Monday, June 26, 2006

Prairie Tunes

What an idyllic weekend here in sunny Central Indiana. This was one of the most pleasant weekends in recent memory for Erin and me. Saturday night we took in the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra at Symphony on the Prairie out at Conner Prairie. This is a great annual experience. You load up a cooler with enough food for roughly 4 times the number of actual people in your party, you carry said cooler for approximately 6 miles from the parking lot, you place cooler on a hillside at a 15% grade, and then you spend the next 4 hours listening to the symphony while gorging yourself and trying to maintain your position on the hillside. It really is a great time, and it was nice to spend the evening with both sets of our parents. The music for the evening was favorites from television and movies. Therefore each piece was a movie theme or intro to a TV show. On the way out of the park, I heard someone say "Each song was just too long." Methinks this particular Hoosier might be better suited for "Short Attention Span Theater."

On Sunday, Erin and I got up bright and early at 9:30am and headed for a hike at Turkey Run State Park. For my money (which in this case is about $35 for a yearly pass) Indiana has a very nice state park system. Turkey Run is one of my favorites though. The park has some beautiful natural features, and Sugar Creek runs through it providing some excellent canoeing. Maybe on our next trip out there I'll try and get some pictures. Erin and I hiked up three different creekbeds, all of which had an abundance of water and great scenery present. Luckily the day was overcast and cool, which kept the crowds at a tolerable level. We packed up around 1:30pm and headed for the car, which was fortunate since it almost immediately started raining heavily.

On the way home, our first goal was to get some food. This turned out to be easier said than done, as there ain't much surrounding Turkey Run. We ended up at this great little drive-in called The Big Berry in Bellmore, Indiana. Cheeseburgers and ice cream consumed, back to the car. All in all, a great weekend. We're excited to head back out to Turkey Run in the coming weekends. It's only about an hour from our house, and it really does make you feel like you're on vacation. Plus we got to see a snake eat a frog in its natural habitat. What more can you ask for?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

After you spend an evening partaking of said extra food and beverage, there's nothing quite like laying on the ground under the stars with your head facing down the 15% grade. It offers a wonderful recap of the previously mentioned provisions, plus the ensuing head rush can enhance the orchastral enlightenment. Enevitably, the 4 families around you have carried in campfire size citronella candles, thereby forcing the entire population of mosquitos ( already upset that they put a band shell in the middle of their field ) onto the 4sq feet of blanket space that you had to scowl at a young child to procure. ahh, yes, Indiana in the summer. Culture and critters.