Toot, toot, seven

Riding the rails          Or        Riding the Rails

Here we are in Indianapolis, Indiana, Ernie promised to show me around the town before our new the train leaves; and will see we are all safely on board before he takes off on his new adventure.  I will miss him.

Rosy and Vince are going exploring on their own, and Marie and Linda have no interest in the race track, so are going to spend their day together as well.  I will write more later today.

Turned out Tall Dude didn’t want to hang with Vince and Rosy, nor Marie and Linda, so he joined Ernie and myself, and did ‘guy things’.  Both found it unusual and an old broad of 73 (who does not even drive) would be interested in all things racing, but I guaranteed I would not be bored, or uninterested in what could be seen and done at the Indy raceway.  It was great.

That place is huge, and for the money ($25), you get a lot, entrance to the museum, and a bus tour around the track…can you believe it, I was actually on the track.  While on the tour the bus stops at the finish line for around five minutes, and for a few bucks more you can get off and walk around the finish line.  What a thrill…I actually got down on my hands and knees and kissed the bricks, which I’m sure, is 1,000 times better than kissing the Blarney Stone in Ireland.  Too bad I didn’t have a camera.  Plus, the museum is something else, a beautiful structure filled with unbelievable racing history.

We were so enthralled, we didn’t realize how much time had passed, and before I knew it we had to head back to the Railroad Yard.  Where did the day go?

Time to say goodbye to Ernie, he was true to his word, and would not leave until everyone had reassembled at the train.  I thanked him profusely for a wonderful day, and said I hoped if he ever got to Oregon again he would come by to see me.  Watching him walk away brought tears to my eyes. 

Once aboard our car we decided what we were going to eat, Vince and Rosy were the shoppers, and purchased chicken noodle soup, grapes, potato chips, and a greens salad, with ranch dressing. For breakfast they had bought apple sauce, trail mix, orange juice, and peanut butter/toast crackers.  Not bad for two people mooning around in puppy love.

We inquired into our day’s activities.  Marie and Linda had a good time taking in some of the more popular sites that included a stroll along the canal followed by a gondola ride (with singing gondoliers) in the downtown area, then the Artsgarden plus a stroll along shopping area, Massachusetts Avenue, ending with a high end lunch at a place called Mesh on the Mass, that was very, very posh according to the ladies. 

Finally we asked where Vince and Rosy spent the day, and we were greeted with nothing more than teenage giggles...enough said about that I guess. 

We took turns walking our dogs one last time before the train left, then settled in for dinner and a quiet evening, hopefully we will also be entertained with some delightful harmonica music.  Next stop, Columbus, Ohio.