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May 2009: Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s Centennial Era Balloon Festival
May 2009 marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway by Carl Fisher, James Allison, Arthur Newby, and Frank Wheeler as a testing facility. The history can be found in this article: Centennial: Four Founders’ Vision Created Indianapolis Motor Speedway The first Indianapolis 500 race was held in 1911, so we have two years of Centennial Celebrations to anticipate; thus, the “Centennial Era.” Events held from Friday – Sunday, May 1-3, kicked off the start of the Indy 500 Festival celebrations here in Speedway, Indiana. One event I was looking forward to was the Centennial Era Balloon Festival, an event to celebrate the first race held…
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Indiana’s basketball mecca…
“While it was invented in Massachusetts, basketball really had its beginning in Indiana, which remains today the center of the sport” — James Naismith, 1936. Those words ring true more than 70 years later. Indiana and basketball go hand in hand, like peanut butter & jelly. No other state can lay claim to the rich basketball heritage that Indiana has. From its home grown legends like Tony Hinkle, John Wooden, Oscar Robertson, George McGinnis, and Larry Bird, to its legendary courts such as Assembly Hall, Mackey Arena, The Wigwam, Chrysler Arena, and a little place called “Hoosier Gym”, to many Hoosiers, basketball has a way of making all that’s wrong with life right.…
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Some Came Running Filming Locations
Some Came Running is the story of US Army veteran and two-time author, Dave Hirsh (Frank Sinatra). Bitter from being sent to a boys’ home by his brother at age 12, Dave’s return to his hometown after 16 years shakes up the small town of Parkman, Indiana. US 421, Milton, Kentucky In the film’s opening scene, Dave is on a bus heading to the fictional town of Parkman, Indiana. Drunk, he was put on a bus in Chicago. Through the bus windows, the “Long View Inn” is barely visible. In reality, the bus was heading down US 421 in Milton, Kentucky, heading toward the Milton-Madison Bridge. This building appears to…
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Indiana State Road 58
Indiana State Road 58 is one of southwest Indiana’s best routes to travel when you’re in the mood to enjoy a road that isn’t straight as an arrow. Its 122 mile path cuts through the typical Indiana farmland, but it also winds you through parts of the Hoosier National Forest. It’s one of those roads where you want to find yourself on a weekend in the Fall. The colors can be spectacular. IN-58 starts in Merom, Indiana, some 30 miles south of Terre Haute. Merom is home to less than 300 citizens, but is also home to the Merom Conference Center. Opened in 1862 as the Union Christian College, the…
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Indiana State Road 75
Anyone looking at a map of Indiana State Road 75 thinking it’s non-stop from US 40 west of Stilesville to its terminus some 78 miles north at Camden may be in for a surprise….like I was. I wasn’t expecting anything out of the ordinary when I recently took a Sunday afternoon to explore this north-south route through Indiana’s western half. I’ll fill you in on that later. Like many of Indiana’s state highways in this area, IN-75 slices through Indiana’s rich farmland. It quietly begins its northern journey at US 40 a few miles west of Stilesville. It skirts the east side of the Coatesville before taking a straight shot north where it intersects US…
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Yeah, Rain Man definitely filmed here
Here’s a compilation of screen shots from the 1988 film “Rain Man” starring Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman and photos of some of the locations, taken by me. John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge / Cincinnati – Covington Here is a scene where they are crossing the Roebling Bridge between Ohio and Kentucky: Here is a photo I took of the bridge: Pompilio’s Restaurant – Newport, Kentucky There was a scene filmed at Pompilio’s Restaurant. Here is the exterior from the film: I took this photo last year. It looks so much less barren now! Here’s the interior of the restaurant, a scene when they are ordering their pancakes from their waitress: Sally…
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Running to Madison
We had a nice Saturday afternoon trip down to Madison, Indiana for some fudge and burgers. Due to some time constraints, we had to jump on the interstate heading down, but got off onto US 31 in Columbus and took IN-7 into Madison. Due to the fact the Madison Fudge Factory closed at 5pm, we had less than a half hour to get in and get our fix of sugary goodness. The Factory’s HIGHLY recommended by us, as we’ve tried all the fudge shops in Madison….but we still buy from all of them anyway! Next up was dinner at Hinkle’s Hamburgers on Main Street, an institution in Madison dating back to…
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Some Came Running…for fudge?
Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Shirley MacLaine didn’t go running to Madison, Indiana for fudge, but every once in a while, we do. Madison, Indiana is a neat town in southern Indiana with very nice architecture, shops, and dining. It sits right on the Ohio River and was the filming location for the 1958 film “Some Came Running,” starrring the aforementioned celebrities. It was a nice day, we felt like getting out, so we drove down to Madison to pick up some fudge at the Madison Fudge Factory & Guest Suites. They have two guest suites upstairs, and the evening turn-down service includes fudge samples. Don’t quote me, but I…
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November 2007: AMERICAN ROAD Magazine – Indiana Cool Roads Cruise
Slideshow of All Photos For more details about a particular photo, click on it in the slideshow and it will open in my Flickr site. [flickrslideshow acct_name=”roadtripmemories” id=”72157603702195798″ width=”500″]
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October 2007: AMERICAN ROAD Fall Cruise – Preview
Slideshow of All Photos For more details about a particular photo, click on it in the slideshow and it will open in my Flickr site. [flickrslideshow acct_name=”roadtripmemories” id=”72157602580797372″ width=”500″]