My First Trip To The Indiana Dunes

On Thursday, my family and I took a trip to Indiana. If you're looking for an extremely affordable day of fun with the family that's close to home, look no further than the Indiana Dunes.

Located in Porter County, about an hour east of Darien, the Indiana Dunes State Park features ". . . 2182 acres of primitive, beautiful, historic and unique Hoosier landscape . . . and includes more than three miles of beautiful beach along lake Michigan's southern shore" (www.in.gov, 1*).  The parking fee is $10 a day per non-resident carload, $46 for the entire calendar year. That's less than a tank of gas, which is pretty reasonable, eh?

When we were there, the beach was not crowded. The crowd consisted mostly of mothers with small children and grandparents. Unfortunately, there was a rip current, which made it too dangerous to go swimming. Instead we decided to walk along the shoreline, although many people ignored the red flag warnings and the verbal one that they probably received upon paying their parking fee. We walked along the shoreline with the intent of going all the way to the point, but were stopped by a sign that read "Private Walking Only."

What does "Private Walking" mean? Does it mean that the public can't walk there? Would you be trespassing? Would you be arrested, or would one of the neighbors come out and yell at you? That would've been a horrible ending to a beautiful day.  So we decided to turn around and enjoy the walk back.

The weather was beautiful—you couldn't ask for better—and there were whitecaps for as far as the eye could see. The birds were friendly but didn't bother you.  Sometimes all you could see was their shadow. Looking out at the water, we could see how a normal wind could churn up the water and the sand beneath it. You could see it swirling about pretty far out like I never remember seeing before.  This is pretty miniscule, though, compared to what the east coast is going through right now with Hurricane Irene.

Afterward, we sat down on a picnic table and talked about our plans for the near future. It's a good idea to have an individual one-year, five-year or 10-year plan, but as a family, it's good to have a coordinated plan for the next few months. That saves a lot of stress, and it gave us a chance to prioritize our needs and wants as well as our calendars. We got so into our discussion that I burned the whole back of my neck.

If walking along the shoreline isn't your thing, and you or a member of your family is into antiquing, there are several antique shops within a short distance.  Sometimes you have to dig through junk in order to find treasure.

Will men ever understand why women get so excited over stupid things like getting crystal serving plates for almost no money? I guess they don't understand us getting upset over ANOTHER Cubs defeat. I hope you and your family get a chance to enjoy the beautiful shoreline like we did.

*Information courtesy of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources website:  http://www.in.gov/dnr/parklake/2980.htm.