Indiana Posts

Spotlight on Indianapolis

This week, Customer Service Agent Cathy shares some of her favorite things about a favorite city, Indianapolis!

Tucked away in the quiet Midwest, Indianapolis frequently is touted as an “up and coming” city. Perhaps surprising to many, it is currently the 12th most populous city in the United States and has many attractions worthy of your visit.

History buffs will want to visit the various war memorials, including the Soldiers & Sailors Monument, the Indiana World War Memorial, and the USS Indianapolis Memorial, among others. The Indiana State Museum and the Eiteljorg Museum are located in nearby White River State Park. The kids will love the Children’s Museum and the Indianapolis Zoo. A short drive north will take you to family-friendly Conner Prairie, where you can experience life in the 19th century.

Sporting News magazine recently ranked Indy as the 19th best sports city in the country. While in town, try to catch a Colts game at the magnificent Lucas Oil Stadium, which was host to the 2012 Super Bowl. Motor sports fans are familiar with the history of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400. If basketball is your thing, check out the Pacers (NBA) or Fever (WNBA) at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.  Also located in Indianapolis is the campus of Butler University, whose men’s basketball team recently went to the NCAA Final Four two years in a row. The Indianapolis Indians play minor league baseball, and their stadium, Victory Field, is a fantastic place to watch a game.

If you’re more artsy than athletic, be sure to visit the Indianapolis Museum of Art and the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. For theater performances, check the schedules at Beef and Boards, the Murat Centre and Clowes Memorial Hall. If you can’t make it to Indy Jazz Fest in September, you can swing by the Jazz Kitchen year-round for tasty food and excellent music. The Heartland Film Festival takes place each October and is one of the fastest-growing film festivals in the country.

Overwhelmed by the possibilities? Believe it or not, this just touches on some of the many activities available in one of the best cities in the Midwest. Come for a visit and experience true Hoosier hospitality!

 

From Our Fall Kitchen to Yours

This time of the year, the leaves are turning shades of red, yellow and orange. On our family, it’s time to gas up the car and take a drive through the hills of Southern Indiana to view the beautiful fall foliage, or pack up the family of seven (five girls plus Mom and Dad,) load the horses in the trailer, and drive to Brown County. We would ride for hours riding the trails and admiring the beautiful fall foliage. Fall also reminds me of pumpkins and apple cider, and our family’s favorite fall recipes.

My Aunt use to make the best pumpkin bread. The kitchen would smell so good from all the spices, but the best part was getting to eat a yummy piece of the homemade bread and spending time with my Aunt.

For those of you who love baking, I want to share my favorite Fall recipes for My Aunt’s Pumpkin Bread and My Mom’s Applesauce Cake.

Pumpkin Bread
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3-6 teaspoons cinnamon, to taste
1 ½ cups pecans, chopped
1 teaspoon nutmeg
2 cups sugar
4 eggs, beaten
1 ¼ cup corn oil
2 cups pumpkin puree

Mix the dry ingredients together. Then gradually add the eggs, oil, and pumpkin. Combine thoroughly. Grease and flour 2 loaf pans, and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Applesauce Cake
4 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking soda
4 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground cloves
2 teaspoons  nutmeg
½ teaspoons salt
1 cup butter or margarine
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
3 cups of applesauce
2 cups raisins or chopped dates
1 cup chopped pecans
10 maraschino cherries, cut in half

Preheat the oven to 325. Sift all of the dry ingredients – except the sugar – together with the flour 3 times. Then, separately, cream the butter and sugar, and add the eggs. Add the applesauce and beat well. Next, add the dry ingredients. Finally, put the nuts, raisins, and cherries in a bowl with a tablespoon of flour – then add to the rest of the mixture and combine. Bake in a greased one-piece angel food cake pan at 325 for 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Please enjoy the recipes and take time for your own Fall memories.

Deb, Customer Service

Spotlight on Indiana – Stonycreek Farm Pumpkin Harvest Festival

This week, we hear from Michele in Customer Service, about one of her favorite hometown autumn traditions!

Modern Day Blackbeard? Searching for Treasures on your Summer Vacation!

Summer is here – FINALLY!  Time to let loose and have a little fun.  When you were younger, did you ever pretend that you were a pirate, or a train robber, or any other adventurous figment of your imagination?  As a kid, I had a wild and vivid imagination and went on many adventures in my backyard.  I often dug holes in the yard, as I was positive there was some kind of treasure that would make me rich, and I could get that pony that I always wanted.  But, as fate is fickle, I never found Blackbeard‘s treasure in the middle of Indiana and I remained a dirt poor kid.

Fast forward a few decades and that thrill of seeking treasures is still alive and well.  Whether you are going on a roadtrip, or visiting an area for a limited time, there’s always some new and exciting things to discover or treasures to find.  In fact, recently 100 JetBlue crew members and volunteers not only cleaned up the beaches of South Boston, but they also hid 100 blue Save the Harbor/Save the Bay 25th Anniversary marbles.  Happy hunting if your vacation or weekend plans include visiting these beaches this summer.  Five winners will receive 40,000 TrueBlue points. How’s that for buried treasure?

But, if you aren’t planning to visit South Boston this year, there are other ways to find treasures.  Often when I am traveling, I go searching for geocaches.  Called the “outdoor treasure hunting game,” it is a very good way to spend an afternoon, go places you would not have ventured to before, hone your Blackbeard skills, and have fun all at the same time.  I’ve found geocaches in state parks, along roadsides, in hotel parking lots, city parks, just about anywhere imaginable.  There is a lot of information available at the official website.  It’s a relatively inexpensive hobby, as the only equipment you need is a GPS unit, or a smartphone with GPS capabilities.

Download the app on your cellphone, and you can located geocaches near your location.  You will be amazed how many there are hidden.  Ranging from virtual caches to buried containers, each cache is rated on it’s level of difficulty and it’s terrain.  All ages and fitness levels can participate, so it’s good from baby to Grandma.  The caches vary in sizes from microcaches to buried containers.

It’s quite a feeling when you follow the coordinates correctly and locate your quest.  Whether is it is a magnetic container attached to the bottom of a park bench or an ammo container in the middle of a dead tree, you truly feel as if you found the buried treasure.

But, I’m sure that digging around and poking for things may not be everyone’s idea of fun.  Plus, you may get a few looks from the “muggles” (The general public not keyed into geocaching fundamentals).  Have no fear, I have another treasure hunting game I play.  As I have stated before, our parents took us across the United States and back a few times in our young lives.  I always wanted to stop a thte oddest places featured along Route 66 and other roadside vendors.  Now, all these peculiarities have a dedicated website where you can plan your trip around these oddities.  Roadside America features many of these “tourist traps” and helps you locate these you may be traveling near.

I’ve been known to travel a few miles out of the way to catch a glimpse of some treasure that I’m sure will enhance my life forever. For example, when I found out I was only five miles from the largest bottle of ketchup, I had to go see it.  As we came around the bend and saw that the bottle was up in the sky, it was just as if I had found a treasure.  The town hosting the attraction is Collinsville, IL,  a quaint Midwestern town and we spent an hour or two exploring.

So, whether you are more of a hands-on treasure hunter, or like to view from afar, you can still get a thrill whether you are on a vacation or just roaming around your own town (You won’t believe the things I’ve discovered in my own little town).

You won’t need a treasure map when searching for a great airport hotel deal on ParkSleepFly.com.  We’ve already charted those for you. With the deals on ParkSleepFly.com, you receive a night’s stay at an airport hotel, parking for your trip, and transportation to and from the airport.  All for one low price.  You don’t need a shovel or GP to locate that deal.

So, start your trip off right and leave the hunting for deals to us.  You spend time looking for the World’s Largest Bottle Cap Collection or the microcache that is located in a tree.  You will be glad you did.

So, let me know if you are a geocacher.  We can compare stories.  Or, if you are a roadside oddity aficionado.  I’m always looking for the next gotta-go-see. 

Indianapolis (IND) Airport Hotels Park Sleep and Fly Packages

Whether you live several hours from Indianapolis International Airport (IND) or you’re just worried about the inclement weather coming in the morning, you need to check out the park sleep and fly airport hotel packages on ParkSleepFly.com

Airport hotel and parking packages offer a night’s accommodation, shuttle service to and from the airport, and parking for your trip, all for the price of parking at the airport alone.

We have several hotel partners conveniently located to IND.  and we’re confident you’ll find the perfect hotel and parking package for you!  Whether you are traveling for business or pleasure, with your family or solo, you’ll find the perfect hotel and price for your budget.

You can also read our verified customer reviews for all our hotel partners at the Indianapolis International Airport.  With hundreds of reviews, you can select your choice with confidence.  Try ParkSleepFly.com.  You will be glad you did.

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