TRAVEL: New Yorkers visit the Heartland
By Kevin - Posted June 5, 2010
On Friday, May 21st, Kathy, Shanna, Kevin and I embarked on a 13 state, 2700 mile journey to explore the Midwest and a little of the South.
We reached our first destination, Indianapolis, Indiana, on Saturday evening, relaxed in the pool and prepared for our visit to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I remembered visiting the speedway in 1972 so I was looking forward to seeing it again. Our first stop was the Motor Speedway Museum, which was filled with cars from past Indy 500 and Brickyard 400 races. It was a lot of fun seeing some of the cars that I remember winning the races when I was younger, like those of Al Unser Jr, Gordon Johncock and Tom Sneva. Along with the older cars were some newer ones like Danica Patrick's first Indy car.
After touring the museum, we walked to the track infield, where the National Guard was giving tours of some modern and Vietnam-era helicopters. Then it was on to the hill overlooking the racetrack where many of the drivers were qualifying and practicing for the upcoming Indy 500.
That evening, it was on to Chicago, Illinois.
During the drive through Indiana, we came upon the Benton County Windmill Farm, which is a collection of around 100 giant windmills spread out over thousands of acres of farmland. It was a pretty amazing sight, which oddly reminded me of War of the Worlds.
(Click any photo for a larger view.)
Tuesday we headed off to the Anheuser Busch Brewery and 'Beer School'. For beer school, we were brought into a classroom where we learned a lot of things about the different types of beers - how they are made, what types of foods go well with them, etc. - enjoying samples of each, and receiving our 'Beermasters' diplomas. After the class was complete, we toured the brewery, saw the infamous Clydesdale horses, watched the packaging line and finished up the tour with more free samples. That night we all relaxed in the Union Station hotel. It was nice having one day with no driving!
Wednesday we went to see the St Louis Arch. I remembered visiting this during our motor-home trip in 1972 and was looking forward to reaching the top of the arch again. The elevator, or 'pod' ride, up to the top was just what I remembered. Small, cramped, and a bit nerve-racking.
I don't think sitting in a tiny egg-shaped elevator was the highlight of the trip for Kathy or Shanna, but we all made it up to the top and enjoyed the incredible view of St Louis. Afterward, Kevin and I watched the documentary on the arch's construction. I'm pretty sure it's the same movie I had seen back in 1972, but it was fun and very interesting to see how the arch was built.
We were planning on taking a steamboat cruise down the Mississippi river after that, but the river had flooded earlier in the week, so all the cruises were shut down until the river receded. After a little more sightseeing, it was off to our next destination, Memphis, Tennessee.
Friday morning we headed out early and drove into Nashville. We stayed right in the heart of downtown Nashville, overlooking the Ryman theater (the original Grand Ole Opry) and the Bridgestone center (home of the Nashville Predators Hockey team). We spent the rest of the day walking around and visiting the many shops, listening to the live music being played in each of the bars, or 'honky tonks'.
Saturday we had breakfast at the famous 'Pancake Pantry', a Nashville hotspot for breakfast, signified by the constant line of people waiting to get in! It was only about a 20 minute wait, and well worth it!
Monday morning we headed into downtown Chicago. We walked through Millennium park on a quest to find the giant bean, a sculpture recommended to Shanna as a must-see. The park was beautiful with a lot of different sculptures.
After the park, we wandered through downtown Chicago before heading to the Navy Pier for lunch. The Navy pier was a bit like South Street Seaport, with lots of shops and restaurants along Lake Michigan. It was a beautiful, hot summer day and the cool breeze off the lake was very refreshing.
We arrived in St Louis late Monday evening, greeted by the glowing St Louis Arch.
We stayed at the Union Station Hotel, which was a old converted train station. The hotel was absolutely amazing and made us feel as though we were back in the days when the railroads were the main method of travel.
Thursday morning we went to visit Graceland, in Memphis. Although I've never been a huge Elvis fan, I felt that Graceland is a place you need to visit at least once in your life. We toured the Graceland mansion, Elvis' car museum and his private planes. The whole tour was handled very smoothly and tastefully, giving us all a real insight to Elvis' life and a new appreciation for him and his work.
Then we drove to Centennial park and visited the Parthenon, an exact replica of the original Parthenon in Greece. From there we visited music row, which are two streets lined with nothing but record companies, both large and small.
Then it was on to the Country Music Hall of Fame. We toured the museum for several hours, seeing all sorts of memorabilia from country stars of the past and present. From Johnny Cash's first guitar to Taylor Swifts' 2009 CMA award.
After the hall of fame, we tried to drive by the Grand Ole Opry. We knew it was closed due to the terrible flooding Nashville had weeks before, but we hoped to get to see it anyway. However, when we got off the highway, we were greeted by a security guard who informed us that the road leading to the Opry had collapsed, and no one was allowed anywhere near it. The guard told us that where we were at that time was twelve feet under water just a few weeks ago. We did catch a glimpse of it as we drove out of Nashville, and all of us hope that it can be repaired and reopened sometime soon. Hopefully in time for our next visit!!
Saturday night we stayed in a small town in West Virginia and Sunday we drove back to New York. All in all, it was an incredible trip. It's pretty amazing to see just how big the country is, and wonderful to meet so many friendly people along the way. Such a different way of life than in New York, and something that can only be experienced on a road trip like this one.
2700 miles is a long way to drive, but every minute of it was worth it, and the memories will last forever!!!
After spending several hours there, we took a short drive into Mississippi for dinner and an evening at the hotel pool before heading for our last stop, Nashville!