Indianapolis Speedway

WARNING: MANY MANY PICTURES IN THIS POST!!!

This post includes just 2 pictures from our trip to the Indiana State Museum first. They aren't that exciting, but too bad for you. I just liked this art thing in the front of the museum. I wanted to get the shot more from the bottom looking more straight up, but it wouldn't work out with my camera. Or I just wasn't doing it right. But either way, I still like it.

This is the pendulum in the museum. I vaguely remembered seeing this on a school field trip one time. But the pendulum keeps time by the rotation of the earth. And the sign said something like, the pendulum doesn't rotate...the building does. The pendulum just keeps swinging and the building rotates around it, which ends up in the pendulum knocking over the stick things. We even got there just a couple minutes before it knocked one over!

After we went to the State Museum, we went to the Indianapolis Speedway. We got REALLY lucky and walked into the Speedway museum right before the last "special tour." That day they were doing the special tour that not only takes us around the track, but takes us into the pagoda, gasoline alley, winner's circle, etc. You'll see pictures of it all in here, so get excited!

The pictures are actually in reversed order of when we saw everything. But there are so many pictures, I didn't feel like taking the time to switch it all around. But I don't think it'll make too big of a difference.

This is the gasoline alley where all the cars get their gas... I guess I didn't need to clarify that.

Here is a shot of the back side of the pagoda. They were apparently celebrating 100 years. I think they did say that the Indy 500 (or some version of it) was started in 1910, or thereabouts.

This is some of the garages where cars are stored during race week time. There was also one larger garage door that's not in this picture which is how the cars actually get out onto the race track. We also learned that the Indy 500 cars aren't made to drive under like 50 MPH. So when the cars are back in the garage areas, they have to be towed everywhere until they get on the track.

This is a picture of me and mom in the richie seats. The tour guide said just 1/3 of this room costs $50,000 or so to buy for race week. He said that includes 80 tickets (I think) and 30 parking spots in the back (I think). So that's alot of people to fit in that area. Also, you can't even see the race track if you sit down in that room unless you're right by the window. So I don't feel like it'd even be worth it! But I guess rich people can do what they please.

We also learned there were other rooms that people could buy for like $116,000 for the whole year of race events. But you can't use it whenever you want. That seems like alot of money to spend for just a few weeks of race events!

This is showing the other 2/3 of the room. So it's really not that big of a space.

If you get lucky enough to get a seat in the middle of the track, these are the eating facilities during race week.

These are the cameras that watch the track during the race. There is to be ZERO debris of any size on the track during the race. So each of these cameras watches a certain specific part of the track. There is one person to watch each screen and make sure there is absolutely no debris. The tour guide said these cameras are so powerful they could look at you in the crowd and see the second watch ticking on your watch. So if they do see anything on the track, they bring out the yellow flag (or whichever it is to just slow them all down and tell them caution) and get the stuff off the track.

Steve wanted a picture of this to show that we were going in the "authorized personnel only" areas. He was really excited about that!

This is where the winner of the race gets interviewed right after he wins the race. I think this was called the media room. We felt really special that we got to be in this room.

And here's Steve being interviewed!

You can't see that little sign above the opening right there, but that's the opening to gasoline alley.

Here's a view of the winner's circle from the track.

Us on the winner's circle! Right where they take all the pictures!!!


Me, mom, and Steve's feet on the finish line. Well this is actually right after the finish line. The first track used to be made out of brick, and these are some of the original bricks. That's why there's the other race called the Brickyard 400. The track used to just be called the Brickyard. Soo all the original brick are now under many layers of blacktop. As you can imagine, the bricks started getting too rough and treacherous to race at such high speeds.

So there's a shot of the finish line with the brick right after. The camera that takes the picture of the winner at the end of the race is super fast! They did the calculations and figured out that when the car is finishing the race, the camera could take 20-ish pictures of the car crossing the finish line before it gets across it. That's REALLY fast considering how fast the cars are going when they get to the finish line!!

Here we are "kissing the bricks." I didn't know about this tradition before we went there. Apparently one of the winners of the 500 kissed the bricks right after he won the race. Then, as usual, it became a big thing to do for all the tourists to be like the winner. (Just so you know, we really didn't kiss them. Just posed for the camera. Right after we took this picture, our guide told us this: There is a "strut your pup" event once a year when people can bring their dogs and walk the track once. And he said many of the dogs stop and pee on those bricks. So I was very glad we didn't really kiss those bricks.)
We also learned where the tradition of drinking milk for the winner comes from: Louis Meyer was a 3 time winner of the Indy 500. He really liked to drink buttermilk to refresh himself on a hot day - per his mother's instructions from the time he was young. So in 1936, he won the race and was really hot from being in the car that long, and he immediately drank milk when he got out of the car after winning. An executive from the Milk Foundation saw it in his newspaper the next day and was determined to keep that as a tradition for as long as he could. There was a short time when milk wasn't offered, but it was revived in 1956, and has continued ever since.

The last leg of the race track. The track is 2 and 1/2 miles long. And you can't see the other side of the track from here. Even if the bleachers weren't there...

Here is the pagoda. This the building where the richies sit, and media people, and all the people that keep track of all the cars, tracks debris, and statisticians, etc.

A shot of the new safer walls and up into the bleachers.

I guess that's the thing that shows where all the cars are in order, etc. I'm not sure. I don't remember what he said about that.

This was in the Indy Speedway museum. It wasn't SUPER exciting, but it was kind of cool to see all the old cars (and bikes) used to race. Apprently bikes were raced before cars were.

There were many other pictures of the cars, but I tried to pick the really cool ones for you.

Oh! Hey, Helio!

This is a real person that just poses like that all day without moving...

Picture from the road.

Well, I think a couple pictures got accidentally deleted during the process of uploading so many. So I'm sorry, there may be a couple things you missed. But that was one of the coolest things we did while we were touring Indianapolis. Steve was sad he didn't have his video camera for that tour. I was sad too! But we didn't even know we were doing that when we headed out to Indy. We were just lucky my dinky little camera lasted the whole trip!!!

I hope you enjoyed this, and maybe you learned some new things like I did on the tour. :)

P.S.

This post took me like an hour and a half to make!!!! Holy whoa!!!

Too much yummy vacation food

Monical's
As usual on vacations, we went out to eat WAY TOO MUCH! We went to my favorite pizza place probably 5 times while were there. It was somewhat ridiculous, but I had to get my fill before I left for a long time again!

Above is me, Steve, and our niece Rachel.

This is our nephews Brayden, David, and my mom.

Brayden and David being silly...

Jacob hadn't had a nap that day, and of course, he fell asleep on the way to pizza. So we brought him in and let him zonk out in the booth next to us. Luckily, it wasn't really crowded, so we didn't have to move him.

Did I mention that Steve and Rachel are new best friends. She loved hanging out with Steve this vacation. And I think the boys had fun with him too. He played soccer, basketball, and frisbee with them a lot of the time we were there. I think they really enjoyed having Uncle Steve, a "big kid," around to play with. ;)


Steak N Shake
We also went to one of my other favorite places. Steak N Shake!!! I crave their cheese fries all the time!!! They are just so yummy!!! And they have really yummy shakes. (In Indiana, shakes are what you drink. Like a milkshake.) Steve isn't always a fan of the fries, but he endured a few trips there too! What a guy!

Dave's

Then one of my family's favorite restaurant to visit is called Dave's. It's a really patriotic place, and there's a ton of military statues all over. There's also a sports room. But that room was closed when we went there.

But here we are in the patriotic room. :)


This "complaint department" mousetrap was on the checkout counter. We were telling Steve to push it, and it took a while for him to try it. haha. Nothing happened, but he definitely jumped a little. It gave us a really good laugh to remember the first time I tried and jumped really far back!

(ps. At the bottom it says, "To complain...PUSH red button."

Steve even posed with one of the statues. :) Enjoy that face... heehee.

We also went to my other favorite place called Frostbite. It was so yummy, and they have super yummy shakes too! But we only went there a couple times because it's an outdoor place. We didn't feel like sitting outside and sweating much. It was a TOUCH humid a few of the days we were out there.

***4th of July***

It's time to catch up on our vacation. There will be separate posts for different activities. If I didn't, this post would be 5 miles long. So I hope you enjoy!!!

Well, the 4th of July is my VERY FAVORITE holiday!!! It used to be because I loved lighting fireworks and making smores. Then it was because I loved the fireworks show my dad puts on every year. Now it's all of those reasons - plus I love my country!!!

But I can't say that it has lessened my love for the fireworks!!! :) Here are pictures of all the fireworks my dad bought for his show this year. It doesn't seem like alot because you can't see them all at once. But it A TON!

We decided to mass produce smores again. So here's a picture of me using the rake to make them. I know it looks unsanitary, but I'm sure it made it taste all the better! No one died or got sick, so that's saying something.

This is me, my mom, and my nephew Jacob. He was the crack up of our trip. He was hilarious!


And here's Jacob's mom, Sarah. He thought he needed these earphone things so it wouldn't be so loud. But I think Sarah ended up wearing them by the end of the show. :) It did start getting pretty loud.

I didn't try to take any pictures of the fireworks because it's never worked out well with my camera anyway. But Steve did video most of the show. So if we ever figure it out, we'll try to get a video of the finale on here. :) I hope your 4th was just as fun as ours!!!

Midwestern Summer

Oh my goodness!!! We have been having SO MUCH FUN!!! I won't go into details right now, but I wanted to make a short post about the fun times we've had!

We've been shopping, eating Monical's, and relaxing to the max! It has been a blast to not have to worry about working or cleaning or anything. We even got to go on a surprise tour of the Indianapolis Speedway grounds. It was a special tour that not everyone gets to take. We were really excited, and got some great pictures!

Last night, our family hosted a spectacular fire works show. It's a tradition that's been going on since before I can remember. But just like the last 7 or 8 years, it has become a ward/friend/neighborhood affair. We love having people over to celebrate our nation using FIIRRREEE!!! :) Steve even got the honor of starting the giant bonfire this year. (Which ended up not exploding as usual... but it was still cool.) And family - we did get some great videos of the fireworks which we are going to have to watch when we get back!

We've loved being with our family out here too. We haven't seen my brother's family since our wedding!! So we were excited to hang out with them and the kids. Steve has loved playing soccer and frisbee with them this whole week. We're definitely getting some good exercise... but we're eating enough that it isn't doing us any good! HAHA!

But we're glad we've been with family and enjoying everyone's company this week!

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!! I certainly love my country and I'm so grateful for the freedoms I enjoy everyday. I'm so grateful for the soldiers that fought to make our country how it is. And I'm glad there are brave men and women fighting today to keep me safe. I'm glad we live in this country where we can worship freely. I love my Heavenly Father, and my brother and Savior, Jesus Christ. What a blessing to have the truthfulness of the gospel in my life!

So look forward to posts full of pictures when we get back to Utah. :)

PS. It is SO HUMID here! I forgot how wet it can feel outside!!! That is one thing I do not miss. Sometimes it's hard to stay outside for too long before you start sweating bullets just sitting there!!! But I guess that IS part of the experience! :)

Memorial Day

Well it was a great Memorial Day! Steve and I went to breakfast and it was soooo yummy!

Later that day we visited Steve's Grandpa's grave. It was cool to see all the flags they had lined up and all the flags at the graves of people that were in the service.

Here is Grandpa Harkness. :) We were going to buy a flower, but of course all the stores were clean sold out.

We spent the evening with family cooking out and talking. It was fun and relaxing! We are so blessed to have family that is so loving and supportive.

We also did this puzzle while watchng Goonies on t.v. the other day. :) We were puzzle fiends with this one. We could. not. stop.

We hope you had a wonderful Memorial Day. We are so grateful for the men and women that have served, are serving, and will serve for the pride of our country. We are also grateful to remember all those in our lives that have passed on. How grateful we are for the knowledge that we can be with our families forever!!!

We are proud to be an American!