There's not really much that I can say about Indiana. I always kind of thought of Indiana as Illinois' kid brother. This picture shows the only time I have been to the Hoosier State. While in Cincinnati, Ohio, I drove out on I-74 to the state line so that I could say that I have been to Indiana and, of course, snap this photo.

I continued on I-74 for two exits, about six miles. I was debating the entire trip whether to go to Indianapolis, and I declined mostly because of time constraints. I now wish I had gone, since it was only another 80 miles up the road, but I guess this will provide the incentive to plan another road trip.

This is a pretty good sign. It is very colorful, with large letters. Its slogan is "Crossroads of America." And indeed, if you look at a road map of Indiana, no less than five different Interstate highways converge from all directions at Indianapolis. It has an outline of the state with the second "i" in Indiana dotted with a little sun pattern. If they had more room to work with on this sign I can only assume that they would have tried to put that dot where Indianapolis would be. One interesting thing about this sign which isn't indicated in this picture, is that in the median of I-74 (westbound only) there is a simple green sign that says "State Line." The curious thing is that following that sign across the eastbound lanes to the shoulder, as well as the point where the pavement changes, it is possible that this sign is actually in Ohio, east of the border by a foot or two.

Anyway, I left Indiana (which it appears increasingly likely that Bobby Knight will soon do as well). I did feel a little unfulfilled, that somehow my visit to the 19th state didn't really count. But soon I shall be on the road again, and I shall avenge that notion.

May 12, 2000

I did finally make it to Indianapolis on my St. Louis trip. I was hoping to make it to Indy on the first day, but was unable to because of a nearly one-hour road closure in Pennsylvania that cost some valuable time. Plus I had forgotten to charge my camera battery, so there's that, too.

While I was there I walked around and took some pictures of the city. On the way out just by happenstance I passed by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which from the outside looks like the back of a set of high school football bleachers.

The Indiana State Capitol is located at North Capitol Avenue and West Market Street, just two blocks west of the heart of downtown. The current statehouse was built between 1880 and 1888 after the previous capitol had fallen into a state of complete disrepair and was condemned and demolished. Its 1888 completion just happened to coincide with the election that year of the only Hoosier to serve in the White House, Benjamin Harrison. Vincennes was the first territorial capital; the first state capital was Corydon when Indiana entered the Union in 1816. Nine years later the seat of government was moved to Indianapolis.

September 10, 2005