A little fun fact about my husband that you may not know is that he has his private pilot’s license! Aviation runs deep in his blood, being traced back to his Great-Grandfather! Although he doesn’t fly much these days, he still holds on to the fantasy of one day owning his own airplane. His dream machine is a Cirrus SR 22.
When Patrick got an invite to Cirrus Aircraft’s Red Bull Air Race Party in Indianapolis, it was an easy decision to say ‘yes’ as it’s only a six hour drive from Nashville. We packed up the kids and headed to the Hoosier State for an overnight adventure!
The Pre-Race Party took place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway where the Indy 500 takes place! It was ultra cool to get to stand on the actual racetrack, even though it was being used for something entirely different!
Cirrus had some of their model planes there, and Beau of course loved all of them! Patrick made me get in…I think he thought sitting in it would sell me on the idea of owning an airplane…it didn’t!
Our kids were understandably a little restless after the drive, so we spent a little bit of time exploring the building and happened to stumble upon this great photo op…!
They wouldn’t even stop for a photo…they could have run circles around that place!
It was a very cool experience learning more about Cirrus and getting to explore the Indianapolis Motor Speedway!
INDY EATS
Patrick and I were still on the Whole 30 diet at the time of this trip, so we couldn’t eat the food at the party. A friend gave me a Whole 30 applicable recommendation, but it was closed by the time we left, so I took to the ever trusty Trip Advisor! I got so excited when I found an open reservation at The Loft Restaurant which was described as an “organic restaurant”. I didn’t realize this organic restaurant is on the premises of a Dairy Farm though! It was tougher than I expected to find something that complied, but we did the best we could. We didn’t have any ice cream or the kids delicious looking chocolate milk and that was ridiculously challenging! The Loft is quite the unique restaurant taking farm-to-table to another level! Most of the food, including the produce, dairy and even some of the meats come directly from the land the restaurant sits upon! I so wish we had gotten to the farm earlier because it looked to be absolutely breathtaking!
INDY WITH KIDS
A trip to Indy with children isn’t complete without a stop at the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis! It’s the largest Children’s Museum in the world! We hardly saw all of it, but the bit we got to see before our kids expired was quite amazing! The building alone is worth taking a drive by! The outside of the building is quite impressive! Real size models of dinosaurs appear to be getting in – and out – of the museum!
Also impressive is the gigantic Transformer standing guard in the entry of the museum!
From plenty of opportunities to play dress up…
And participate in hands on experiences like fossil digs…
To getting to sit in an actual Indy 500 race car…
This place has it going on! It’s a child’s wonderland of fascinating things to see and more importantly do! This is the place to go for all day hands on play!
If your kids are fans of Doc McStuffins, this place is a total must! The museum has a “Toy Hospital” complete with working X-Ray Machines to diagnose the toys and Emergency Rooms to perform toy surgeries. It couldn’t have been any more adorable! Beau personally loved the Reception Desk, and Greta loved the Rocking Station 🙂
The Doc McStuffins Exhibit will be at the Museum until January 22nd, 2017, so catch it while you can!
INDY ART
Our last stop in the Hoosier State was a big one for me…The Funky Bones!
This climbable artwork of a skeleton is on the grounds of The Indianapolis Museum of Art. It was featured in the book and movie “The Fault In Our Stars” and really resonated with me. I’ve wanted to see it in person since reading the book and am glad I got to cross it off my Bucket List.
One day we will make it back to Indy and not just get to stand on the Indy 500 Racetrack, but will get to watch an actual race there so I can also cross that one off my Bucket List 🙂
If you get the chance, do check out Indianapolis! It’s an interesting Midwest city that has a lot to offer explorers!
Be Blessed + Be A Blessing