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  1. #1
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    Default Indianapolis? Other city in area?

    My 17 yo is doing a week long camp at Purdue. I will be dropping him off on a Sunday afternoon and picking him up on a Friday afternoon. This is 500 miles from our home. Doing two roundtrips seems crazy. DH will stay at home and work. I think I'm going to take 14 and 11 year olds with me.

    17YO is pretty set on Purdue as his school, so I don't think I want to stay in West Lafayette; even if there was enough to do for 4 full days there.

    I'm eyeing Indianapolis. I don't want to add a bunch of miles. We're actually going to Chicago a couple weeks before.

    Any suggestions for activities in Indianapolis for the three of us? Or other cities I should consider in this region?

  2. #2
    mom2binsd is offline Red Diamond level (10,000+ posts)
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    Indiana Dunes State Park or another spot along the Lake Michigan shoreline, near New Buffalo etc. So many public beaches and midweek you will find more availability.

  3. #3
    cmo is offline Gold level (500+ posts)
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    The Indianapolis Children's Museum is one of the best of its kind! Even for adults. :-)

  4. #4
    NCGrandma is offline Emerald level (3000+ posts)
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    Quote Originally Posted by cmo View Post
    The Indianapolis Children's Museum is one of the best of its kind! Even for adults. :-)
    Strongly agree! When my family lived in IN, this was a frequent destination. One of DGD1's favorites was the carousel—a full size, functioning carousel with restored animals salvaged from an old IN carousel. https://www.childrensmuseum.org/blog...loved-carousel



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  5. #5
    erosenst is offline Sapphire level (2000+ posts)
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    Totally agree on the Children’s Museum.

    The Monon is a rail trail - fun to walk or bike. Lots of places to eat and drink along it.

    Downtown Carmel has some fun places - check out the Midtown area. Bubs is a local burger place that’s great. Bunch of other local places from that to fine dining. Happy to provide recommendations.

    Cake Bake has good food and amazing cakes in a really pretty setting. Not inexpensive but worth it.

    Not sure how old your other child is but lots of fun playgrounds and splash pads. Bath Junkie is a fun place to make your own bath products.

    Check out Connor Prairie and Ruoff Music for outdoor concerts. Again depending on your child’s age Connor Prairie may be fun during the day too.

    This is all top of mind. Hopefully O_Mom will chime in too. Feel free to PM with specific questions.


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  6. #6
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    Thank you so much for the suggestions. I think we're committing to Indianapolis. My younger two are 14 and 11. They have been charged with doing some research this afternoon, so I'll see what they come up with.

  7. #7
    infocrazy is offline Sapphire level (2000+ posts)
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    Yea Boilermaker here!

    I went to the STEP camp at Purdue and fell in love with the campus!

    Indy Zoo is nice and they also have a minor league baseball team in the city too.
    Jen

    DS in X-Small 7/12, Medium 5/07, and Large 7/05, one DD 3/10, and our DS 4/09 watching over us.

  8. #8
    mom2binsd is offline Red Diamond level (10,000+ posts)
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    Do they like amusement parks, Indiana Beach is an amusement park, there is a resort there too.

    I'm not sure about your kids, but the children's museum wouldn't hold my kids interest at age 11 and 14 (it's a great Children's Museum but more for younger kids).

    With the hot weather I would definitely want to plan some things by water/pools which is why I suggested looking into Lake Michigan towns, as you have 5 days to fill, Indy might be good for 2 or 3 days, but it's a quick drive up to the lake for a change of scenery. My kids had a blast hitting the beach on Lake Michigan, walking around the towns etc, they are happiest outside and with their feet in the sand, swimming, building sand castles, walking the shore looking for creatures etc.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by mom2binsd View Post
    Do they like amusement parks, Indiana Beach is an amusement park, there is a resort there too.

    I'm not sure about your kids, but the children's museum wouldn't hold my kids interest at age 11 and 14 (it's a great Children's Museum but more for younger kids).

    With the hot weather I would definitely want to plan some things by water/pools which is why I suggested looking into Lake Michigan towns, as you have 5 days to fill, Indy might be good for 2 or 3 days, but it's a quick drive up to the lake for a change of scenery. My kids had a blast hitting the beach on Lake Michigan, walking around the towns etc, they are happiest outside and with their feet in the sand, swimming, building sand castles, walking the shore looking for creatures etc.
    Not fans of sand. Especially the 14 YO. I already dragged them to Tybee Island this summer, so I need to stick with chlorinated water. We've been running so much this summer I think getting a decent hotel and playing card games together would make all of us happy.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by belovedgandp View Post
    Not fans of sand. Especially the 14 YO. I already dragged them to Tybee Island this summer, so I need to stick with chlorinated water. We've been running so much this summer I think getting a decent hotel and playing card games together would make all of us happy.
    My son would think just staying at a hotel with a good pool and playing games together was a great way to spend a few days! I don't think he'd care where we were. For my own sanity I'd need to add in one stop somewhere else per day (not including the travel days), but it could just be an hour at a park or going to a movie or something.
    DS 2/14
    DD 8/17

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