On a day that was our fourth day but was the 3rd of July

We started out the day with another bike ride, this time to the Indiana State Museum. We chose it because with our pass from a museum in Cleveland through the ASTC program you can get into it for free. And free with a 6 person family is a very good thing.  The museum was large, and I don't think we covered it all and will definitely have to return to do so.  It basically covers anything historical that happened in Indiana, whether that be people, animals, plants or technology, or geological. My favorite parts where probably the natural history parts where you walked through caves and saw fossils. Can you tell I'm a bit of a science nerd at heart?

A giant sloth!

The kids got a bit restless because they wanted more hands on things, so it was good when we found an LED throwing activity that they could take part in, and then there was the giant foam blocks to play with that were fun as well.

Throw an LED magnet!

Building with Blocks!

We ate lunch outside, even though it was hot, we found some shade and some more interactive bits, some climbing boulders on the side of the museum, which are part of the Watanabe Garden. The rocks made good places to sit and the bigger kids enjoyed climbing over them. Stella would have climbed too, but it wasn't the most friendly 1year old place, so she enjoyed wandering up and down the serpentine path. 

After a hot ride home, we rested. My favorite time of day. :) I then had the crew walk to the local library because they were having an Animal Show, from a local Safari animal place.  The kids loved it, so even though they were whiney about getting out again, it was well worth it in the end. Ben even volunteered, sometimes its fun not having a shy kid. 

I ended the day with a walk with my Lena-girl to the local yarn shop.  Any knitters out there?  It said it was 450ft from my house, so I kind of had to go.  And it was huge and the employees were friendly. I picked out some yarn to make a shrug and a pattern to boot because it was just what I was looking for. I do believe I will be back. 

Previous adventure post here.

On the third day...

On our third day in Indianapolis, we got an earlier start than I usually get with my kids.  I wanted to minimize being out in the heat but still wanted to explore the city on bikes. We set out about 8:45am on the Cultural Trail to downtown.  We are conveniently staying about a block from the bike path and so we are determined to use this amazing resource while here.  We headed towards downtown, about 1.5 miles from our house. Wow, is it a nice trail! I was thankful that Ben had gone on the trail the night before with his dad because we didn't all have new eyes to the area.  And Ben is amazing at remembering directions, I think at three he was able to direct my entire family to all the local sites within a few miles of our house. The trail had a few important turns along the way, so Ben for sure was useful.  It's a good note that this trail isn't for speed biking, but more of a way to explore and enjoy the city which made it perfect for my pace with 2 solo biking kiddos and 2 in the bike trailer behind me.

The city of Indianapolis via biking is beautiful! It seems to be kept clean and there are so many bike posts along the way. One interesting things is that this city has motorized scooters that you can rent throughout the city. Because they are GPS trackable, you are likely to see them littered throughout the city, but overall they are more good than bad and honestly, they eliminate car pollution, which I appreciate. I haven't figured out where they come from, but when I do, I'll let you know.

There are many sites accessible by bike including museums, the university IUPUI (the symmtery of the abbreviation astounds me) and the zoo! It was very enjoyable with the kids and I didn't feel overwhelmed taking them all out in this manner, a great feat in itself. We also stumbled upon the Canal Walk, but it feels like its more for walkers than bikers, at least not my bikers who are likely to end up in the very accessible water in the canals. My only thing I'd add is an outdoor play area for kids in the downtown, but I know this is not usual, just a bonus that some cities (cough cough, Cincy) have.

We checked out our local branch of the library after a rest break post lunch. Its very walkable from our location, and though small, seems to pack in resources for kids, a big plus for our family. 

Hope you stick around to see what is in store next. :)

Previous adventure post here.