More explorations of the area... this time up to Indianapolis (downtown is approx 1 1/2 hr drive from Bloomington), the capitol of Indiana. The capital building is very impressive, and the surrounding downtown area has some nice public parks, museums, monuments and fountains. We had a nice time walking around - even the weather was agreeable. (We've been pleasantly surprised at how mild the weather has been so far.) Here's the front entrance to the capital building, built 1888. Next time we'll try to make it in time to get an interior tour.
And here's the south entrance, with a nice statue of George Washington. 
And a close-up on the south facade - can you tell that these statues are pioneers and native Americans? Cool, huh? (Katie, what's the architectural term for this 'platform' or shelf?)
After walking around the capital area, we walked over to the canal, where the NCAA Hall of Champions is located! They have exhibits and information on all 23 college sport teams (men's and women's). Plus we read up on the history of the NCAA (partly initiated thanks to Teddy Roosevelt) and learned how long the various sports have had national tournaments. Surprisingly, most women's teams have only had tournaments since the early 80's (and some even within the last 10 years). Naturally we paid particularly attention to the exhibit on women's soccer. 
The 2nd floor of the museum is dedicated to letting visitors get more "involved" with the sports equipment - now that we liked! There was a small basketball court where we could shoot some shots from various spots on the floor where last-second shots were made to win the national tournament (like Michael Jordan's in '82 and Christian Laettner's in '92). There was a TV with video replay of important calls made by referees, which we could vote on and then see if we had made the correct call. And there was lots of equipment that we could touch and try out, as you can see...
Of course, since we were the ONLY visitors in the museum at the time, we felt particularly bold and had fun trying out all the equipment. So, family, if you want to visit and see this museum, we'll go again on a Sunday afternoon when it's quiet and you can do all the re-enactments you like.
"What are you doing on Saturday? Do you want free tickets to the football game?" asked Teresa. "YES!!" I replied, somewhat disbelieving. Free tickets? When does that happen? We have gotten to know Bill and Teresa Welch through a friend of Katie and Kyle's, and they have been very welcoming to us these first months. As it turned out, they had some friends attending the game who had 2 extra tickets (which happened to be "one adult" and "one student")! Jim had been hoping to get to a game this fall but our schedule has been busy and the tickets are expensive, so we hadn't attempted it yet. But thanks to these friends we got to go!! 
On Saturday 7th November we had breakfast with the Welchs and their friends, and then headed over to the stadium. The game was set for noon and we arrived at 10 AM, and already lots of community people and students were set up for tailgates in the parking lots, cooking their breakfast/brunch and just enjoying the atmosphere. Kids were running around wearing jerseys and playing catch, radio stations were blasting music at their stands, and the sun was bright and warm. We were so early that we got to watch the Marching Hundred (college band) practice and then we wandered around the stadium. Since this was the first "big college" football game that either of us had attended, we were amazed at all the festivities.
As you can see, LOTS of fans wore red. Jim followed suit but oops, I forgot. 
Just before the game began, the band marched out onto the field and performed some pep songs and formations - SO AMAZING!!! (I think this pre-game and their halftime performance was probably the highlight of the event.) Can you tell what letters they have formed here??
Then some fireworks were set off and the team ran on to the field, through the band's formation. 
Actually by the time the game started, the stadium (which is huge) was more full than what you see in these photos. I guess at this point people were still getting to their seats and buying popcorn and hotdogs at the concession stands. We had great seats, towards the top of the stadium and close to midfield. We tried our best to follow along with the pep songs and shout out "Go IU!" at appropriate moments. And hey, we wore our IU hats! (which we got free at a men's soccer game earlier this semester) Unfortunately the Hoosiers lost the game by 3 points to Wisconsin, 31-28. (They are currently 4-7.) They had a chance at the end of the game to convert on a 3rd down and score but didn't complete it. Oh well. (That's IU football for you.) It was a fun day though!! We are feeling more like official Bloomington residents.
Some more fun pics from my time with Mike and Heather! On the morning we drove to the conference in Cincinnati, we stopped for a bathroom break at McDonalds in a small town en-route. Both of them were flabbergasted by the numbers of cars lined up for the drive-through. "Is it like this every day?" Mike asked. And "Why don't they just park and go inside? Wouldn't that be faster?" (You can't tell in the photo but Mike has his hands in the air and a querying look on his face.)
The first night of the conference was Free Ice Cream for participants at a downtown ice cream shop - delicious even on a cold evening.
One of the mornings we walked from our suite at The Ascent (see previous post) over to a breakfast cafe. Our server was pretty excited to meet two South Africans ("What in the world are you doing in Kentucky?") and explain the menu to them. Mike and Heath: "This pancake is Huge!" and "Look, they bring you your own carafe of coffee. ...Americans drink a lot of coffee."
One evening (after doing some grocery shopping at a local Kroger) Heath and I indulged in some Pop-Tarts, which was Heather's first experience. Although "indulge" is perhaps a bit strong. I mean, even though they have a fun name, they really do taste like cardboard. Initially Heather was feelin' groovy...
...then a bit skeptical...
...and here's the first bite! After that it was a bit of a letdown, to be honest. I guess you have to be a hungry kid in order to enjoy these.
BUT the big highlight at the suite was the coffee machine in the lounge. I'd never seen one like it and it made very nice cappuccinos (for an automated machine). The neat thing was that you stick a cup of cold milk under the tube (on the left), press "froth", and out it comes hot and foamy into the cup on the right. Then the espresso dispenses from the middle nozzle. Now with this, we weren't disappointed.
And a couple more area shots, since it was a really pretty time of year. This "welcome to Covington" sign was directly outside our suite windows, greeting cars as they cross over the Ohio River and enter Kentucky.
And what is more uniquely American than steamboats?!! Cincinnati was a hub for them in their heyday. Maybe next time we'll get to do a dinner cruise on one. 
(p.s. thanks for the photos, Heath)
And here's the south entrance, with a nice statue of George Washington. 
And a close-up on the south facade - can you tell that these statues are pioneers and native Americans? Cool, huh? (Katie, what's the architectural term for this 'platform' or shelf?)
After walking around the capital area, we walked over to the canal, where the NCAA Hall of Champions is located! They have exhibits and information on all 23 college sport teams (men's and women's). Plus we read up on the history of the NCAA (partly initiated thanks to Teddy Roosevelt) and learned how long the various sports have had national tournaments. Surprisingly, most women's teams have only had tournaments since the early 80's (and some even within the last 10 years). Naturally we paid particularly attention to the exhibit on women's soccer. 
The 2nd floor of the museum is dedicated to letting visitors get more "involved" with the sports equipment - now that we liked! There was a small basketball court where we could shoot some shots from various spots on the floor where last-second shots were made to win the national tournament (like Michael Jordan's in '82 and Christian Laettner's in '92). There was a TV with video replay of important calls made by referees, which we could vote on and then see if we had made the correct call. And there was lots of equipment that we could touch and try out, as you can see...
Of course, since we were the ONLY visitors in the museum at the time, we felt particularly bold and had fun trying out all the equipment. So, family, if you want to visit and see this museum, we'll go again on a Sunday afternoon when it's quiet and you can do all the re-enactments you like.
