Indianapolis, Indiana

Wow- what a huge convention/expo center Indianapolis has. I arrived on Friday eve around 7pm. The hotel I stayed in was the Suburban Extended Stay Northwest. I took a taxi from the airport, after the hotel clerk said they thought the taxi fee would be around $30. It ended up around $75 with tip (ouch!) one-way! So the first thing I did, was get on line and order a rental car for the other two days (total $100). The hotel is about 15 mins north of city center, so the ride to the expo center each day wasn't bad at all.
You can expect to pay anywhere from $5 to $20 to park all day within walking distance of the expo center.
The motorcycle dealer show is a big convention! I was told that it was scaled down this year due to manufacturer's who decided not to come, or cut back space to save money. The dealer count was also cut back this year. I saw two dealers from Utah (none from Idaho). Again, probably related to the slow economy and it's effects on the motorbike industry.
I visited the new product and manufacturer area to meet up with one of my new manufacturers, Cycle Hitch. It was good to see the actual product, and to meet them in person. I will begin selling their product as soon as I get my brochures and information from the company.
I worked in the Capitol and South booth, showing the Tuzo product. Most of the dealers who came by the booth were from the east coast area or Indiana. There was some great interest in one of the helmets, the R&D. It is a gun metal gray helmet with black and yellow caution tape striping down the center of the helmet- really neat looking! The distributor hired a caricature artist to work the booth every day, and that seemed to draw customers in to discuss the product. They had to hear the sales pitch as they sat still for the artist :)
I went to dinner at the Rathskeller www.rathskeller.com , a German restaurant/ pub. Since it was the day prior to Valentine's Day, they had a live band and the place was full! We had a Hot Wurst plate- sampling of Bratwurst, Kielbasse and German Wieners served with homemade kraut and red cabbage (and three types of mustard-mostly very spicy hot!), and an appetizer Sampler- deep fried cordon bleu fingers, cajun chicken poppers, brat 'n kraut balls, jalapeno poppers, and hush puppies. Of course we all had a German beer to wash it all down!
for dinner, I had the Grilled Yellowfin Tuna (YUMMY). It was cooked rare, cajun style over red beans and rice. The plates are large and they fill them. You could easily share a meal with two people!
I didn't get to see too much of the area. I was at the expo both Saturday and Sunday all day. I got to see the firgrounds for a brief time (my gps kept sending me there instead of the expo center). They were having a car show, a dog show, and a flea market. The parking lot was full of proud dog owners walking their neatly groomed babies into the event in hopes of winning best of show.
I would definitely recommend visiting Indianapolis. The city had plenty of night life, shopping, and other entertainment. I would have liked to visit the Indianapolis speedway, but there is always the next time! :D