This morning I had the pleasure of being one of the first through the new Indianapolis International Airport. My only regret is that I am adding this to the blogosphere so late in the day from the Pacific Northwest.

Arriving early, in fears that the system might be jammed up with bugs, trying to get flights out on time of baggage handled properly, I was happy with how easy it was to navigate where I was going and get out of town.

To put it plainly, IND is now a a great airport. When you enter the space and take the escalator to the main floor, it opens to this great expansive acrhitectural steel marvel. The large main concourse area not only celebrates its form as well as its function, but it celebrates Indiana and the area with some museum style installations and art pieces that had been selected specially for the space. In my opinion, it was about time. 

Indianapolis had long been a great disappointment to many on travel layovers. It had become much less attractive to many carriers as a hub because of it’s outdated facility and, more importantly, for the traveler it was horrible…If you'd never been there, let me paint a picture. You're in a terminal and you have two choices for food (three if you count the vending machine). The first is a "Dick Clark's American Bandstand" restaurant, which sounds as tasty as it is, and the other is a small stand with stale bagels, muffins and horrible coffee. You hardly would notice the presence of the drop-ceiling because you were trying to figure out what had stained the overused carpet as you sat in a chair where the cushion was clearly worn-out and spongy...

Gone are those days. The food of sub-par vendors has been replaced by off-shoots of legends on the local cuisine scene, the carpet replaced by lightly colored tile and the space a light, open and vibrant place that would be much more inviting in case of a delay. While I had only the chance to get into my area for the A gates, the few local food selections of note were Harry and Izzy's (Steakhouse) as well as a South Bend Chocolate Company Chocolate Cafe. Outside in the main concourse was Patachou (pictured in the attached image...I shot it with my Treo, what can you do), a local favorite for hip and organic breakfast and lunch options, though it remains to be seen if the airport version will be as hip or organic.

The icing on the cake? Free Wifi...though as it seems with all airports, new or old, there is a serious short number of power outlets. Travelers: You don't have to avoid IND anymore.