ARSC, National Parks and More (Gettin’ There)–May 14-16

A head’s up from the very beginning: This trip was very different than I had mentioned in my April 20, 2025, post. But then, that’s not at all unusual in my journeys. I tend to have a basic plan with lots of variables that I can consider as the trip occurs.

My departure on Wednesday, May 14, was much later than planned because I wanted to make a sausage delivery as I left town and used that as an excuse to get a few extra hours of recovery sleep and trip prep after my recent return from my class reunion just two days earlier. Anyway, on my first gas and food stop near the Maryland-Pennsylvania-West Virginia borders, I saw my first McDonald’s advertisement for their offering of Krispy Kreme doughnuts. I had read an announcement about the arrangement a year ago, but I wasn’t ready to actually see the doughnuts available at Mickey D’s. Having no resistance to KK doughnuts, I swallowed my reluctance to pay $2 per doughnut and drove away with two of them in SB. Their demise was swift and surprisingly delicious considering that they weren’t “hot.”

The initial change in itinerary occurred very early in the trip. After cancelling a dinner meeting with a friend in the hope we could reschedule on my return through Ohio, I drove straight through to Indianapolis, Indiana.  The Indiana State Museum was one of only nine IMAX theaters in the United States that would be offering a second showing of the motion picture, Sinners, shifting from Ultra Panavision 70 to IMAX film. As a film fan and a musician, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see it firsthand.

Before that, however, I had several hours to kill before the movie’s scheduled 4:30 p.m. start. The museum was clearly geared towards school kids, and the halls were filled with them and the adults accompanying them. I headed to the Legacy Theater, an interactive display featuring African Americans in Indiana. There was also an outdoor area where ducks swam and kids ate their lunch–of course, one fell into the shallow water. By the time I returned to SB and ate the Fazoli’s meal I had picked up–I didn’t know at the time, but it might have been my last time getting a delicious strawberry Italian ice since the new company owners have removed the frozen drinks from the menu–it was time to return to the theater.

This was my third time seeing Sinners, and it was even more stunning than the previous two views. I couldn’t help capturing a shot of the dramatic scene where “Preacher Boy” performs the song “I Lied to You,” and the power of the performance causes shifts that I still can’t describe, even after reading others make the attempt. The impact on me was very personal, and I guess I can say nothing further in this context.

Early the next morning and taking a break from driving, I saw a highway sign advertising the George Washington Carver National Monument. In Missouri?!? I deviated from the route so I could check this out. It wasn’t until later that I learned that Carver was born in the area, and the National Park Service had developed a beautiful little park to memorialize the location. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to tour the facility or even wait for the visitors’ center to open. I didn’t a couple of exterior shots, however.

Selected pictures are below:

The remaining pictures are available at: https://singin1.pics/piwigo/index.php?/category/Gettin-There-Indianapolis-051525.

As always, I thank the Lord for granting me the stamina to make the trip, the damn good reflexes to steer the Silver Bullet (SB) as she needed to be guided, and the ability to enjoy His handiwork as it whizzes by my windshield.

The rest of the trip to Tulsa, Oklahoma was uneventful for me. Unfortunately, that evening wasn’t so uneventful for the folks in the St. Louis area, which I had driven through on Friday morning. A significant tornado outbreak occurred later that evening. My prayers for those who lost so much.