Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 30.2mm, f/3.6, 1/100 sec, ISO1000 “Beer from Indy” Cedar Park, 2022
I never used to bring home food from vacation, except for maybe omiyage (gifts) for others. However, Mariko always does lots of shopping for local foods, and bring them home to enjoy and now I am starting to really appreciate that.
So, packing light in order to have more space in the luggage for goodies is a thing for me. On the latest trip, I brought back several cans of local beer. And let me tell you, the extra effort in bringing it home made it made it much tastier!
Today our trip to Indiana came to an end. Before leaving, though, we had to have one last local beer at the airport. It’s a short flight so I should be able to “hold it” until we arrive in Austin. 😆
Photo info: Apple iPhone 12 mini, 4.2mm, f/1.6, 1/60 sec, ISO100 “Sun King at the Airport” Indianapolis, 2022
It was a fun trip, and I’m looking forward to going again next year!
Photo info: Apple iPhone 12 mini, 4.2mm, f/1.6, 1/1800 sec, ISO32 “White River Pedestrian Bridge” Indianapolis, 2022
It’s the big day today! Koa’s Blue Devils will compete for the the top prize at the DCI Championship Finals!
But first, I started the day with a nice run around the canal area of Indianapolis. The 60°F / 16°C morning was too nice to sleep through! After that, Mariko and I did a bit of sightseeing at the Indiana War Memorial and Museum, which had an amazing exhibit of all the wars that Indiana citizens had taken part in… from the Revolution up to present day. I really liked seeing the old uniforms and shoes that they used to wear.
Photo info: FUJIFILM X-E4, 18mm, f/4.5, 1/2500 sec, ISO320 “Indiana War Memorial and Museum” Indianapolis, 2022
At the top of the building is a shrine. Very solemn and meaningful. Even though I am not from Indiana, I felt a sense of patriotism when standing in this room.
After sightseeing, we went for lunch, then some adult beverages at Metazoa Brewing Co. The beer was great, and it was fun to see so many dogs at this dog-friendly brewery. After that, we delivered some sushi rolls to Koa and the other Japanese kids who are in the Blue Devils. When they were in San Antonio, Mariko made bento and we dropped the food off for them. She knew that they would be craving Japanese food!
We went back to the hotel for a bit and then it was back to Lucas Oil Stadium for the finals competition. The Blue Devils were the favorite to win (I think all 22,000 attendees knew they would win), but the silver medal was up for grabs between The Boston Crusaders and The Blue Coats, who had tied in the semi-finals last night. Who would take the silver?
And guess what? The two drum corps tied again, and they were both awarded silver medals! It was a crazy moment. But I think they were both happy. And then, The Blue Devils received the gold, to no one’s surprise. Even so, I was so nervous for them!
After the ceremony, the field was cleared and The Blue Devils performed their encore “Victory Run”. The kids had so much fun during the last-ever performance of Tempus Blue. And the friends and family in the stands went nuts too! It was really fun! For this performance, the musicians were allowed to wear GoPros so Koa used ours to record his marimba playing, and a multi-cam view was put together as well. Check the bottom of this post for both videos.
Today is the penultimate day of the 2022 DCI Marching Season. The semi-finals for the world class teams will happen this evening, and we have tickets! But first, I woke up to go for a run. I like to bring my running shoes and run on vacation whenever I can. It’s such a nice way to see the city, and since I wake up earlier than my family, I use that extra couple of hours to see some of the local sights solo.
After running and we did a little sightseeing, got lunch, and then went to Lucas Oil Stadium to watch the semi-finals. It was so fun! I’ve heard all the top shows several times before, but it’s still amazing to watch and listen to.
Today we started our vacation trip to Indianapolis, Indiana. We are flying there to watch our son, Koa, compete with The Blue Devils in the DCI 2022 Championships! It’s also my first time to Indiana, so I’m extra-excited.
Photo info: Apple iPhone 12 mini, 4.2mm, f/1.6, 1/1050 sec, ISO32 “Welcome to Indy” Indianapolis, 2022
We arrived at about 5 pm and headed to our hotel, then to a nearby restaurant named Nada. The food was delicious! We had ceviche, tacos, salmon, croquettes, and papas fritas. And of course, we had a few beers to wash it all down. A great first meal in Indy.
After dinner, we walked over to Lucas Oil Stadium where the drum corps will compete. Tonight was the prelims, and we didn’t get tickets for it (we have tickets for the semi-finals and finals later) but we wanted to go meet up with Koa during their practice in the lot. I also had to give Koa my GoPro just in case they win the championship and have a victory encore performance. Fingers crossed!
We haven’t seen Koa in a few weeks so it was nice to say hi and wish him luck in the competition. Go Blue Devils!
After saying goodbye, we went back to our hotel and watched the prelims on the laptop at our room. And good news, they won prelims, so their undefeated season continues. Let hope their run continues tomorrow at semi-finals!
