A few Sundays ago, my love and I headed to the Indy 500 Crown Royal Armed Forces Qualifying Race in Indianapolis, Indiana. I had never been, nor had I been to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. So, I was a newbie to it all.
Even as a newbie, I was super excited because it was something new and it was our first sporting event together.
For starters, let’s talk about our preparation.
To set the tone for our date, we both decided to wear race flag-themed colors of black and white. We also wore matching black and white couples bracelets that I reviewed last week on the blog. I thought this was the cutest thing; and it made for some really adorable pictures, that’s for sure.
The Perfect Cooler
We also purchased a black and white Igloo cooler that matched the theme. The goal was to purchase a cooler that fit the theme and that fit within the dimensions given by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
We did that.
Only, we didn’t read that glass was not allowed. Wonk! Wonk! So, it wasn’t until we entered the bag check that we found out that glass was not allowed. From there we had to return our cooler to the car. (Big long sigh, if you will.) So, we ended up not having our cooler of beverages (ah-hem, beer) during the time that we were there.
After we made it through Bag Check, it began to rain heavily; luckily though, we were in a suite. Our tickets were for the American Honda Suite in Gasoline Alley. So not only was it my first time at the Speedway and at the Indy 500, it was also my first time in a sporting events suite.
American Honda Suite in Gasoline Alley
The suite was nice and cozy and kept us out of the rain. We could see so many people just sitting on the bleachers in the rain waiting for the event to start. All I can say is that I was grateful that our tickets were not out in the rain.
Honestly, I probably wouldn’t have stayed unless I had a rain jacket.
Inside the suite, they served light beverages and snacks. There was lemonade, polish sausages, pretzels and cheese, and brownie bites. Not bad. I clearly did not entertain the Polish sausages. Pork is just not my thang! Sorry, Charlie. So, my favorite ended up being the pretzel and cheese.
PATTERN
There were tables for people to sit and eat, a bar where you could eat and watch the race, as well as some additional chairs. Since there were no races due to the rain, I enjoyed browsing the Indianapolis magazine, PATTERN. It’s all about Indy’s fashion community with this issue giving an in-depth look at the Indianapolis music scene.
Let me tell you.
I learned so much about DJs, recording studios and opportunities in Indianapolis that I would have never fathomed. So, if music is your thing, Indy definitely has something for you. Free promotional plug, Indianapolis. You’re welcome. 🙂
Lessons Learned
After the rain simmered down a bit, we made our way out of the suite to stroll the strip and grab a beer … with no umbrella and no rain ponchos. I know better than this. On all of our travel adventures, I always pack rain ponchos that I pick up from Dollar Tree, and this one time I didn’t. Do you want to know what else? I left the umbrella in the car.
Want to know a little bit more? Guess how much the beers were? They were a whole $8 each. Yikes! That $16 was how much we paid for everything we had packed in the cooler. (Another, big long sigh.)
Definitely a lot of lessons learned, don’t you think?
Once we grabbed our beers, we headed back into the suite in hopes that the rain would stop and we would get to see some race cars. Sadly, we never did. We did, however, get a chance to see them clean the track and see a little of preparation activity, but we didn’t see much more than that.
While it would have been nice to see some racing and grab some nice sunny photos, it was still a nice time. We will just look at this as our trial run for next year.
Next year, we will know what to bring, what to do, and what to expect.
Quick Tips
I hope you enjoyed having a peek into our day at the Indy 500 Crown Royal Armed Forces Qualifying Race. It was rainy and I didn’t get “THE” photos I would have liked to, but that’s okay because as a newbie, I learned a few tips I’m sure you will find value in, especially if you have plans on going next year.
