As for remembering the
Alamo, it’s right here and is free for the touring. Or you can skip the fortress and stroll instead through San Antonio’s first neighborhood,
La Villita Historic Arts Village. During the Battle of the Alamo, La Villita was the site of General Santa Ana’s cannon line; today, it’s a series of riverside galleries and shops selling everything from stained glass and weavings to pottery, copper, and textiles. If La Villita piques your art interests, check out an exhibition at the
Southwest School of Art & Craft, housed in a restored nineteenth-century convent.
Want to get back to nature? Make the 26-minute drive to
Friedrich Wilderness Park, San Antonio’s only nature preserve, to see golden-cheeked warblers, white-tailed deer, and cottontail rabbits in rare form. Or get the warblers’ perspective of the Texas Hill Country by taking to the skies with
Alamo Helicopter Tours.
4. INDIANAPOLIS
TRUE, THE NEW Indianapolis International Airport is filled with plenty to do and see, including $4 million worth of art, but just 10 minutes away is a far more heart-pounding destination: the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway, site of the
Indianapolis 500. Admire the accomplishments of past winners at the on-site
Hall of Fame Museum. If you’re feeling particularly brave, take your turn behind the wheel of an authentic
Formula One car and fly through three laps at 100 miles per hour or faster, courtesy of
Indy Racing Experience.
Five minutes from the Speedway lies downtown Indianapolis. The cultural traveler will enjoy checking out the
Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art, the only museum showcasing Native American and Western art in the Midwest. The
Indianapolis Museum of Art is another option and offers more than just the standard art exhibition -- its newly opened design center features furniture, accessories, and textiles for sale. If the skies are fair, take a stroll through the Oldfields-Lilly House and Gardens, a 26-acre
historic site located on the museum grounds that feels more like Versailles than like central Indiana.