Found in Fishers

Good eats El Rodeo style

What's your favorite restaurant, be it in the Indy area or elsewhere? We've got more than our fair share of eateries that help us keep our bellies full. So beginning here and now we plan to share them with you. So crank up the mariachi music and belly up to the salsa bar, 'cause Found in Fishers is dining Mexican today and there's no better way to kick off the new year than with a visit to El Rodeo.

El Rodeo has locations throughout the metro area, as well as a few other central Indiana cities. Each is designated by a number...such as El Rodeo #12. Don't even ask what number ours is; it's located at the intersection of 116th & Olio on the east side of Fishers. The menu is typical Mexican fare that's been appropriately Americanized. We'd love to see a few more authentic Mexican offerings, but in the meantime El Rodeo has a lot to offer.

The place is packed most nights, with weekends the busiest. No reservations so we suggest getting there before 5:30 p.m. or after 8...unless you don't mind a bit of a wait. Service is remarkably fast and efficient. Chips and salsa are nice and fresh and very plentiful, and meals are served faster than you can sing "Ay, ay, ay, ay, canta y no llores..."

The value for the prices charged are good, with the lone exception being the occasional combination plates listed on the back of the menu. Our favorites include the nachos al carbon, an appetizer that makes a plentiful meal, and includes lots of grilled steak and shrimp served on a bed of fresh chips with salsa, sour cream, guacamole and melted queso. Other dishes we frequently order include steak and chicken fajitas, carne asada, carnitas tacos, and their burrito/enchilada combos.

Expect the average tab to be $9-$11/person with a non-alcoholic drink. El rodeo has a decent bar and great outdoor sitting area that's not too bad thought the view leaves everything to be desired (it's the side of the neighboring Walgreens).

Magic Music Days...or, the wheels on the bus go round & round

What has 24 wheels, 2 door, 78 teenagers and 9 adults? Two motorcoaches headed back to Fishers, IN with a very tired bunch of marching band members. Just after noon on the Tuesday of Thanksgiving week I climbed aboard bus #2 for a 20-hour overnight ride to Disney World in Orlando for the Royal Command & Guard's 2009 Disney Performance Tour. I was going to photograph the trip and help as a chaperone. As I write this post our buses are about two hours outside Nashville, TN on the trip back home.

It was a great trip, though I really missed being with Flora and the kids for Thanksgiving. did 4 parks in 4 days: Disney Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom, the Magic Kingdom and Epcot. On Friday night, the RCG led the SpectroMagic nighttime parade through the Magic Kingdom. After going "backstage" to assemble, dress and warm up, the band stepped off from the park entrance on Main Street and headed toward Cinderella's Castle, then made the turn through Frontierland. The whole thing lasted maybe 15 minutes for them, but it will be 15 minutes they'll long remember. According to our Disney escorts 60,000 people were on hand to see and hear the RCG. The kids were really excited and more than a few had a bit of a struggle staying in "marching mode". And why not? Flashes were going off by the thousands as they became part of the photographic & video memories for visitors from all over the world.

Thanksgiving night was also neat: The group enjoyed a private dinner at the Coronado Springs Resort. A Disney DJ kept the kids hopping on the dance floor, while Mickey & Minnie made an appearance for about 90 minutes to be photographed with everyone. They also posed for a group photo, dance to YMCA and Thriller, and added quite of bit of the famous Disney "magic" to the night. Say what you will about Disney -- especially those rather significant Disney prices for everything from park tickets to sodas -- but they are incredibly successful in getting everyone -- adults included -- to suspend reality and be a kid again.

I'll be glad to be home; we arrive at 4:30 this afternoon. With both Mark & Liz graduated and out of the band program it was nice to be able to accompany the band and share in the some of the fun. While I didn't get to ride much in the parks I'll be back in June with the family, Flora's sister's family and parents for our 25th anniversary and my brother-in-law's 40th birthday. Make mine an Epcot ticket.

Oh...lest I forget: Say what you will about teenagers, but these young people represented themselves, the RCG, their school and community with real class. Zero problems, lots of compliments about the group from park visitors & other hotel guests, and no one was ever late getting to our meeting locations!

A view from the top

I haven't participated in the activities of the marching band since Mark graduated last year. Until last weekend. HSE sponsors a band invitational in the fall. It was that time of year and I decided to volunteer. After all, I ran the concession stand two years in a row so there was no other job that could have been more time consuming and exhausting that day.

Much to my excitement I was asked to be the assistant to the scorekeeper. I know, you're thinking how amazing that was. Me too. They needed a math expert. I arrived at the press box after helping set up the concession stand. Our friend, Randy, needed someone to manually check the scores and wanted someone he could tolerate to be around for four consecutive hours. That was me!  I came with my solar calculator in hand. It's the same calculator I used 20-plus years ago to average grades when I was teaching.

Once in the press box, Randy explained how I was to add the scores by hand. What I did not have was a highlighter because there are several different scores and when certain ones are added up they create the final scores for categories like music and general effect, etc. I am not a former band geek so those details never concerned me. Until that night. Fortunately I was thinking quickly and made a code on my sheets with stars, circles and triangles representing which columns had to be added together. Randy, on the other hand, had an Excel spreadsheet on his computer.

Everything was working just great. I had a cushioned chair. I got to see all of the bands. There were band kids offering me all sorts of snacks and drinks. I had great conversation with Randy. And we were having fun! I was thinking that the lack of highlighters would be my only challenge until it got dark! The judges decided they liked it better with the lights off in the booth. Uh, oh. Solar calculator!

In between bands I would quickly add scores before the lights went off. Once they did, I was challenged by my old eyes and cell phone calculator. Randy and I had a great system going. We even found 2 errors in addition that the judges made. But my strive for perfection ended about 9:00 when I made 1 mistake. Remember...I have issues with perfection. But come on, it was dark in the booth. Fortunately Randy and I had a system of checks and balances. He entered the scores in the computer, I did it by hand and we compared our results.

Note to self: Definitely sign up for that job again next year. Bring a light or at least get a battery operated calculator. Plan to enjoy lots of yummy snacks while watching the bands for free!

That's one big stadium

Wow! Got an inside look at Indy's brand-spanking new Lucas Oil Stadium today and it's a beauty. For just a tad under $800 million it should be. But this puppy is ginormous, dwarfing the soon-to-be imploded RCA Dome. A group of 26 HSE & Fishers band parents headed to the stadium today to run two concession stands for a season ticket holders open house. We work the stands every year as a fundraiser for the marching band. The draw for me (and others in our group) was a sneak peak at the house that tax dollars built. (Okay, to be fair, old man Lucas kicked in $170 million.)

If you're visiting Indy and don't have tickets to a Colts game, $7 buys you a guided tour of the stadium. Fork it over; it'll be worth it. In the photo the north end zone window is open and the roof is in the process of being opened. I'll never complain about washing a window at home again. The end zone window covers a whopping 22,000 square feet! And the roof: It's 4 acres operated by 140 7.5 horsepower motors. You can shop for a new flat panel TV before the game at HH Gregg on the main concourse, or apply for a loan at Hunington Bank (in order to finance the new TV, your season tickets, and have some pocket money for concessions during the big game). If your tummy gets to growling during the game there are 150 concession stands to choose from, but bring your piggy bank. Soda is $5.50, popcorn $4.75, a burger $8, and if a cold brew is more to your liking they're $7 for 20 ounces.

Besides football, this year the stadium will host NCAA Men's Regional Basketball, concerts, conventions, the Bands of America Grand National Championships, and a host of other events. And in 2012: The Superbowl. A fitting event for a super stadium. Go, Colts!

Lunch Lady, Lunch Lady, make me a lunch

Last week Fortune magazine named Hamilton County the top place to live in the United States. Today, Money magazine named Fishers one of the top ten places to live in the U.S. However, I'm seriously thinking about a career change that will relocate the family back to the Region.

When my nephew Liam spent the week with me he told me how much he missed me because I lived so far away from him. He wanted me to move back by him. He also was curious why I moved. I explained that I moved to Fishers for a new job and that I was really happy with the job I found with Hamilton Southeastern. He asked me what I did so I explained my work with the schools. He then announced to me that I could move to Lansing because they had a job open at his school. Lunch Lady! He said I'd be perfect...and he was darn serious. Liam wants me to move back up north to be the lunch lady at St. Ann's School in Lansing. I need to spend some time in the coming days considering his request. :)

Fun in Fishers

This week Liam is spending a mini "vacation" in Fishers. He has planned this for quite a while so that he could avoid daycare during the summer. His request for the week: broccoli, peas, and beans. He just got back from Disney and said he could not wait to get to Fishers to eat some vegetables. Other than that I decided that since I was off work for the week we would do some fun things.
We started our week with a trip to the grocery store. Liam got Pop Tarts, fruit snacks, bologna and broccoli. Then off to the neighborhood pool. It's a good thing we finally have someone willing to go swimming since we pay a hefty price to have access to the pool. By the time the day was over, Liam literally passed out on the couch from exhaustion.

On Tuesday we decided to see "Wall-E" since rain was preventing any outside activities. Mark, Liam and I went to see the movie after having lunch with Liz at her job, Tijuana Flats.  Luckily rain did not prevent a second trip to the pool. At the pool were a couple HSE teachers. Liam had fun playing with their kids. At night, he found Mark's old BayBlade tops and had a blast playing with them while it stormed and the electricity kept going off and on.

Wednesday was the zoo. I had not been to the Indy Zoo yet and thought this week was perfect for the trip. We got their early and had a great time. We saw the koalas that are visiting for a short time. Our favorite part was the dolphin show. Mark and Liam liked petting the goats.  Liam was quite worried at the zoo someone would steal his stroller since it happened once before and was a bit pre-occupied with its location. Guess what we did when we got back...swimming. Peas with dinner tonight, another request from Liam.
Keep checking out the fun we are having in Fishers. We have a couple more days of fun. Oh, and some painting too. I told Liam to bring some painting clothes since we have to get the fence painted this week as well.

Parading Around Town

Today was the Fishers Freedom Festival Parade. This is an annual tradition but only the first time I've had a chance to see it since moving here three years ago. In our first year we moved right after the parade; the next year it poured rain and the band didn't march. Last year I was in China. Today, the weather was wonderful for a parade. Warm, sunny, and a bit of a breeze. Here is the lowdown on the parade; it's a bit different than up north.

First, we had a variety of emergency vehicles. That was the same as our old stomping grounds except they're much more considerate in Fishers. No loud, blaring sirens for the first section of the parade. But we did have tractors. Don't often see those up north. There was also another oddity that I wasn't use to seeing: Grocery carts. Lots of 'em being pushed along the parade route. They seemed to be used to carry stuff like candy for the crowd or water for the walkers. Target, however, had grocery carts that actually made sense.

Speaking of candy, the local dentists must have called the town hall. There was hardly any candy! Up north you could be guaranteed enough candy to fill a small bucket. The kids next to me didn't even have enough candy to fill the palm of their hands. What's up with that?!  We did have a lot of the traditional parade entries: Annoying Shriners, politicians, military folks, church floats, Boy Scouts, parade kings & queens. We also had some interesting things as well, like a strange group of bikers who would stop from time to time and run around their bicycles. We even had an Uncle Sam on stilts.

The reason I came to the parade wasn't so much to celebrate our country's birthday as to see Mark. This is his last parade as a member of Hamilton Southeastern High School's Royal Command & Guard. He is in his fourth year of marching as a high schooler and on his 4th instrument as well. He began with the mellophone, then flugel horn, next came trumpet (his "regular" instrument), and this year he's playing baritone. Mark was asked to switch from trumpet to baritone for the marching season. Check out the beautiful new silver baritone; $5K each! Mark has to wear gloves to keep the oil from his fingers from messing up the finish. What a beautiful instrument. Thank goodness we were able to rent it from the school at a reasonable rate. Mark is second from the right. I was the proud Momma today!