Exploring My City

I've been on a got-to-get-out-of-my-apartment kick this spring, and I think it's a good thing. Lots of exercise and sunshine makes me a happy, albeit slightly sun-burned, girl. I'm really enjoying my 4x10 work week and having Fridays OFF is a real pleasure, and last weekend was especially incredible.

Friday: After a fun lunch with girlfriends, I strolled through the IMA to catch the latest Tara Donovan exhibition and then meandered through the gardens. The IMA is a favorite city haunt for me, and I am there at least once a month. As a bonus, I happened to catch my favorite magnolia tree in bloom, and so I was elated.

Saturday: Becky and I drove downtown and walked through the Indiana War Memorial Plaza Historic District. Did you know that Indianapolis is second only to Washington D.C. in acreage and number of monuments dedicated to veterans? Well, now you do, and it is pretty amazing to see them all. The World War Memorial is probably still my favorite downtown building, and no visit would be complete without a trek up those stairs to the Shrine Room.

We also visited the newly reopened Soldiers and Sailors Monument and opted to take the stairs. Yep, that is not a typo. We chose to take the stairs and walked 331 steps (24 stories or 32 flights of stairs) to the top of the monument for some great views of our state's capital, and then we turned back around and took the 331 stairs back down again. It was quite a workout, but it felt good to do it. We rewarded ourselves with some ice cream afterwards, and I completely feel we earned it. Totally deserved it! OK, I confess that I might have felt slightly guilty about the sugar cone because I headed back out for my "slog" (slog = slow jog) when I got home.

Sunday: I visited Holliday Park and walked along the White River trails for a while and then hit the park highlights. Even though I wish "The Ruins" at Holliday Park were better maintained, I still like them, and I am always drawn to the impressive 19th century Karl Bitter statues called "The Races of Man."

It was a great weekend for photos (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) in the city, and I only posted a few (considering the number I took) of each venue, and so give me a bit of credit. Hee hee!