A Capital Evening

Yesterday my husband and I were in Indianapolis (or Indy) to watch the Bloomington High School South football team play at the home of the Indianapolis Colts, Lucas Oil Stadium. But more on that in a later blog post.

First, we had to officially celebrate my dear husband's nomination to receive the 33rd degree of Scottish Rite Free Masonry.

So I made reservations for two at McCormick and Schmick's in downtown Indy.

That was the easy part. Then we had to drive up there and find a place to park, some where between the stadium and the restaurant and then walk to the restaurant before our reserved time. Oh, and as it happened, this was also the weekend of the MotoGP race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) this weekend, so motorcycles of all sorts were cruising or racing through the streets of downtown.

The web site assures us that each restaurant is individually tailored and decorated to suit the tastes of the locale. Since this is the only one I have ever visited (and this is my first visit) I wouldn't know. Guess I'm just a rube.

The friendly waiter informed us that the menu is printed each day according to what is available. At the end of the meal I asked for a copy of the menu and he happily complied while cautioning me that the next time the menu would be quite different. That's okay. I think I grasp the concept.


After some thought, I finally ordered an 8 oz. glass of Chateau Ste. Michelle Riesling, Washington.




My husband ordered a Whiskey Sour.

After perusing the daily menu, we both opted to start with a garden salad in an edible salad bowl. I ordered balsamic vinaigrette while my husband had bleu cheese dressing with his.

A hunk of freshly baked bread also arrived at the table.

Then our entrees arrived. I had ordered Maine Lobster from Boothbay Harbor, Maine. It's always nice to know where my food comes from. *Wink, wink*

At any rate, I chose to have the Caribbean Pan roasted Lobster Tail with Tropical Rice Pilaf. This also came with two skewers of pineapple (hush, I didn't think they were Caribbean either), red onion and green peppers. This was very good and somewhat spicy. Am I complaining? Nah. I can live with this kind of heat.

My husband ordered the Atlantic Salmon from Nova Scotia, Canada. This salmon was stuffed with Crab, Oregon Bay Shrimp and Brie and was oven roasted and finished with a lemon butter. Mashed potatoes and sauteed vegetables rounded out the plating.

Hm, the bill reminds me why we only do something like this once in a blue moon. Oh well, how often does one's husband get nominated for such a high honor?

Well, we dilly-dallied long enough and it was time to head down to the stadium. That didn't mean we couldn't enjoy the sights along the way, though.

Ladies and Gentlemen, please observe this fine edifice before you. This is the current home of the Indiana state government.

Mr. Morton was an important person. Why? I don't know. Perhaps if I had edited these pictures inside rather than out on my deck I would know, but hey. Outside won. So some things will remain a mystery (at least until I go back inside and look at my pictures or do some research).

Maybe you'll have more luck than I and can read this inscription. And by the way, I apologized to the wedding party who were standing around while waiting for the photographer for making them move so that I could take this picture. But I did tell them that they looked nice. That has to count for something, right?

I'm guessing that the Civil War figures in here somehow?

Seems likely.

One of the things I have always found interesting is that both Ohio (where my husband and I are originally from) and Indiana were settled from the south up; meaning that the settlers came from the Ohio river and moved north into the territory. Thus, Indiana's first capital was originally in the southern part of the state before it was moved to its current central location.

Don't you just love government buildings and their monuments?

Let's see what this one is, shall we?

Lady with a book. Check.

Lady with a sword. Check.

Don't mess with her.

Ah, now we get to the heart of the matter.

Aha.

Gotcha, got to give credit where credit is due.

Yep.

What, me irreverent? Or is that irrelevant?

A tree. Why a tree? Because a tree. That's why a tree.

A solemn moment.

The south side of the Capitol building.

George, George, king of the jungle. Oops, wrong George. My bad.

Some important and life-changing inscription.

There's that Masonic emblem again. Hm, didn't that have something to do with why my husband and I were out celebrating earlier?

Wow, and another inscription. Too bad I can't read any of these out here on my deck. Alas and alack. Yeah, right.

And we're walking. Across a busy intersection in downtown Indy and I'm taking pictures. But that's just me.* Got to love that huge structure that straddles an entire intersection, though.

*Do as I say and not as I do, kiddies. I am a professional stunt blogger.

Next post: the big game at Lucas Oil Stadium