We spend a lot of time making sure the people we meet know all about what there is to see and do around Indianapolis. And sometimes we decide we should see and do those things, too. Here’s what that looks like:
It’s Friday, September 26, the last day of a long and very busy week for Karissa and me. And what that means is that we’re all talked-out, our brains hurt, and we could really go for some good food, a little sunshine, and a lot of green stuff. So, Garfield Park it is!
We drive straight to the Garfield Park Eatery & Coffee, which we’ve heard is one of the neighborhood’s newest additions.
When we get to the Eatery, we notice a used bookshop right next door. A total surprise that almost derails our lunch plans, but plummeting blood sugar keeps us on track.
We head inside the Eatery, grab menus, order chicken salad sandwiches at the counter, and wander off to sit down. This place is perfect for our somewhat grumpy moods (although we imagine it would suit good moods well, too). Plenty of charm, quick service, and zero fuss. Exactly what we need.
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The fresh dill chicken salad comes out to us on buttered and lightly toasted sourdough bread, which is to say it’s fantastic and almost immediately makes us feel better. Is this chicken salad magic? We’re not saying that it’s not.
Then in our notably better moods, we clear off the table and head back next door to get the scoop what that mystery bookshop looks like.
And it looks like shelves and boxes and stacks and piles of books, CDs, DVDs, magazines, and seriously some of the best white elephant gifts ever. I definitely pay the most attention to the many dolphin figurines. But there’s more plenty of great literature on those shelves, too.
Clearly, the bookshop turns out to be a wonderful, completely unexpected detour to our trip, but the real draw of Garfield Park is still the actual park with its conservatory (indoor botanical gardens) and outdoor sunken gardens.
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Hard to believe all this green grows just five minutes south of Fountain Square, right? Plus, while the park itself is always free, on a normal day admission to the conservatory’s only $1. That’s right, $1.
That said, if you don’t stop to look at anything, walking around the conservatory might take less than a full minute. But Karissa and I find plenty of Dr. Seuss-esque plants and waterfalls and koi and benches to keep us busy for longer than that.
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Then just outside of the conservatory, we head into the beautiful and very fancy sunken gardens. Walking around them feels like being in an episode of Downton Abbey (which makes them fun even if fancy gardens aren’t really your/my thing). Enough of the plants, though, what we’re really anxious to see is the Garfield Park Arts Center.
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And so comes the single biggest bummer of the trip: the Garfield Park Arts Center‘s now temporarily closed on Fridays starting on this particular Friday. I don’t even know how to hide my disappointment. All I know about this place are the sweet rumors of art classes and gallery space, free outdoor movies in the summer and vintage flicks indoors throughout the year. Probably should’ve checked on the hours before we made our plans.
Good thing all of these trees are enormous and nice to look at.
Anyway, Karissa and I manage rally after the GPAC heartbreak to make two more quick stops before we head back to the office. The first is the Christel House Academy tucked back in a more residential area of Garfield Park. The only reasons I know about this place is because my Starfish scholar goes to school here.
And the second stop is Karissa’s alma mater, UIndy! Technically, we know, UIndy lives in University Heights, not Garfield Park. But it’s pretty stinking close, so we say it counts because we want it to.
And that’s that. We load up in my car and head back to work while talking about how we don’t think we’ll ever get tired of these tiny adventures–even on days we’re tired and maybe a little cranky.
