| Travel Log - Indianapolis Authored by Andrew Perna - April 3, 2006 - 7:13 pm
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Thursday March 30th
12:46am – I finally finish packing and get to bed for what would be more of a nap than a good nights’ sleep.
3:39am – My alarm goes off for the third time, and I have to get up and take a much needed ‘wake me up’ shower.
4:25am – We leave the house in the darkness to head to Bradley International in Hartford, Connecticut.
5:37am – We arrive at the airport and go through all the annoying, but necessary, security procedures.
7:06am – We board the plane, full of NCAA coaching staffs and basketball fans, and depart.
8:54am – The plane touches down in Indianapolis. I can smell the hardwood and the fresh Spaulding rubber.
9:13am – We find the rental car, a horrendous white PT Cruiser, and we begin the fun in the Hoosier state.
10:31am – Hotel check-in isn’t until the afternoon so we spend time shopping and checking out the downtown area. My ears haven’t even popped yet and I’ve already spent a couple of hundred of dollars.
12:36pm – Lunch time at Bertolini’s Authentic Trattoria in the Circle Center Mall, excellent choice.
2:11pm – Check into the Courtyard Marriott and crash until it’s time to leave for Conseco Fieldhouse.
4:42pm – Wake up to a call from the Toronto Raptors PR President. After a few minutes on the phone it’s time for another shower and a quick snack.
5:26pm – We leave for downtown and Conseco Fieldhouse.
6:13pm – Conseco is mobbed with people, I count at least a dozen different Reggie jerseys represented by the hundreds of fans waiting for the doors to open.
6:37pm – The doors open, and I realize that the Fieldhouse is even more beautiful than I remember it being.
7:12pm – We take our seats and eat the biggest hot dogs I have ever seen in my life.
8:13pm – The game starts, and before a minute even ticks off of the clock it’s already over.
9:24pm – The retirement ceremony begins. I have goose bumps for twenty minutes straight, which I believe could be some type of world record. Not ashamed to say it was hard not to pull an Adam Morrison in the stands.
10:23pm – With the outcome of the game decided in the first half, we move down early in the fourth quarter to better seats. Pacer fans begin to vocalize their frustration with Jamaal Tinsley and Stephen Jackson.
10:51pm – As I leave Conseco I’m already trying to plan the next time I’ll be able to make the trip out to Indiana to return. I hear comments outside the arena like, “I don’t even think we could have beaten George Mason tonight.”
12:17am – Running on three hours of sleep catches up, as we fall asleep to the television, which had three wonderful stations – including the Weather Channel.
Friday March 31st
10:05am – After breakfast at the hotel we head downtown once again. Rumor is that Reggie will be around town all weekend, but we fail to spot him. The Final Four crowd has arrived as the streets are much busier than the day before.
10:47am – We head to the Convention Center to check out Hoop City, and some of the other Final Four festivities. We rub elbows with Jim Gray, Oscar Robertson, and Rupert from Survivor. Yes, he was wearing a tie-dye shirt.
11:15am – I have my picture taken with the coveted Naismith Trophy.
12:24pm – Still exhausted as Indianapolis becomes New York City with all the traffic and tourists, we decide to check out the outskirts of the city.
12:26pm – After a few minutes of searching in disbelief we come to the realization that our wonderful PT Cruiser has been towed. We call a cab and head two blocks down the road to where it was brought and retrieve it, for a hefty price. Apparently Subway frowns upon using their parking lot when you’re not eating one of their sandwiches.
1:01pm – We walk around another mall near the hotel, and realize coming from the Northeast we walk much faster than Midwesterners, but then again those Midwesterners are much more pleasant than most in the Northeast.
1:47pm – Lunch time at Some Guys Pizza in Indianapolis. Solid pie, but probably wouldn’t stand up on the East Coast.
3:01pm – We head to Wal-Mart to buy another duffle bag to fit all the stuff we bought. Hey, I don’t get to go to Indiana very often.
6:03pm – After a stop back at the hotel we settle on dinner at Sangiovese Restaurant. We couldn’t get enough Italian food.
9:01pm – We head back to our hotel room early to rest for our flight in the morning. After remembering that the room got only three channels, I finish the current issues of Sports Illustrated and DIME Magazine before falling asleep.
12:03am – After finishing both magazines and then tossing and turning in bed for a while I finally glance at the clock for the last time.
Saturday April 1st
4:15am – The alarm sounds and we get up and get ready to check out of the hotel.
5:21am – We load up the car and head to the airport in Indianapolis. We realize the mapquest directions from the hotel to the airport were a lot more direct than the ones from the hotel to downtown Indianapolis.
6:03am – We arrive at the airport and the line at Northwest is literally almost out the door. The highlight of waiting in line for almost an hour was spotting Indianapolis Star reporter Mike Wells, and waiting in line right behind pop star Rihanna (Whose name I couldn’t remember until I consulted my girlfriend by sending her a picture I took with my handy Motorola camera phone).
7:40am – The plane, delayed for a few minutes, is finally boarded and we take off.
9:46am – Back in Connecticut. I immediately miss Indiana.
11:03am – After grabbing our luggage, the car, and an Egg McMuffin, we head home to Fairfield County.
12:31pm – We arrive home, where we get a greeting from the dog that makes me feel like a superstar.
12:31pm – I begin fantasizing about my next vacation to the heartland, and it can’t come soon enough. |
