of the Hostel.

The Indy Hostel is in an old house, there is a dorm downstairs, and upstairs are private rooms/family rooms.  It is a place that has a very welcoming and homely feeling, and all the staff were welcoming, friendly, helpful and fun.  I will probably gush about the place the entire blog post, but it was one of the best hostelling experiences I have had in the USA.  I would absolutely recommend it to anyone who is travelling to Indianapolis!

I had previously made a travelling faux pas of calling them in the middle of the night (from mid-afternoon in Australia) to try to make my booking... Despite my tactless act they laughed it off and were very warm and friendly to me.

Travel Don't of the Day: Don't call places from the other side of the world without first checking what the time is in that city!

I walked down E 49th Street to get some dinner, having barely eaten all day (aside from some pretzels on the first plane), and in my Sam mindset (see 'Don't want to spend money' mindset) I chose the cheapest, closest, easier food item... Little Caesar's Pizza... It was take out pizza, so, it wasn't the best thing in the world (though, I have had worse... Looking at you Australia's Pizza House)... I paid $5 for Little Caesar's, and they had a pizza there to hand be 20 seconds after ordering... Their whole thing is having hot food there ready to go at the drop of a hat... I would call it a drive through pizza place with the response time of a burger place.

Anyway, pizza was had, I walked back with my leftovers in the cold (it was also below freezing in Indy), put my food in the fridge, watched some TV with others at the Hostel, and then made my way to bed at about 9:30-10 PM... First time I actually had to wear pants to bed since two Australian winters ago, but it was surprisingly warm in the basement of the hostel... The beauty of not sleeping all night the night before was that I was out straight away, and that brought Wednesday & Thursday to an end.

Friday

I slept until 11 AM... I guess I really needed the sleep... I got up eventually, showered, and then spent most of the afternoon on the computer.  It was still below 0 outside and I had to plan/book my hotels/hostels/buses between Orlando at Thanksgiving and New York in mid-December... So, that is how much of my day was spent.  I felt a little bit guilty, like I should be going out and seeing stuff in Indy (given that it was a Friday and things would be open), but I was motivated to book out my trip and I was warm doing it, so, that what I did.

In the late afternoon I had Paul take me downtown.  I used the Uber app for the first time by myself, Paul being an Uber driver.  The benefit is that you can track where your potential drivers are, it is generally cheaper than a taxi and you can pay within the app (although I had to use an Australian credit card, but even with the conversion and bank fees it is cheaper than a cab).

I was off to Bankers Life Fieldhouse to see the Indiana Pacers host the Denver Nuggets.  Basketball is really big in Indiana, which wasn't something that I really knew until I watched Winning Time: Reggie Miller v The New York Knicks (if you have a spare hour watch the doco in the link, it is a wonderful documentary and a really interesting story to say the least). 

I was going to walk around the downtown area and find something to eat, but it was so cold I just went into the arena lobby, picked up my ticket, and then made my way slowly to my seats, trying to see as many things around the arena as I could before I made it to the seats.

Entry to the arena from the lobby

View as you reach the top of the stairs in the lobby.

Quote on a Wall of the Day: "Some people call basketball a craze in Indiana.  It is not a craze, because a craze is something that lasts briefly"

There were some really interesting things to see in the arena, such as 'the most photographed case in Indiana', the Reggie Miller case.  There was also interesting facts about the city's motor racing past and information about other Indiana basketball icons, Larry Bird being one of them.  They even had a marching band!

Pacer's Band

Shameless photo with one of the "Pace-mates"

"The most photographed case in Indiana"

Pacer uniforms over the years

Indiana has a claim on the creation of basketball, watch the doco I linked above and this will go into it somewhat... They don't like the Knicks...

The game itself was pretty one sided... To the point where the final score was a blowout and it flattered Indiana... The game was over by half time.  I'd go again for the experience and seeing what the Pacers do for fan experience, but next time I'd like them to show up to play (what was even more confounding was that the next night they played Chicago in Chicago and were actually competent).

Some highlights included the dress ups and dress downs of various members of the crowd.  One group of guys were shirtless, it was negative 3 degrees outside and they were shirtless... It boggled the mind for me, I was inside wearing thermals and a jacket and these guys were rocking paint...

Another highlight was when the Nuggets were being introduced all the guys below me turned their back to the court and after each member was introduced they yelled "WHO CARES!"

The game started out very even, but then turned sharply towards the favour of Denver... And it never really turned back at all, even in junk time... Arron Afflalo top scored for Denver, and countless others contributed... Very few players played well for Indiana.

Some of my photos from the game are below:

View from my seat

Pacers vs Nuggets

I wonder how many times they beat Jackie Moon's Tropics

National Anthem

Pacers being introduced

Opening tip off

Pacers on offence

Nice drive and layup

The half time show was this dude with a dog doing flips and contortionist stuff... I thought all the Cirque du Soleil stuff was left in Vegas... I was wrong

Good night at the Fieldhouse despite the one sided game

There's your final

Just to prove I wasn't lying... Guy is wearing only shorts and it was 3 degrees below zero outside!

After exiting the arena and finding myself in the bone-jarring cold again, I first noted that many people were just wearing t-shirts or light jumpers, while I was walking around like the Michelin Man, or a less sweet Stay Puft Marshmallow Man (I could never pull off the sailor hat).  The second was simply how cold it was!

Quote of the Day from a Local: *whilst walking away from the arena*
Local: "Well, at least the Hoosiers won"

How true that would be days later after the Colts-Patriots game!

I caught a cab back to the hostel.  One thing I found was that it was easier to find a cab than it was get an Uber, but also, it was so cold, I just wanted to get out of the weather!

Upon getting back to the hostel I sat in front of the TV and started Facebooking home and blogging, but then I was joined by a guy named Sam from Missouri and a girl named Angelica from Texas.  We all got to talking about a burlesque show they had gone to and there was a confession of mistaken identity.  The bed I was staying in was across the way from the bed Angelica was staying in, and seeing the name Sam on the bed she assumed that the other Sam was the Sam who was staying in the bed with Sam written on it... So, they were hanging out because she wanted to make sure that he was alright to have across the way and that she wouldn't be murdered in her sleep... Now she had to deal with a new Sam and make sure that I wouldn't murder her in her sleep.

*Note: I didn't

The conversation went on to various other topics, including what we all did for work, my accent, Irish accents, imitating accents, Vegemite, various political topics, sports, travel and hostelling among other things...  It was agreed that we'd all go for breakfast the following morning, and that if I provided the Vegemite they'd try it.  Sam and I kept shooting the shit until about 1 AM... Later night than I'd have expected, but thoroughly enjoyable.

Saturday

I woke up Saturday morning to find that my two new friends from the night before had vacated the dorm... As it was mid to late morning I figured they'd both just gone to breakfast and didn't want to wake me, so I continued to sleep... But hearing voices in the room above me I figured I'd check, so I sent the ever personal Facebook chat message to try to ascertain whether they were still at the hostel or not... Turned out they were, and that I could take my time, but with the knowledge that I was holding up the eating process I decided to shower and get the show on the road.

The 3 of us along with one of the hostel staff Addison walked through some back streets to get to SoBro Cafe, our breakfast spot for the morning.  On the walk much quoting was done, and some Instagramming/Facebooking... See below:

"At the Indy Hostel we don't travel because the world comes to us" #deepthoughts -Addison

The SoBro Cafe is apparently well known for their Chai.

Addison explained: "The Chai is so good here I'd almost say don't get it because you'll never be able to repeat that level.  Like, here is the ceiling, and here is you..." *motions to a ceiling level and then to a level just below that* "... You'd never be able to reach that place again, so I'd say don't get it"

We got to sample it, and it was really, really good, though I was the one person who didn't get it (still with the trying not to spend money thing).

The cafe was understaffed in the kitchen, so our wait for food was substantial (to the point that it was basically lunch), but the food was really good when we eventually got it.  The real fun part though was the taste testing of Vegemite in the American mouth.  The initial reaction was positive from Sam, but then the aftertaste descended and he decided he didn't like it.  Angelica's facial expressions during her taste test experience were hilarious though, it was almost as though she was sucking on a lemon.  It was decided that it was awful, and I was a little bit mad for eating as much as I did (understandably I covered my toast in it)

After breakfast/lunch we all headed back to the hostel to go our separate ways.  Sam would eventually be going to the airport; Angelica going for an 18 mile run, then driving to Cincinnati; I was going to head downtown and see the city.

I got a lift downtown with Paul's brother who was heading that way anyway, he dropped me at the start of the Indianapolis Cultural Trail.  It was still about -1 degree outside, so I was freezing cold even though I was walking around... I had to cover up as much as I could so that my face didn't get too cold... It was a little weird being so rugged up in the middle of the day and in the sunshine and yet still being so cold...

Cold!!

View of downtown Indianapolis

Indiana State Capitol building

I detoured down by the Indiana Convention Center and to Lucas Oil Stadium where the Colts-Patriots game would be the following day (there was a school marching band competition going on there).  From there I continued up the trail and went to the Eiteljorg Museum, which has a large collection of Western Art and Native American Artifacts.

I have always been a little intrigued by American Indians, probably more so after watching the Ken Burns' film about Lewis & Clark, although the doco isn't necessarily about American Indians, they are prominent in the story.  The Museum was over a few floors, the lower floors more dedicated to art work and the top floors for the artifacts, given that I only had a limited amount of time due to breakfast running into lunch I chose to go straight for the artifacts.  It was really interesting seeing the different things on display, understanding the techniques used to make some items and learning a bit about the distinct regions and the characteristics of the tribes in those regions.   At a museum like this there was also a series of plaques running throughout the exhibit which detailed the Indiana based Native Americans attitudes towards, their conflicts and their oppression at the hands of Europeans and later of Americans; seeing the history and chronology I found really interesting.  I did my gift shop browsing and then entered back into the cold and continued down the trail.

I walked for another 5 minutes and ended up at the NCAA Hall of Champions, which is the College Sports 'Hall of Fame' I guess... Perhaps not HOF, but it held the history and stats for many sports and school and had them on display for the world to see.

Inspirational John Kennedy-esque Quote of the Day:
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena,... Who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at worst, if he fails, while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat"  -Theodore Roosevelt

2014 Champions in each sport and division

DePauw University tradition

Army-Navy Tradition

Inside the upper portion of the NCAA museum there was a small basketball court in which you could recreate famous shots in NCAA history... I didn't make many of these on my first attempt, but my jumpshot isn't broken yet despite a lack of recent practice.  There was also interactive exhibits which required you to throw a football, kick a football or soccer ball and shoot a basketball, but these were on a screen, and no matter how well you threw or kicked it you never quite got it right... Or perhaps that is just my excuse for incompetence.

Replica Heisman Trophy

Indoor gym

After this I went back to the hostel.  I sat on my computer for a while, then got to talking with the family that were staying in the hostel.  They had 3 kids, 14, 7 and 6, and were playing games like Yahtzee and Hangman... I joined hangman for about 5 minutes then we just sat there shooting the shit... It is amazing the people you meet in hostels... Chatted about why we were all in Indianapolis, about things to do in Australia, gun control laws, eating kangaroo and meat pie, and sports among other things.  A few others joined the conversation after that and topics included selling steamer irons to rich women and 'why correct diet can let your body heal itself from anything, including cancer', I sat back and took most of that one in... Someone had brought back a half a pizza and was offering it out, so that was dinner sorted.  I chose not to go out and have a drink with people later on, choosing instead to watch the end of the Florida State-University of Miami college football game, and going to bed.

Big day the next day, Colts-Patriots, few hours sleep, 4:20 AM bus to Nashville, day in Nashville, Titans-Steelers the next night... But that's a story for another blog!