seein' the drummer perform

Jack, Jr and I spent the last few days in Indiana, Bloomington--which is just outside of Indianapolis--with Jack's mom and brother, driving through the countryside on the way to Indiana University to cheer for the drummer and the other 149 or so performers he's lived with for the past 2 & 1/2 months as members of the Blue Stars Drum & Bugle Corps.

These are ten thoughts from our trip that would be much better in pictures:

1. Indiana is lush and green and beautiful--think North Carolina. It looked like people bought some property, cleared out an area, built a home and then mowed down the part that they wanted to call grass. Nothing like it in Utah. Anywhere.
2. You can drive for miles and miles and not see a single place to buy a diet coke and some tylenol.
3. Also, you can drive immediately out of your hotel parking area and find a Speedway gas/store and find pretty much whatever you need, including diet coke and tylenol. And Oreos. Doublestuff.
4. Five adults may not fit comfortably in a Lincoln Towne Car, but they can fit in a Ford Explorer if it has the extra seat in the back.
5. A Lincoln Towne Car gets the same mileage as a Ford Explorer, approximately 20 mpg, which is not exceptional, but satisfactory for a family of five large people on vacation.
6. For quite a while, I've thought I was a slow walker, but I was wrong. Turns out I'm a very speedy walker.
7. Just south of Indianapolis there is an amazing little town, Columbus, that is so very not like most little towns. When the original townsfolk began building a town, they decided to make sure that the town would have its own style. The buildings were designed with style, and over the years, many famous architects designed buildings and additions to existing buildings to preserve that style. In addition to building after building to look at and admire, the town also decided to encourage the display of art, so everywhere you look, you see sculpture--large pieces and smaller pieces, but all interesting and well suited to Columbus. Sadly, we didn't make it to the gardens of Columbus, but I'm sure they were as delightful as the rest of the town.
8. Any time you find a marching drum & bugle corps field show that includes the music from La Vie En Rose, count me in.
9. Even though global positioning costs only $5 per day, Jack can get us where we need to be safely and on time without it.
10. If you are willing to make a little effort, you can find a Starbucks, visit a 2 1/2 mile race track that is famous for its finish line made of bricks and its high speed racing (well over 200 mph and 180 in the turns), and for $3, you can even take a 15-minute tour bus ride around the track, driving where the racers drive, going all of 35 mph, but still staying up on the banking.

There's lots more to say about the vacation and Indiana, but let's just say that I didn't have to take even one anti-anxiety pill, and we were all still speaking to each other when we dropped off Jack's mom and brother. And the drummer is home for now.