It was finally here! We were getting out of town and heading to Indianapolis. Before we left town, we of course headed to the pediatrician to have not Charlotte (now totally recovered), but Nicholas checked out. He woke up with a "hurting neck" (otherwise know as a sore throat), so we went to have a strep test done. It was negative, and we packed up the gang and headed out.
I did not know that Indiana was Lincoln's Boyhood Home. We didn't stop to check it out.DOWNTOWN
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We stayed in a hotel right downtown. The downtown had a lot to explore. At the center (just 1/2 a block from our hotel) is the Soldiers' and Sailors' monument. At the base is a Civil War museum where I could have spent at least an hour (we did it in less than 6 minutes). We then took an elevator to the top to get a beautiful view of the downtown.
And while yes, it was beautiful, as Nicholas said - "Wow. Those windows are dirty!" Still beautiful, but a little fuzzy.
There are enormous waterfalls on each side. Nicholas really wanted Daddy to throw him in the water.
On our first morning, we had breakfast at Le Peep. "Le Peep" became a favorite thing to say for the rest of the trip. On the way (we could walk from our hotel), there were these statues. Charlotte (very loudly...) exclaimed "Mama!" Alrighty.. INDIANAPOLIS ZOO
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The zoo was really outstanding. We have been spoiled with zoos in San Diego and St Louis. Indianapolis also has a world class zoo.
This one is just a statue, but they did have a multi-level walrus exhibit with a pair of walruses. I had never heard them vocalize before. At one point, one of the pair was floating on his/her back and groaning/whistling/singing super loudly. It was really interesting to hear.
Speaking of interesting to hear.... As we were approaching the lion enclosure, we heard LOTS of sounds. Honestly, we thought they were recorded they were so loud and fake sounding. But people were running over to the exhibit, and it turned out to be real! The lions (especially one of the females) was really roaring to the pack. It was pretty cool!
The Indianapolis Zoo has a HUGE dolphin "theater" that does Sea World-type dolphin shows. Charlotte was not at all interested in sitting down and watching, which meant that she and Tom were walking around for a lot of the show. Until they were informed by a trainer that they needed to be seated! Nicholas was enthralled with the flips and jumps. (trust me...there's an airborne dolphin in the picture above!)
There was a great petting zoo section. This guy was my favorite. Sadly, I think partly it was because his hair looked like Miss Charlotte's when her bangs get too long! :) 
We measured Nicholas to be 11 hands tall.
We didn't take a stroller, so Tom did a lot of piggy back duty.
There was a big play structure near the main eating area. It was a great place to get out some energy in a contained space! The kids played on the slides for about an hour before lunch. At first, Charlotte went down the open-twisty slide with Nicholas.
Then it was all on her own in the tube slide!
Nicholas invented this crazy method during the last few runs down the slide.
Perhaps the most beloved of all things at the zoo was the dog shark touch pool. There were several dozen sharks in this large shallow pool that could be pet by visitors.
Both kids enjoyed it. In fact, it was the first and last thing that we did at the zoo.
The boys getting ready. You could only touch with two fingers, and not on fins or tails.
Pink frosting. All licked off by the end of breakfast.
Pink sprinkles of course. He ate almost 2 whole donuts and a donut hole.
CHILDREN'S MUSEUM
Both kids enjoyed it. In fact, it was the first and last thing that we did at the zoo.
The boys getting ready. You could only touch with two fingers, and not on fins or tails. BEST BREAKFAST
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Nicholas told his teacher at preschool that his favorite part of the trip was getting to have Dunkin' Donuts for breakfast one morning. Nice.
Pink frosting. All licked off by the end of breakfast.
Pink sprinkles of course. He ate almost 2 whole donuts and a donut hole.CHILDREN'S MUSEUM
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Indianapolis has the world's largest children's museum...and they're in the middle of a new expansion. Crazy! We knew we were destined to visit when there was a Chihuly (Nicholas' favorite artist) in the middle of the stairwell! It's the largest permanently installed sculpture of Chihuly's work. 
Yep. It's confirmed. Nicholas has smaller feet than a polar bear.
In the special 5 and under area, Nicholas played with trains, we were part of an interactive concert, and Charlotte planted some flowers.
Charlotte hung with Daddy while Nicholas played with the balls.
If you ever doubted that they're father and daughter.... Is that not the exact same look??
Also in ScienceWorks was a huge construction site. There were thousands of "river rocks" that were actually foam that you could move around. Tom and Nicholas took a turn on the bulldozer.
Charlotte chose the more low-tech wheelbarrow.
Nicholas spent a good 15 or 20 minutes shovelling into the hopper, dumping it out, shovelling it in, dumping it out...
Riding the indoor carousel. Does it not look like the horse (which was carved in 1917) is smiling at me?
Say goodbye to the Children's Museum until next time!
Another cool attraction downtown is the Central Canal. We so enjoyed being able to walk everywhere!
On one of the bridges over the canal
The kids spent a few minutes running up and down the grassy hill next to the canal.
A man on a mission
Not at the canal...but it didn't fit anywhere else and it is so cute!
I definitely had no desire to go to the Motor Speedway. But Tom wanted to go, so we went on our last full day in Indianapolis. I must admit...it was pretty cool. We did a track tour where we rode in a van around the track and learned about the history. Totally intriguing. The track was built 100 years ago this year as a test track for all the auto manufacturers in Indianapolis. The first race on the track was not cars, but motorcycles. I could go on and on. I know oh so much more than I ever expected to about it!
After the track tour, we went through the museum. Cars, cars and more cars. Nicholas kept asking which ones he could climb on.
We finally found one!
Indianapolis has the world's largest children's museum...and they're in the middle of a new expansion. Crazy! We knew we were destined to visit when there was a Chihuly (Nicholas' favorite artist) in the middle of the stairwell! It's the largest permanently installed sculpture of Chihuly's work. 
Yep. It's confirmed. Nicholas has smaller feet than a polar bear.
In the special 5 and under area, Nicholas played with trains, we were part of an interactive concert, and Charlotte planted some flowers.Nicholas spent a lot of time at this ball machine at ScienceWorks. I don't have a good overview picture, but it's a mini version of the one he loves at the St Louis Science Center.
Charlotte hung with Daddy while Nicholas played with the balls.
If you ever doubted that they're father and daughter.... Is that not the exact same look??
Also in ScienceWorks was a huge construction site. There were thousands of "river rocks" that were actually foam that you could move around. Tom and Nicholas took a turn on the bulldozer.
Charlotte chose the more low-tech wheelbarrow.
Nicholas spent a good 15 or 20 minutes shovelling into the hopper, dumping it out, shovelling it in, dumping it out...
Riding the indoor carousel. Does it not look like the horse (which was carved in 1917) is smiling at me?
Say goodbye to the Children's Museum until next time! CANAL WALK
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Another cool attraction downtown is the Central Canal. We so enjoyed being able to walk everywhere!
On one of the bridges over the canal
The kids spent a few minutes running up and down the grassy hill next to the canal.
A man on a mission
Not at the canal...but it didn't fit anywhere else and it is so cute!INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
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I definitely had no desire to go to the Motor Speedway. But Tom wanted to go, so we went on our last full day in Indianapolis. I must admit...it was pretty cool. We did a track tour where we rode in a van around the track and learned about the history. Totally intriguing. The track was built 100 years ago this year as a test track for all the auto manufacturers in Indianapolis. The first race on the track was not cars, but motorcycles. I could go on and on. I know oh so much more than I ever expected to about it!
After the track tour, we went through the museum. Cars, cars and more cars. Nicholas kept asking which ones he could climb on.
We finally found one!Although if we went back to Indianapolis in the next few years, I wouldn't feel the need to go to the track again, I will say that I'm glad to have gone once. It will be known as the Alcatraz of Indianapolis. (Another attraction Tom wanted to see that far exceeded my expectations!)
The Last Night
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We rounded out the day with our last walk around downtown.
Then it was back to reality and the car trip home.
Pretty much everyone I knew thought going to Indianapolis was the strangest vacation destination ever, and it was very out of the blue for us too, but we all loved it. We want to go back! Our next trip will be in the summer sometime when the AAA baseball team is playing - the stadium is right downtown. There's also a living history farm/museum that was closed for winter during our trip. So much to do! See you next time, Indianapolis!
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