Being a huge fan of The Golden Girls, when I heard my favorite podcaster, Patrick Hinds, was stopping in Indianapolis on his tour to share his hilarious encounter with Bea Arthur and a meet-and-greet, I booked my trip without checking my calendar to make sure I was free. If you asked me five years ago if I would travel to another state to see a podcaster, I would’ve laughed in your face, but it turned out to be a very pleasant weekend with my husband, Tony.

I heard rumors about the potholes in Indianapolis, but I never expected to see craters the size of basketballs all over the road. Dodging those holes had gotten to be a game, reminding me of way back when Atari’s Pole Position was popular. I’m happy to say the car remained fully intact at the end of the trip. But I digress.

Looking around for a place to eat breakfast, we happened upon Long’s Bakery and decided to check it out. I’m not a doughnut person, but the sample of the fresh-from-the-oven glazed cake doughnut offered to us was heaven on a napkin. We walked away with a box full of pastries that only lasted through the afternoon. Well, we walked a lot, so … .

After a morning of antiquing, we stopped at the world-famous Shapiro’s Delicatessen for a light lunch, or so we thought. The line was almost out the door, which allowed for time to peruse the enormous menu. It was overwhelming, to say the least. I ended up with a tuna sandwich, and Tony had a Reuben the size of his head. Needless to say, we had leftovers we could’ve eaten for two more days.

For dinner that evening we found Old Spaghetti Factory, a quaint little Italian gem in downtown Indy. Even with a smaller menu, it took us a long time to choose what to eat. I had the ravioli, which was excellent! My taste buds moaned at the exquisite flavor, but the sound was a little subdued in comparison to those doughnuts.

Finally, it was time to meet Patrick Hinds. We drove up to The White Rabbit Cabaret lounge and waited for the doors to unlock. It is a tiny place, easily missed if you’re not looking for it, but the intimacy of the venue was perfect for mingling with other Golden Girls fanatics. Tony made quite an impression on Patrick with his “Hi! It’s me Stan” t-shirt as I stood next to him, proud my husband could share this experience with me. Since he wouldn’t know who Patrick was if it wasn’t for me, technically he stole my friend, but I was still glad he came with me.

I would go back to Indy, as it turned out to be a fun little get-away for us. We continue to listen to Patrick’s The Golden Girls Deep Dive podcast and discuss on his Facebook page the show we encourage every Golden Girls fan to see. Check out Patrick Tours if you love all things Golden Girls. Maybe we will meet you at a future event!

— JoAnne Feddeler, guest blogger