Going to Indy with Dad

[lhuff]

I'm heading out next Wednesday to go to the US Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I've mentioned on here before that I went to this race last year, Michelin brought the wrong tires, race didn't happen, but that I received a full refund that I applied to this years tickets plus two extra tickets. Well, my sister and I invited our Dad.

I'm not concerned about what to do with him at the races, it's going to be more of a problem trying to find him and keep him from getting arrested for stalking David Couthard.

Daddy Huff doesn't ride well and wants to get to Indy as fast as possible. I've finally gotten him to agree to one excursion going and one coming home. We're going to take Highway 3 from Bossier City to I-30, I-30 to I-40 in Little Rock, and I-40 to I-65 in Knoxville(?) (I think - don't have my map in front of me).

Finally - here is my question. Does anyone know of any cool things not far off the interstate along our route? I'm thinking mostly of cool natural wonders or historic buildings, battles, etc. My dad is in good shape, but won't want to do a lot of bending due to his knees and is hard of hearing so it can't be anything that requires listening. And unlike my sister and I, tacky tourist trap things do not enthrall him.

Thanks,

Laura

[AZBuck]

A couple of 'excursions' on scenic roads that might interest your dad are Shiloh and Fort Donelson. Both were critical battles in the Civil War, entail scenic drives, are not terribly far off the interstates, and are roughly halfway between Bossier City and Indianapolis.

Shiloh National Military Park is just south of Crump, TN and can be reached (north bound) by taking US-64 east out of Memphis and then TN-22 from Crump. The scenic way back onto the interstates would then be to go back up to US-64 east, then use TN-203 to the Natchez Trace Parkway into the Nashville area.

Fort Donelson National Battlefield is in Dover, TN just south of the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area. I'd suggest taking (southbound) US-62 west from Elizabethtown, KY and then KY-453 and TN-49 to Dover, then use US-71 and US-641 to reconnect with I-40.

AZBuck

[Mark Sedenquist]

Daddy Huff doesn't ride well and wants to get to Indy as fast as possible. I've finally gotten him to agree to one excursion going and one coming home. We're going to take Highway 3 from Bossier City to I-30, I-30 to I-40 in Little Rock, and I-40 to I-65 in Knoxville(?)

Laura, why are you going all the way over to Knoxville (other than to see it???). Oh, wait a minute -- you mean Nashville! Do you think he would for for a professional bath? Hot Springs NP is on the way. If you do the treatment, it takes about two hours and getting bathed by a non-nurse, but still professional bather would give him all sorts of things to talk about!

Oh, oh. I just checked the NPS site and the historic bathhouses seem to be closed. bummer!

Has he ever seen the Arch at St. Louis? It is very cool to ride up and the movie shown in the visitor center is cool.

Mark

[lhuff]

to get a bath.

Thanks for the laugh Mark. My Dad was raised on a cotton farm in east Louisiana and has to be bodily dragged to the barber twice a year. Somehow I don't think that would have gone over well even if the bathhouses were open.

St. Louis - that's a route I never considered. I'll have to ponder that one. Actually - I don't think any of us has seen the arch. Well - I take that back, my dad may have. He used to go on a lot of business trips and has seen most of the major cities in the country.

AZbuck - I talked to him about your suggestions and he seemed really interested in Shiloh. He's a major history buff. That would make the third civil war battlefield that Lianne and I have visited in the past couple of years. The first two (Gettysburg and Vicksburg) were random off our track excursions done on the spur of the moment. Both times we left wishing that we had brushed up on the finer points of the battles before the tour. This would give us an opportunity to do that.

[RoadTripper 101]

Hi,
The arch in St. Louis is really worth the stop. Not only can you ride to the top, there is a wonderful western expansion museum in the base. The park is also easy to get to off of Interstate 70 and an easy walk to the Mississippi River. Have a nice trip.
Diana

[AZBuck]

Oddly enough, my visit to Shiloh was also at the behest of a friend who was a serious Civil War history buff. He 'collected' visits to the battlefields, and on a cross-country trip once, he got to a few more as we came up through Arkansas and Tennessee. Shiloh has a very good museum explaining the battle and the maneuvering that led up to it as well as the well preserved and annotated battlefield. It was in Shiloh's museum, that I got my most telling lesson on the South being different when a young boy, presumably an American, having listened to the story of how the South had numerical superiority and the tactical advantage, but still fell to the Union, asked his father "But dad, how could we lose?

AZBuck

[lhuff]

A grand time was had by all. Daddy Huff has announced, though that although this was a wonderful experience, all he wants is a button from next years race, not a stadium seat.

We got off to a slow start due to a Union Pacific train that was parked and blocking our exit from my neighborhood for at least two hours (grr). So, Shiloh was out of the window. We did, however, stop at the Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Very cool stop and fit right in with the purpose of our trip. (The corvettes' just won their division race at Le Mans a couple of weeks ago).

Somewhere in Tennessee I received a phone call from my mother asking me why I had left a bunch of shirts in my washer. I shall not repeat the expletive I uttered.

I left all of my shirts at home.

So, I bought a shirt at the Corvette Museum and spent lots of money at the Ferarri booth at Indy. Goodness, what I'd give for a brain.

We saw the Formula BMW races, Porshe races and the Indy Pro Series (Marco Andretti was in this race last year). In between these races were practice and qualifying for Formula One and then finally the race. We saw Ferarri driver, Michael Schumacher set the record for most races won at the speedway by any individual (5 if you're curious).

So I put around 1700 miles on my car, saw a spectacular race, participated in an open rivalry with my chief travel companion (she's a Renualt fan), and spent quality time with our father (a Red Bull Fan) - yeah - we got lots of laughs.

[Mark Sedenquist]

I left all of my shirts at home.

I guess you contributed to the care and feeding of the local economy!

Goodness, what I'd give for a brain.

Nah, we enjoy the alternative too much for that!

So I put around 1700 miles on my car, saw a spectacular race, participated in an open rivalry with my chief travel companion (she's a Renualt fan), and spent quality time with our father (a Red Bull Fan) - yeah - we got lots of laughs.

Glad it worked out!

Happy 4th!

Mark

[PNW Judy]

I left all of my shirts at home.

Hysterical!!

I'm so glad you had fun in spite of this. And, what great souveniers all those t-shirts will make from your trip.

Sounds like a lovely time. So, who was happier with the race results? The Renault fan or you? (And what car are you a fan of. I seem to have missed that. The Corvette?)

[lhuff]

And by a lot.

So - I was the happiest one. You can see pictures of the race at http://www.f1racing.net or http://www.formula1.com if you'd like.

I rooted for the Corvettes when I was at the Houston Grand Prix - they run in the American Le Mans Series.