Five Things I Like in Indy

One of my goals this year, and as a person, is to be more grateful and positive. I have been a mildly misanthropic grump for most of my adult life and, frankly, it really isn't doing anything for me. I'm not saying that Indy is growing on me or that I've learned to love it, but I do want to take some time to make a small list of places that I enjoy here. Baby steps.

Quills Coffee. Indy is the land of drive-thru Starbucks, which I was charmed by at first. After a couple months, I was ready to turn in my Gold Rewards Card and never step foot in a Starbucks again. I'm a coffee snob and I just couldn't take the bitter, burned beans anymore! Why do people abuse their coffee beans!? Anyway, I stopped by Quills yesterday before work and some of my third wave coffee shop dreams came true. So now I have a place to get a decent cappuccino made by a man with a beard -- just like home.

Indy Reads Books.  We popped in here with Lane before he went to work on Saturday and really enjoyed it. They have a great selection of used books, with all the profits going to support the adult literacy program Indy Reads. They have big, comfy chairs, a chess set and a wonderful children's section. Elliott grabbed a copy of If You Give A Mouse A Cookie for a dollar and change, which is a steal considering how many times we've borrowed it from the library.

St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church. I found an old church to go to. The end.

Goose the Market.  This place is a little meat-heavy for a vegetarian like me, but they have an excellent cheese section where I can pick up some Cowgirl Creamery treats, even though I'm no longer in walking distance of the Ferry Building. They have fresh bread from Amelia's and lots of local treats and sundries.

Holliday Park. This park is super-close to our apartment and has three enormous play structures for children of varying sizes. Elliott has sampled all three, but his favorite, much to my acrophobic horror, is the big kid structure. Lane is a good sport and climbs all the way to the top with him so that he doesn't get stuck. See, he likes to climb up, but refuses to go down the huge slides alone and can't climb backwards down the ladders. I compromise and join Elliott on the mid-size side-by-side slides. We explored the trails behind the park a couple of weekends ago and, despite really muddy conditions, we got in a decent toddler-friendly hike.

OK, that's it. I'm going to need another five months to come up with some more things I like.