7/26-29 Indianapolis IN

We are in Indianapolis, Indiana visiting Dan and Deb Christian.  Deb is Diane's sister.  I have known Deb since Diane and I were first dating when we were in college - over 50 years ago.  Visits to Indianapolis bring back a lifetime of memories here in town. After Diane and I were married, we came back every year for holidays and summer visits.  This was especially true after our daughter Erin was born. We wanted to make sure that she had a sense of connection to her Baker relatives.  

Since  Diane's Mom and Dad died, it is her sister, Deb, who has been the anchor that brings us back to the Indianapolis area.  She and Dan live in Whitestown, a  thriving suburb to the northwest of the  city.  We camped at Prophetstown State Park near Battleground, Indiana where the girls' dad was once minister and the family lived.  On the day of our arrival, Dan and Deb came out to visit us.  We did a tour of Battleground to see their Dad's old church, the Loomis house where family friends had lived, and various other sites related to their days living there.  We finished that day with S'mores around a campfire at our site.  

The next two evenings, we moved to their house so we could spend more time together.  We visited the Eiteljorg Museum in Indy.  This is a fabulous museum dedicated to American Indian and Western art.  I captured many images from the fine collection they have. You will see these in the pictures.  We also visited Zionsville, Indiana.  This is another upscale small town to the northwest of Indianapolis.  It has a quaint historic district, fine restaurants, and its own Bentley dealership which has been there seemingly since time immemorial.  

As we were cruising around the city of Indianapolis, my brother-in-law, Dan, brought us by the famous Hinkle Field House at Butler University.  This was where all of the state basketball state championship games were held in the high water days of Hoosier March Madness as captured in the movie Hoosiers. Luckily, the fieldhouse was open and we were able to get a good look around while summer camps for volley ball were being conducted.  

On our final day in Indianapolis, Deb and Dan took us to Fort Benjamin Harrison.  This former Army Base has become a State Park.  The main museum has exhibits that describe the  history of the Fort from it's earliest days right up to today.  While there we also visited the museum of 20th Century Warfare.  They have a large collection of privately donated World War I and II memorabilia.  One of the displays that I found fascinating, compared the tank warfare capabilities of Germany and the Allies during WWII.  The German Tiger Tanks were invulnerable to frontal attack from any and all Allied tanks and anti-tank weapons, but could defeat all Allied tanks in frontal combat assault.   It was a chilling thought that our U.S., British, and Russian Allied Troops were so greatly outgunned and overmatched, yet continued to fight bravely throughout the war. 

Finally, while we were in Indianapolis, Brownie, our mascot bear, got to meet his cousins in the form of the Baker family heirloom stuffed animals  cherished by Baker family members over the years.  We hope you enjoy our pictures. 

Thanks for riding with us!