Up, Up and Away to Indianapolis’ New American Super Heroes Museum

By night, Dane Nash is a mild-mannered, retired, grandfather of two. By day, however, he assumes a secret identity, moving (almost) at the speed of light. Though he may not use his super powers to save lives, Nash does use them to build his dream: the American Super Heroes Museum.

Located in downtown Indianapolis — just three blocks from Circle Center — Nash is working feverishly to get the museum’s doors open this month. For those of you who have never visited Indy, many of the buildings are turn-of-the-century, and it appears as though Nash has found an old building — with hardwood floors, red carpet, 16-foot-high tin ceilings, and period-style lighting — that will lend the Museum the atmosphere it deserves.

Featuring 3300 square feet of showroom floor, the former insurance salesman’s Superman collection — which he’s spent most of his life assembling — will fill the bulk of the space, but there’ll still be plenty of room for his Batman stuff — from 1940s toys to replicas of the 1989 Batmobile and 1966 Batboat — and other memorabilia. Admission to the museum will be $5; children younger than 8 will be admitted free.

[Photo: fengschwing]

Teeny Tiny Airport Finds

Normally, I wouldn’t post such a rambling blurb on all the small discoveries to be found in the airport, but sometimes they either really amaze me or really annoy me. On my trip into Philly this past week I had the opportunity to go thru three airports I had never seen before. Surprisingly one of those cities was Philadelphia’s Intl’ Airport and the other two: Detroit and Indianapolis. (Note: Routing like such occurs when you buy a ticket the night before your flight.)

So now, once I passed through TSA and made sure that all my glosses and lipsticks were safely stored in my check-in luggage, I took the little time left to explore these exotic airports. Detroit’s shocked me! I was very impressed with their terminals, tram and the food selection to be sampled on a long layover. What I did not like was hiding in the women’s restroom. Who on Earth thinks that everything automatic and hands-off or free is a good idea? First it was the faucets and now it is the soap. Here are a couple of observations with this automatic-soap-dispensing-business: Either it works or it doesn’t. It’s like once it gets started there’s no stopping it and who knows how much soap was wasted. The same applies for Philadelphia’s restrooms. Am I alone here or does the automatic soap bug anyone else?

On the cooler side of things, I found Indianapolis has neat iPod vending machines. If you haven’t gotten one yet or are in need of accessories you can swipe your card and wa-la! You’ve got yourself a hip piece of modern technology all without having to go through the trouble of purchasing with a human being.

Okay, that went longer than I thought, but if you’ve got any airport finds from anywhere please share. I’m easy to entertain.