Visiting for Indy 500 - a few questions

Well it%26#39;s getting closer now - my husband and I are visiting for Indy 500, arriving late Wednesday 23rd , departing Tuesday 29th. Does anyone have any ides for things to do/places to visit during our short trip.Have a rental car so we can get around- happy to see some more rual areas- maybe North if there%26#39;s anything in particular we should try to see.

We have tickets for the downtown parade on Saturday and thought we would see some downtown things before/after the parade. We bought VIP seated tickets so I%26#39;m assuming there isn%26#39;t the same rush to get there hours ahead?

One other question - although we have a rental car we%26#39;ve heard getting anywhere near the Speedway on race day and maybe downtown on Saturday isn%26#39;t going to happen so what%26#39;s our best option. We are staying at the Staybridge Suites in Fishers - is there a good rail link from there to downtown/speedway?

p.s. My husband is most impressed with my choice of seating for the race so thanks to all you guys who gave me tons of advice before Christmas!

Visiting for Indy 500 - a few questions

gill68, where are your race day seats? If they are in the turn 4 area I can help you park close to the track and get out with out to much trouble.

fishbones

Visiting for Indy 500 - a few questions

You might want to try the canal walk in downtown Indianapolis. I have heard that it is really nice and you can rent bikes or see it on water by renting a pedal boat.

As far as up north, there is Conner Prairie located right in Fishers. This is an outdoor history museum. I have never been there, but have heard it is neat.

With a rental car, if you%26#39;re interested in horse racing, you could drive up to Hoosier Park in Anderson.

Also, if you like to shop, you can visit several malls around the city including Castleton Mall, The Fashion Mall, or Circle Centre.

I hope someone else can help you with race day parking. You are correct that it will be very busy in Speedway.

I hope you enjoy your trip to Indianapolis.

You%26#39;re staying in a very nice area of suburban Indianapolis. There are plenty of very nice restaurants nearby. The normal chain restaurants are just about all in that area (the I-69 corridor running northeast from Indy) and in the nearby Keystone at the Crossing, Castleton, and Carmel areas (all kind of in the same suburban blob).

Actually, downtown Indy will not be unbearably crowded at all on Saturday - it%26#39;s very festive on or near the circle on that day and would be a good place to be (many very nice restaurants in that area too).

I agree with the previous posts with regard to things to do in the area. Conner Prairie is a very nice, somewhat bucolic, way to spend a couple of hours on a nice spring day. Another outdoor activity that can be very nice on a beautiful spring day is a trip to Turkey Run State Park - about 35 minutes west of Indy. There are very nice hiking trails in this wooded and hilly (for Indiana ...) park. Sandstone, shale, and limestone cliffs line Sugar Creek as it runs along the park. You can rent canoes in Crawfordsville and make the trip from that little town down Sugar Creek to Turkey Run - or just drive to Turkey Run and hike around.

There also are several indoor carting facilities in the city, including one at 96th and Keystone (near the Keystone/I-465 interchange). There is also a Fast Times Racing center on the near east side of the city, with large ';parking lot'; type race track allowing you to take SCCA type open-cockpit sports cars for a fairly lengthy spin (with instruction). These can be great activities to get you in the spirit of the race.

Unfortunately, Indianapolis is a late comer to the mass transit scene, and does not yet have light rail at all (save for a pseudo-monorail running between the I.U. Medical Center and Methodist Hospital).

Where is your seating? - just curious what you ended-up choosing ... There are public and private bus services offering escorted bus travel to and from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on race day. Some hotels, restaurants, and bars offer such services. To check out the public bus service loading points, here%26#39;s the web address to Indy-Go (formerly, Indianapolis Metro):

indygo.net/special_events/2007_IMSraces.htm

I%26#39;m still trying to find out which hotels/restaurants/bars offer private coach service to the race.

Some great restaurants to consider:

North/Northeast Suburban Area - Peterson%26#39;s (my favorite in the city), Sullivans Steakhouse, Cibo (fantastic new Italian restaurant), Ambrosia (in Broad Ripple - a great bar/restaurant area to just walk around), Scotty%26#39;s Brewhouse (excellent bar food in a clean modern sports bar type environment), and MUCH MORE.

Downtown Indy Area - Palomino (very high end chain), Oceanaire (wonderful seafood, very high-end chain), Morton%26#39;s (high end steakhouse chain), Slippery Noodle (bar food, live jazz, very nice local establishment), and a number of very nice restaurants on Indy%26#39;s new hotspot ';Mass. Avenue'; - including Elements, Scholar%26#39;s Inn, and Bazbeaux%26#39;s Pizza).

Have a great time!

In Fishers you%26#39;ve got restaurants. That Staybridge has a nice pool and basketball court. There is also good shopping at Castleton and a great movie theater showing rare releases at Keystone at the Crossing.

Directions to IMS from Fishers on race day: Take I-69 South to I-465 West. Take I-465 West to I-465 South (right two lanes.) Get off at next exit, Exit 23, 86th Street. Go left (east) to Zionsville Road. Turn right (south) onto Zionsville Road and follow till it ends at 62nd Street. Turn right (west) onto 62nd Street and follow around the bend till it merges with Lafayette Road. Go straight to merge with Lafayette Road. Turn right onto Georgetown Road (used car lot, two lights past Tom Wood Toyota. Follow IMPD%26#39;s directions to the Northwest lot. Total Drive Time: 45 minutes.

Thanks guys, I%26#39;ll have a look into the suggestions, like the idea of the canal walk and I%26#39;m quite keen on horse racing so that may also be an option.

Our tickets are in the Southwest Vista, section 18, row T - not sure if that%26#39;s good or bad as far as parking nearby goes!

If it%26#39;s a nice day definitely do the Canal walk. Be sure to walk far enough north to see the U.S.S. Indianapolis Memorial. It%26#39;s about a one mile walk and is on the east side of the canal. Traffic downtown won%26#39;t be bad. There will be a little bit of a jam before and rigfht after the parade. There is plenty of parking race day. You can park in a business lot or find a homeowners yard to park in. Expect to pay $10-$20. Your seats sound great. Youll get to see all 33 coming towards you in Turn 1. Davein Indy can probably give you a better description of your seats. There is a restaurant at 82nd and 465 up towards where you are staying called The Loon Lake (I think they have a website). It%26#39;s great food at great atmosphere. On the westside not to far from the track at 38th and Dandy Trail is Rick%26#39;s Boatyard Cafe. Same goes for it. The horse track in Anderson is an easy drive from Fishers. Not sure whether they have throughbreds or the harness racing going on now.

I%26#39;ve sat nearly in those seats for several 500%26#39;s and a Brickyard or two. They are very good seats, in that you%26#39;ll see all of the action through Turn One, the short-chute, and Turn Two. And you%26#39;ll probably see cars coming down the hundred yards or so of the main straight (diving into the turn). The pit exit lane is right in front of you too.

If you choose to drive to the track, and can wind your way into one of the parking lots either on 10th Street or 16th Street (the Speedway Shopping Center - a ghost-town of an empty strip mall now - but a large parking lot used for the race), you%26#39;ll be pretty close to your seats and not have too bad of a drive out afterwards. 10th Street is one of the arteries that is used for escorted buses and limosines, but I always manage to take side streets and weasel my way onto that street around a barricade (the police haven%26#39;t seemed to mind ...) and then cruise west on 10th St. until I hit the parking lot on Polco St. - about 1/4 mile or so after Tibbs Ave and on the right. It%26#39;s two long blocks south of the track, but as you walk up Polco St (and through a little warehouse area - don%26#39;t worry, there will be a decent crowd walking along with you) you%26#39;ll dump out onto 16th St. right where the gate for your seats will be. It might be a little dodgy trying to pull this off without being as familiar with the area (and as willing to drive around police barricades) as I am. Of course, you have the advantage of having a Scottish accent - - lay on the brogue and the cops will probably be charmed enough to let you right onto the street (well, I%26#39;m assuming you%26#39;re Scottish rather than expats). If you try the 16th St. lots, you%26#39;ll have to leave quite a bit early to avoid the heavy traffic in that area.

Have fun.

A great place to park is O%26#39;brien Floor Covering. It%26#39;s on 16th St about a half mile from the main gate on the southside of the street. If you park there you might even get some classic frameable pictures that include Jim Clark, Mark Donahue, and A J Foyt. The proprietor there (that%26#39;s me) likes to try to make the out of towners feel at home.

And by the way, I hope everyone roots for the underdog team, PDM RACING, they don%26#39;t have their driver secure yet but the always seem to make the race. A bunch of good guys who deserve a good bbreak!

Hope your flying the flag for Dario...!!!! Good to see folk going to Indy from here.

I%26#39;m in Indy for all the three races who knows we might meet up.Which airport are you flying from?

Gill68 -

If you%26#39;re still checking this forum, I was over at the Speedway today taking some photos for my business - I remembered your seating area (SW Vista, Sec. 18 Row T) and took some photos of the views from those seats. Very oddly, we had tickets in Sec. 18 and Row T for three years in a row in the mid 90%26#39;s. They%26#39;re outstanding seats - you%26#39;ll see plenty of action, including the cars diving into Turn One, all the way through the South Chute (right in front of you) through Turn Two.

To see them, just click on my ID Name (';Dave in Indy';) and go to my photos - there are three of them.

They were getting the track and the stands all spiffied up for opening weekend - starting to get Race Fever here in Indy.