Super Bowl and Indianapolis

I am loving the Super Bowl coverage this week and all the talk about what a great place Indy is to have this major event.

I've been watching Mike and Mike in the Morning on ESPN this week and I'm feeling a little jealous as they talk about places and locations that are familiar to me. Yesterday morning Greeny mentioned being at a restaurant and I found myself almost jumping out my skin hoping he'd say which one. I wanted to know if I had been there!

I nod my head in agreement as they discuss how easy it is to get around downtown and how you can walk everywhere you need to go. No driving necessary, especially if you're fortunate enough to get a hotel room downtown. Truly, Indianapolis is a perfect place to host the Super Bowl. Circle Center Mall is downtown and there are restaurants everywhere! Everything from the fast food choices in the food court to fancy, high-priced places down the block.

The architecture is beautiful and my favorite place to visit downtown is the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in Monument Circle. How perfect for me that there is a Starbucks right there! What a great view from inside! (Check out the amazing history and more pictures here.)

(Click to enlarge the picture and you can see the Capitol in the background.)

(All pictures in this post (c) November 2011, Kathy Fannon)

The pictures in this post are from our trip there for Grand National Marching Band Competition last November. This wasn't the first time we've gone to Indy, but this was our son's final year of competition, so we made it a point to be there. What a blast!

We didn't do any driving while we were there; we just hung out downtown and ate - a lot!

Every mall has a food court. Not every mall has a Chick-fil-A. Ours doesn't, so we splurged. It wasn't great and we probably wouldn't do it again. Besides the fact, I just don't eat fried food anymore.

We also had the famous Lettuce Wraps from P.F. Chang's for lunch one day. Another luxury we don't normally get at home. Amazing!

One night we walked to Noodles and Company for supper where I had this Indonesian Peanut Saute'. Whhh-ooooooo! I didn't realize it would be so HOT! Then I noticed it's the spiciest thing on the menu. It was fabulous! (GASP! I just noticed there is one in Grand Rapids! Sweet!)

We walked to California Pizza Kitchen for lunch on Saturday afternoon. There were some fabulous choices, but we agreed on the Chipotle Chicken pizza. AMAZING! And easy to duplicate at home, except for the crust.

We went to Lucas Oil Stadium on Friday night for the announcement of semi-finalists. We got there before they would let us in, so I snapped this shot. What an amazing place!

These were the drum majors on the field, from ninety-two schools around the nation - end zone to end zone! Our kids made it to semi-finals and we were very proud of them for representing our school. They were one of only two bands from Michigan to do it and 32 total in semi-competition! What a great experience for the kids!

And it will be a great experience for all of the fans who are in Indianapolis this week. There is so much to see and do and the places to eat are endless! I'm jealous!

None of my teams made it to the Super Bowl this year, but for the sake of having a team to cheer on....GO GIANTS!

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