A Pitstop in Indianapolis: Pacing Our Way Through the Silence

Indianapolis, Indiana

Wednesday, June 30, 2021 – Thursday July 1, 2021

Written 2/22/26

Part of a longer trip that was paired with Cincinnati, Ohio

Prep work

This was our first trip after the pandemic restrictions loosened up.  With this in mind, I didn’t plan an aggressive itinerary. Instead, my planning took into account being flexible, and conscientious of what places may or may not be open or following their pre-pandemic schedules. Our plans were simple, a one-night stay in a historic hotel and a tour of the Indianapolis Speedway (if possible). Where we ate our meals would be arranged on the fly or when we arrived at our destination. We also had our masks and packed a couple of extras so that we didn’t self-limit ourselves if places were requiring masks.

My partner was the driver for this trip. It was the first long drive he made with his car.

A Quick Drive from City to City

Earlier in the week we visited Cincinnati, Ohio for a few days, and the plan was to spend Wednesday exploring Indianapolis and start our drive home to New York on Thursday. The drive time from Cincinnati to Indianapolis is approximately 90 minutes. The weather was overcast with lots of wind and rain. Not torrential, just inconvenient. Like, it kind of put the kibosh on outdoor activities. It rained throughout our whole time in Cincinnati, so we were already in “damp” mode.

Views from the road on our way to Indianapolis

What I did not know at the time was that the Indianapolis Speedway wasn’t in Indianapolis, it’s in a town nearby called Speedway which is about 5 miles from the city of Indianapolis. We arrived at the raceway in Speedway around 1PM. The parking lot was incredibly large. I mean it makes sense, but it hadn’t crossed my mind until we drove into this vastly vacant parking lot. The pandemic also made online information less reliable, so we waited to purchase our tickets until we arrived. While my partner looked up ticket information, I looked up places to eat. Just in case we had to wait for a later tour, we could have lunch to fill in our wait time. But luckily, a tour was open and starting within the hour!

Our tour group was approximately 20 people. The tour guide took great care to follow current protocols, by slowing down the tour so we didn’t overlap with other groups and making sure that when we rode in the elevator in smaller groups. A lot of the tour was in large open rooms, for instance, we saw and stood inside the media center where the journalists, broadcast crews and photographers would be during races and significant newsworthy events. The area had floor to ceiling windows that overlooked the racetrack. While we were there, we saw cars being test driven around the track. Also, far in the distance, there was a great view of the Indianapolis skyline. Our guide was very knowledgeable and seemed to enjoy what he did. He spoke about the original owner of the racetrack and his successors. Our guide also pointed out that there was a golf course built on the raceway grounds.

After the tour we looked around in the museum where my partner spotted a racecar that you could sit in, so he hopped in just to get the view. Our last stop was at the gift shop, where we bought T-shirts, magnets, and a key chain. The tour in total was approximately 40 minutes and in 2022 the cost was $25 per person which included the tour and walking through the museum.  

Photo 1: Our approach to the raceway from the parking lot entrance.

Photo 2: Media area inside the raceway

Photo 3: Skyline view of Indianapolis from the raceway building.

Late Lunch at Barbecue and Bourbon

We went to the historic district of Speedway, to try a barbecue place called Barbecue and Bourbon. When we were there, it was a small place, more like a bar than a restaurant. Tons of atmosphere! There were fun trinkets and décor on the walls with fun sayings. The barbecue pit was outside the back of the building. Our waitress and everyone who walked by our table were so friendly. It wasn’t crowded but there was a lot of hustle and bustle. I think they had a lot more take-out orders than people dining in.

 My partner and I are so familiar with ordering from barbecue places that it was a fast discussion. We ordered two meals to share. One was St. Louis ribs with sides of baked beans and mac and cheese. I mean, ya gotta try the ribs! The other was a 3-meat meal: pulled pork, beef brisket, and a smoked sausage with potato salad and green beans. We started with a potato skins appetizer. While we waited for our meal, we tossed around the idea of walking around the historic area afterwards. It had been a nicely paced day, and this downtime at the table matched our vibe perfectly.

As planned, we had leftovers. Which was fine, it was only 5PM and we were unsure what eateries might be open in Indianapolis on a Wednesday night near the hotel later.  Sadly, the weather was chilly and dreary with light rain as we exited the restaurant. At that point we decided to put a pin on our walk and leave it for our “something to come back for”. We made our way towards the hotel instead.

Photo 1: behind the bar at Barbecue and Bourbon

Photo 2: wall decor at Barbecue and Bourbon

Photo 3: inside Barbecue and Bourbon

Into Indianapolis We Go

Our destination for the night was the Crowne Plaza Indianapolis Downtown Union Station. I chose this hotel specifically because it is built inside the old Union Station building. Additionally, they offer the option to rent a room on a train car inside the building. We did not do that, but I did want to see it. Thirdly, there was a Tesla charging station in one of the parking garages nearby which could benefit us the night before the drive back to NY.

As we left the restaurant we drove towards the Union Station Garage which was two blocks away from the hotel. When we arrived in the area, we noticed a lot of street closures and construction. This did not affect our parking, but it did completely mess up our walk to the hotel with our luggage and leftovers. Plus, the crappy weather didn’t lighten our sense of adventure.

We might have made a wrong turn and missed the temporary entrance due to the construction, or we just walked past it, but we found a side door and were able to enter that way. I believe it was near the ballroom. Maybe not the most conventional way to get into the hotel, but it was warmer and less windy. We also got to see a lot of the inside of the hotel that maybe we wouldn’t have if we entered the traditional way.

This place was amazing. As I mentioned, you can reserve a room on a train inside the hotel that was still sitting on tracks. In many corners of the hotel there were white statues of people from all walks of life casually going about their business in say the early 1900s. Someone must’ve had fun deciding where each of these “people” went because you’d just come upon them. Even after checking in, we left our room and spent a couple of hours exploring the hotel. We went to the conference area, and down a hall where it looked like a party room was half set up.

Did I mention the hotel was empty? It was ridiculously quiet, the whole place. We only saw other guests twice. A young couple near the train rooms and a father and two children in the pool. Even as we walked the floors and halls, complete silence. We didn’t even see any workers in the halls, only in the check-in area and that was a very brief interaction. It was like we had the whole place to ourselves. With the décor being out of another century, it was a little unsettling, almost like being in a Twilight Zone episode.

Photo 1: Entering the Wholesale District (where our hotel was located)

Photo 2: One of the many white statues inside the hotel (they are trying to hop the train)

Photo 3: Inside the hotel room

Time to Say Goodbye to Indiana

It was time for us to wrap up our visit to Indianapolis and Indiana and drive back to New York. Before we left, we drove to a little coffee shop Henry’s Coffee Bistro for breakfast (seems to be permanently closed). It was at 627 N East Street and in a somewhat residential area with apartment buildings and houses nearby. It was about a 10-minute drive from the hotel and let us sight see a little more in Indianapolis. It was a nice little place but mostly a counter for take-out when we were there, although they did have two little tables outside. We bought breakfast sandwiches and coffee and sat in the car, so my partner wasn’t trying to drive and eat at the same time.  

Back to New York we go.

Things I learned from planning this trip: Indianapolis can be a day trip from Cincinnati and vice versa. That made tacking on an overnight visit to Indianapolis while we were in Cincinnati a no-brainer.

Things I learned from attending this trip: The Indianapolis Raceway isn’t in Indianapolis. It’s in Speedway, Indiana. Indianapolis isn’t in enough conversations. Although our visit was during the 2^nd year of the pandemic, the streets were quiet and the downtown area had a lot of construction so they must be revitalizing. I don’t know if I’d recommend everyone to wait to purchase tickets for the speedway tour. That might not work out for large parties or anyone on a time crunch. Although our visit to area was brief, we left with a lot of fun memories.

Go back for more! I want to spend more time in the historic district of Speedway and explore. Also visit Indianapolis and the surrounding area for more than an overnight stay.

Some information, such as baseball game information and directions were sought by using ChatGPT or Perplexity. Brainstorming blog post titles too!