Flyover states. They're a real thing.
The title of ‘flyover state’ isn’t something to be proud of, but to some extent, it's not as if some states can help it – you have to fly over quite a lot of the central states if you wish to get across America in anything resembling good time (and this will remain the case, at least until Elon Musk extends his network of tunnels from Las Vegas to the entire continent).
But this whole flyover state thing got me thinking…
…if everyone is flying to the coasts, and the more central states are less visited, doesn't that mean that you're more likely to find “real America” here?
Isn't this where Uncle Sam takes his hat off and sits down for a real American dinner, chewing the fat with friends over the baseball scores? This requires more investigation.
Indiana ranks 13th as a flyover state. Not number one. That’s West Virginia. Not number two. That’s Kansas. 13. That’s not too bad.
These things are measured by the ratio of flights over the state compared to how many flights actually land. In Indiana, around 1 in every 17 planes overhead make a stop at one of the state’s airports. Now we should start with a reminder to purchase travel insurance and know where to find a personal injury lawyer local to you while traveling, but other than that, let’s get going.
The Children’s Museum (that isn’t just for kids!)
It's called the Children's Museum, but it's for people who are interested in cool stuff of all ages. And when I say cool stuff, I mean REALLY cool stuff. For a start, there's a dinosaur statue stretched up against the outside of the building, peering into the top floor window. That's fun.
Then, there's Dracorex Hogwartsia. You might want to read that again. Yep. It's a fossilized dinosaur skeleton that looks so much like a dragon that the local townsfolk actually named it “Hogwarts Dragon” but in a fancy Latin-esque spelling (JK Rowling herself gave permission for the name, and was said to be honored).
Dinosaurs are not your thing? There's also exhibits on space, American pop culture, dance, and all sorts of other amazing things – you'll never get around it all in a day.
Hit the Cultural Trail
Indianapolis is home to the Cultural Trail.
Eight miles of winding signposted pathways around the city center, taking in cultural districts, local shops, neighborhoods, and nine pieces of public art (some big enough to walk under). There are daily tours and you can even rent a bike if you don’t feel like hiking all eight miles of the trail on foot.
When you’ve seen New York and you and you’re still saving up for Vegas, Indianapolis presents the perfect alternative American vacation.