Indianapolis: Vonnegut, Canals, and Cornfields

Today was packed from start to finish.

Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library

I spent two full hours at the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library. I’ve read Cat’s Cradle and Slaughterhouse-Five, but visiting the museum gave the stories a heavier weight. I knew Vonnegut had PTSD from WWII, but I hadn’t fully grasped what he endured. He was captured about 50 miles west of Dresden and ended up a prisoner in the city during the infamous Allied firebombing. After the bombing, he and other POWs were forced to collect civilian bodies and stack them in piles to be burned. For weeks, they survived on toast and water. Eventually, as German forces retreated, Vonnegut and the others wandered the countryside scavenging for food until they were rescued. It’s no wonder Slaughterhouse-Five took him over 20 years to write.

The museum itself is small but powerful. There’s a replica of his writing room, his typewriter, personal drawings, rejection letters, first editions, and exhibits on censorship—his books were banned in parts of the country, even while they topped bestseller lists. I especially liked the sections about the women who shaped him: his mother, sister, and first love (who later became his wife). The tone of the museum was very “Vonnegut”—wry, irreverent, deeply human. It felt like a warm invitation into his mind.

Artsgarden

After the museum, I walked around downtown and got curious about the futuristic dome hovering above a major intersection. Turns out it’s called the Artsgarden, and it does sort of look like the Starship Enterprise hovering above downtown Indianapolis. I didn’t find the main thrusters, but inside it was like a mini city—there’s a concert stage, art exhibits, a business work center, and a small mall area. It connects by skywalk to the Circle Centre Mall and a few office buildings. If you’re downtown, you kind of can’t miss it—it feels like the city’s central hub, both literally and figuratively.

Canal Walk

I’d read that the Canal Walk was one of the more unique parts of the city, and it lived up to the hype. Originally dug in the 1830s as part of a plan to transport goods to market, the canal project was never completed because the city went bankrupt. These days, the canal is purely for pleasure—no freight barges, just paddle boats drifting along and joggers, strollers, and bikers lining the walkways.

It winds through the heart of the city, passing between the Indiana Statehouse and the combined IU/Purdue campus. Most of the stretch is lined with sleek apartment buildings and modern landscaping, and there are multiple pedestrian bridges that cross over the water. The Indiana State Museum sits right on the canal, and I popped into the bookstore for a quick browse. I almost walked out with a few books, but managed to remind myself I’m already lugging around half a library in the van.

What I didn’t realize is how close the Statehouse is to the canal. I could’ve saved myself a longer walk by parking closer and approaching from the west side. Live and learn.

Coffee with Penny

Later in the afternoon, I drove about 30 minutes north to meet up with Penny—the woman I met on a hiking trail a few days ago near Madison. We grabbed coffee at a Starbucks and had a great hour-long conversation. It turned into a kind of deep dive on energy in the body—chakras, meridians, how thought and emotion move through us. I wasn’t expecting that from a trailside chat, but I really enjoyed the shift. It’s always interesting when someone opens a door to a part of their inner world like that.

Evening on the Farm

From there, it was a two-hour drive west to my Harvest Host location—a 1,000-acre soy and corn farm owned by a man named Walter. He doesn’t farm it himself anymore but leases it out. He met me when I pulled in and stuck around to chat for a while. He’s traveled all over the U.S. and Canada in his RV and lit up when I mentioned Prince Edward Island—turns out it’s one of his favorite places too.

Walter gave me a long list of local spots to check out: an Amish bakery, some covered bridges, a few tucked-away state parks. I made dinner in the van and then wandered over to chat with a couple also staying overnight. They’re on a whirlwind trip—visiting family, then swinging through Wisconsin for a folk festival before heading home to Boulder, Colorado, all in the span of ten days.