Indianapolis in July

My parents decided to drive up to Indianapolis, Indiana to visit my sister and brother-in-law in early July. We travelled up Thursday, July 11th. Another 12 hour drive in the books for the summer. I feel for my sister when she drives down. That drive is AWFUL! Ashley and Mark had dinner cooked, and we went to the pool briefly that night after arriving.

The 12th is my dad's birthday, and Ashley and I had something exciting planned for him. We decided to treat Dad to an extreme zip line and ropes course to make him feel young again. The facility, GoApe, was located inside of Eagle Creek Park. Prior to beginning, we went walked down to the lake for photo ops. Mark, Dad, and I suited up and pursued adrenaline. I was terrified on more than one occasion, but I completed the course and even chose the more difficult options each section. We had a ton of fun, and I felt accomplished (as I’m not in shape like my Dad and Mark).

Later that night, we headed to downtown Indy. We went up the soldiers and sailors monument for a look at the city. It was a nice touristy moment for us. Next, we headed to Kilroy's for some drinks, L.I.T.s, while we waiting for our reservation at the infamous meat place.

There was not much more that my Dad wanted for his birthday than to eat a Fogo de Chao’s, or the “meat place” as it’s so lovingly named by my father. Dad and Mark were very excited to eat. I was reluctant to get the whole shebang option, but I decided to go for it. And, I must say, I am so glad I did. That was the best grilled meat smorgasbord ever. I’m not much of a meat eater, but this stuff was amazing! I ate, and ate, and ate. And then, I ate some more finishing the meal with crème Brule (which was likely the best I’ve ever had). Dad had a hunk of Filet with a candle as his birthday cake. Ya know, no carbs… I ate so much that it was literally difficult to breathe. Talk about gluttony. The ride home was miserable, and upon arrival home, I quickly fell into a food coma. 

The next day we had another surprise in store for my Dad. We got him in the car and didn’t tell him where we were going. We ended up in French Lick, Indiana. For those of you that don’t know my father, he is a HUGE fan of Larry Bird. French Lick is where he grew up. He has a restaurant there, 33 Brick Street, where he has a bunch of his personal collection of sports memorabilia. We ate and perused the collection. Afterwards, we drove around the city a bit looking at Larry Bird related things, including a bust statue at the school. Dad was very happy. On the way home, however, it was the girls’ turn for some fun. We stopped at Oliver Winery, where upon arrival we hopped to the bar for the tastings. After tasting, then buying an exorbitant amount of wine, we took the tour. It was fun to say the least.

When we woke up the next morning, we wanted to take it easy so we toured the surrounding areas. I wanted to try a creative ice cream place located downtown on Mass Ave. This place was very unique. They use liquid nitrogen to freeze the ingredients to make the ice cream, hence the name, Subzero. It was pretty tasty even though the process was bizarre. Next, we went to Carmel, a small suburb of Indy. As an avid collector, my mother wanted to visit a doll museum. However, the rest of us opted out and went to a bar instead. Ha! We had a pretty low key day and took it easy cooking at Ashley's place and going to the pool afterwards. We headed home the next day. It was a short trip, but we had a good visit.