49 by 29: July 25 - Indy 500. Home.

Egg casserole, fresh fruit, and drip brew coffee at Aunt Karoline and Uncle Lyle's.

Latte, Indianapolis airport.

House blend, Minneapolis airport.

Coffee:
-Drip brew at Aunt Karoline and Uncle Lyle's house, enjoyed with a homemade breakfast of egg casserole and fresh fruit.

-Latte, no flavor, from Copper Moon World Coffees in the Indianapolis airport.

-Small house blend from La Brea Bakery in the Minneapolis airport.

From the journal:
I slept in today then enjoyed a leisurely breakfast with Karoline and Lyle. I want to be like them as I grow older. They have invested themselves in relationships with others, and in each other. I love how much they laugh together.

Anyway, they took me to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway today. We rode a bus around the 2.5-mile track and learned all kinds of tidbits from our tour guide. The average speed around the track is 220 miles per hour. The fastest speed is 240 mph. For Nascar, the fastest speed is 190 mph. Racers make 200 laps for the Indy 500...and one lap only takes 38 seconds! Wow! The speedway was originally built to be a paved testing ground for those new-fangled automobiles in 1909.

After lunch, we went to the airport, and I began my journey home. It is hard to believe a month has passed. I've seen and experienced so much and met so many great people. I'm definitely going to need some time to process it all.

I'm now passing a 4-hour layover in Minneapolis...drinking coffee, journaling, people watching. I sure drink a lot of coffee in airports. (Of course, I drink a lot of coffee everywhere else, too.)

I love airports.

I love travel.

Where will I go next?

Where will you go?

Everything about the Indianapolis Motor Speedway feels big and fast. I'm not really into racing, but I enjoyed being on the track and learning about its history. I'm glad my aunt and uncle took me. And they even bought me a t-shirt as a souvenir...because they're sweet like that.

On the Indy 500 track. Vroom, vroom.

And home. Well, almost home. My folks picked me up in the Billings airport close to midnight, and then we drove home. They even got me flowers...because they're sweet like that. Must run in the family :).