Would You Rather?

Besides going to the race track, we saw a lot of Indianapolis through our car window. When we talked about the city at the end of the day it was funny that everyone's responses were based on the aesthetic aspect of the city. I found myself evaluating Indianapolis on the same level--admiring the trees, grimacing at the muddy river, and commenting on the cute little restaurants and shops downtown. One image that really sticks out to me is off course the race track--283 acres of parking lots, bleachers, public restrooms, media buildings, etc. As we were led around the site I was really trying to find something to appreciate about a place who's monetary worth is a number I can't wrap my head around. One of Bonnie's prompts mentions the Joni Mitchell song that says "they paved paradise/and put up a parking lot." I think that phrase definitely applies in Indianapolis. As we wandered around downtown in the evening, I found the city very charming and kind of homey and loved the amount of trees in the area. But I couldn't help but revert back to earlier this morning, at the race track. I don't know if I could enjoy the area with that loud roar of the racing cars in the background and people invading my town for a couple days.
On a positive note, I learned a lot about the actual sports of racing and some of the traditions. I always dismissed it as a ridiculous sport, but as we are all learning to do on this trip, I opened my mind to it and saw a lot of similarities in the draws of racing compared to other more physical sports like traditions, challenges, and camaraderie to name a few.
I think on Day 23 we are all feeling the accomplishment and exhaustion of meeting our hump day. I'm gonna turn in early because we have an exciting line-up for next week including Boston on the 4th!