Indiana

In 1937, Indiana officially became the ‘Crossroads of America’, which later turned into ‘Restart Your Engine’ and then ‘Honest to Goodness Indiana’. The last one ruffled some feathers because some people found it too plain and others wondered how well it matched a state with 50% more casinos than Atlantic City and the Nudes-a-Poppin’ festival. For us, Honest to Goodness works just fine, and a whole lot better than ‘Somewhere Between Ohio and Iowa’.

As we mused in a coffee shop conversation about planning a romantic getaway to Hamilton County, Indiana is a place where you can just relax. You don’t have to fight traffic and battle crowds for the latest best thing. You can find delicious food, long bike trails, expansive forests, and cool rivers and lakes. There’s also the Indianapolis metroplex for city lovers everywhere, especially motor heads and college sports fans.

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Language(s)

English

Currency

US Dollar

Exercise Increased Caution
Summer Winter
South Bend 82 19
Indianapolis 85 22
Evansville 88 26
Outlets
Type-A
Type-B

Best Time to Visit

Spring is full of flowers, and it’s usually very pleasant in May once all the rain passes. It’s great to be outdoors in the summer, but be careful of mid-summer heat waves. Fall is cool and dry with fabulous fall colors.

Fun Facts

  • Santa Claus, Indiana, receives thousands of letters for Santa every Christmas
  • The first professional baseball game ever played was in Fort Wayne in 1871
  • Elvis Presley’s last concert was in Indianapolis three months before he died
  • Indiana produces 90% of the world’s popcorn

Bucket-List Activities

  • Go to a race at the Indianapolis Speedway (Indianapolis)
  • Take the checkered flag on an INDY Race Experience (Indianapolis)
  • Attend a sports championship (Indianapolis)
  • Eat at the famous St Elmo’s Steakhouse (Indianapolis)
  • Zoom down a toboggin run at Pokagon State Park (Angola)
  • Bike the Monon Trail (Indianapolis to Sheridan)
  • Sleep in a floating cabin on Patoka Lake (Birdseye)
  • Spend a night in a jail cell at the Old Jail Inn (Rockville)

Natural Wonders

  • McCormick’s Creek Canyon (McCormick’s Creek State Park)
  • The Indiana Cave Trail (Southern Indiana)
  • Cataract Falls (Lieber State Recreation Area)
  • Rocky Hollow-Falls Canyon Nature Preserve (Turkey Run State Park)
  • Sand Dunes (Indiana Dunes National Park)
  • The Seven Pillars (Mississinewa River / Peru)

Major Attractions

Native Foods

  • Sugar Cream Pie (aka Hoosier Pie)
  • Popcorn
  • Country Fried Steak
  • Sweet Corn
  • Sechler’s Pickles (a little sweet and little heat)
  • Steak ‘n Shake (an Indianapolis hometown favorite)
  • Hoosier Chili (chili with tomato soup instead of broth)
  • Sauerkraut Balls
  • Puppy Chow (a diabetic hostile version of Chex Mix)

General Travel Tips

Common Phrases

  • Hoosier – Somebody from Indiana, but they can’t agree on where it came from
  • Knee-high by the Fourth of July – a proper rate of corn growth.
  • Sweeper – How you say vacuum cleaner in the Hoosier State
  • The Region – Northwest Indiana outside of Chicago
  • Left Bower – The jack of the same color as the trump suit in Euchre
  • Indianapolis / Indianapolis International Airport (IND ✈✈✈✈) – The capital city with five times the flights of all the other airports combined
  • Evansville / Evansville Regional Airport (EVV ✈✈) – On the Ohio River halfway between St Louis and Louisville
  • Fort Wayne / Fort Wayne International Airport (FWA ✈✈) – The second largest city in Indiana
  • South Bend / South Bend International Airport (SBN ✈✈) – South Bend is actually in north Indiana and home to Notre Dame
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Here at Coleman Concierge, we encourage everyone to travel responsibly and believe there is potential for tremendous good for the world following that ethos. There is also the potential for horrific consequences from irresponsible travel.

Before you go, please check out the latest CDC recommendations for travelers.

Even if you can’t physically explore the world, we hope that you enjoy the escape our site provides. Keep your spirits up and your hands clean. There will be a time to travel soon enough.

Meet Ed & Jenn

Hi! We are Jenn and Ed Coleman, and together we are Coleman Concierge. It is our goal to inspire you to get out, expand your world, and to seek adventure, even in your own backyard.

We deeply believe in the transformational power of travel. Our tagline is amazing adventures for ordinary people because we believe that you don’t have to be super rich, super fit or super anything to have an amazing adventure. Expanding your comfort zone and trying new things will pay huge dividends in both health and happiness.

We advocate for sustainable and ethical travel and truly believe in the power of travel to transform both ourselves as well as the world around us.

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