Here we go again. The race to Indianapolis.

The Pagoda at the Indianapolis Speedway.

   We finally made it to Iowa! It's not that we'd never been to Iowa, but we had never camped in Iowa which is the criteria for crossing a state off the list of those visited (obviously exceptions will be made for Hawaii and possibly Alaska). The trip was uneventful and we "turtled" in our spot for a quick get away the next morning. I don't think that the reality of the trip had truly set in with anyone in the group yet. It just felt like we were practice camping. 

    In the morning we arose with the usual grumbling, agitation, and general unhappiness to head out for Indianapolis. Teenagers, am I right? It was a long day on the road to our KOA site, but we made it without event. Jason finished slow cooking burgers on the charcoal grill for supper right before the day long gray clouds opened up. We settled in and watched Talladega Nights, as you do when you're in a racing town, and slept with the windows open, which was delightful. 

    As Indianapolis was really a layover stop to get us further east, we didn't have high expectations. I mean we were obviously going to the Indianapolis Speedway, but not being race fans we were not nearly as excited about visiting as my uncle, dad, and brother were for us to go there. They are all huge race fans. It doesn't even matter what it is that's racing... snowmobiles, bikes, cars; they've got their pulse on all the circuits. I for one was far more excited to go to the IKEA I had located nearby and for the Melting Pot supper experience we had booked for the evening (they are shockingly good for people with allergies).

    Much to everyone else's annoyance we started the day by strolling through IKEA. It was a quiet, meditative time for me. I just love sauntering through a giant uncrowded store. After the others feasted on Swedish meatballs, we made our way to the Speedway. 

A tile pattern I liked at IKEA.

    Our route wound us through miles and miles of beautiful homes situated along countless lakes and streams. Who knew Indianapolis had so many water ways? Anyway, arriving at the speedway humbled us with its enormity. We may not know anything about racing, but we do know when something is impressive. This was ridiculously impressive. Entering the museum led us to book the next "Kiss the Bricks Tour," which would take us on a bus around the two and a half mile track with a stop at the famed "Brick Yard" to kiss the bricks that the winning racers kneel down and kiss. We had been previously instructed to purchase a brick for my uncle and looked into the options while we waited for the bus. 

    The tour itself was incredibly informative. The whole track had once been covered in the famous red bricks, but was fairly quickly covered over with layers of asphalt. Gee, I wonder why? Can you even imagine driving super fast over a brick roadway with little more than a beanie protecting your head? At any rate, most of the original bricks still lay beneath the multiple layers of track. We drove past the four full fledge golf holes, another race track, about the size of Hussets, and parts of the road course, all INSIDE the middle of the track. Finally we pulled up to the Pagoda, which is a giant glass structure true to its name. Apparently from the top of this 13 story perch you can see the entire raceway. Here we got on the track and took our turn kissing the yard long stretch of original red bricks. Well, expect for Lucas who opted to just put his nose on the brick. 

Lucas driving qualifying laps. 

Marcus driving qualifying laps. 

Samus driving qualifying laps. 

    Once we returned to the museum we saw firsthand how much all of racing had evolved towards increased safety and, of course, speed. Those first cars were metal danger tubes. Some had bug screens with holes that would only catch the most robust June bug, if that. Later the cars added tiny windshields and swapped out leather straps for metal clasps. One car was said to don the very first rear view mirror used on an automobile. It was directly in the drivers field of vision... I'm not sure if that increased or decreased safety. Of course their helmets also evolved (thankfully) from nothing more than a cloth situation to a Bell bicycle helmet with a piece of plexiglass taped over the opening, to the sophisticated safety devices they have today. Before departing, we loaded up on souvenirs including three pieces of the brick yard in fun little display cases. We quite literally bought them out of bricks. 

An example of said brick pieces. 

    After napping a bit we went to supper at The Melting Pot. If you've been there before, then you know this is an all night session of dipping and eating, course after course. I was just elated that I could eat most of the courses, but especially dessert. I'm pretty sure you could dip a brick from the Speedway in that chocolate and still be delighted. The next day promised a six hour drive to West Virginia where we were looking forward to several adventures on the New River. We slept like dead horses.     

Jason and Marcus dipping away. 

Two guys who are very serious about eating.