U.S Travel Guide
Indiana — When an Adorable Black Cat Inspired Us to Visit a Small Town
Let me know if you guess which town correctly!
I used to hate driving. COVID-19 changed that.
To step outside the house for a few hours, I would go on long drives. I stayed confined inside my vehicle and never went out on foot. I would get on the highway with no destination in mind and later turn around when I got bored. It was the only safe way I could “travel” during a pandemic! Gasoline was below $2.00 a gallon and hardly any people congested the roads. Little did I know I was building endurance for future road trips!
Fast forward to summer 2021. I announced to my social circle via social media my desire to visit all 50 states. Ohio was already checked off the list!
Indiana… was next!
Good thing I became accustomed to traveling long distances in a car during the lockdowns. Driving back home from Cleveland, Ohio only took two hours. Not bad! Driving to the mystery town and then Indianapolis? Combined, it took 4 hours. This may give you a hint as to the town’s identity…
The same two friends who joined me for the first state, Ohio, also tagged along for the second state, Indiana (as well as the third!). Their names are Nina and Bobby. They’re a couple and they own a cat. Here is what their darling little black fluff ball looks like…
Like most millennials on a road trip, we relied on smartphone navigation to guide us to our destination. Nina was driving and I was in the passenger seat. Two hours into our drive, I grabbed my phone and zoomed up on the map.
ME: “Nina, Bobby, oh my god, you guys! There’s a town along the way we need to stop at!”
NINA: “Really? Why?”
ME: “There is a town that bears the name of one of your cats! We have to go there! It’s only 90 minutes from where we are now!”
For the article, I modified the dialogue to conceal the name of the cat. But now, it’s time to reveal it. If your guess was ‘Kokomo’, pat yourself on the back, because you’re correct!
After I took my friends’ picture, we googled ‘fun things to do in Kokomo’. We weren’t surprised to learn that — no, there isn’t.
Cute reason to see a podunk small town, isn’t it? Well, the cuteness doesn’t stop here! Follow along as I guide you through a fun time in Indianapolis!
Who can resist the smiling face of a cloud? You read that right…
Newfields
See! I told you the cuteness didn’t end with Kokomo! We all joked that we expected to see something like this in a museum in Japan. Nope — a happy cloud will greet you upon entering the art museum on the Newfields campus.
We had such a good time visiting the Cleveland Museum of Art in Ohio so we added another art museum to our itinerary.
What distinguishes Newfields from other museums is its 52-acre outdoor exhibit named “The Garden”. Outdoorsy folks who don’t want to spend much time indoors will enjoy the scenic nature trails. You’ll encounter a wide variety of flowers, and rock sculptures, and can even tour a historic mansion!
If you don’t feel like being outside, the art museum itself is worth the cost of admission, which ranges from $0–20. The variety of art in the museum’s interior caters to a wide range of interests. Art museums can be more just than paintings and sculptures — you may find exhibitions chronicling fashion from a certain era and region.
This next attraction is near downtown and is free…
The Canal Walk
A 3-mile long promenade in Indianapolis you can explore at no expense to your wallet! Water divides the walkways into two sides. The Canal Walk grants you easy access to a variety of restaurants, bars, cafes, hotels, public art, and museums. Of course, the aforementioned are not free, but the walk itself is.
Underneath the arching ridges, you’ll find colorful works of art adorning the walls:
A pattern you’ll notice in my upcoming articles is that I am most drawn to street art when I travel!
Finally, do not end your trip to Indianapolis without visiting…
Mile Square
Mile Square is essentially “downtown Indianapolis”. In addition to the conveniences of a typical downtown (e.g. shopping, restaurants, nightclubs, big business, public events), Indianapolis hosts a variety of options for sports fans. In fact, Indianapolis is best known for an annual automobile racing event called the ‘Indy 500’. Downtown, you can explore a museum celebrating the life of the race.
For a modern downtown, it’s the historical monuments that drive so much foot traffic to Mile Square.
Head to Monument Circle for the best photo opportunities.
Two states down… 48 left to go!
Conclusion
On my blog, I give each state an “experience” rating ranging from one to five stars. Indiana received three stars from me. If you are interested in reading an in-depth review (with more pictures!) of my time in Indiana, please check out the article here!
Have I convinced you to make Indiana your next vacation destination? If you live there or have been there before, which places in Indiana do you fancy visiting? Let me know in the comments!
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