This summer we only had a limited amount of time for our family vacation so we decided to drive to Indiana Dunes National Park as part of our attempt to visit all 63 National Parks. Conveniently, the week we were going the Professional Lacrosse League was playing in Chicago. We decided to spend a few days in the park and then spend some time in Chicago.
We were planning on leaving for our 10 hour drive at 7:00am, but ended up delayed by two hours when I discovered our sump pump failed after a massive storm and the basement had flooded. As you can see it’s an unfinished basement and almost everything was up off the ground already so there wasn’t much damage. I did have to push my massive gaming table off the now saturated area rug but after running to my local home improvement store I was able to replace the sump pump and get on the road only two hours late. It could have been worse, it could have happened the next day when we were out of town and the table could have been sitting on the dank rug for another 5 days as the flood water continued to rise with further rain! I’m glad I went downstairs to grab my backpack, that’s how I found this mess!
Anyway we got on the road and headed towards Valparaiso, IN where we stayed the first three nights. After a quick stop at the local hobby shop, Galactic Greg’s, we stopped at Blockhead Beer Works for much needed dinner and drinks. They had Asian Fusion food and it was delicious! They also had one of the best Mexican Lagers I have ever had, but after the way the day started it didn’t last long enough for a picture!
The next day we started our trip in earnest starting with walking the Dune Succession Hike, often called the Diana of the Dunes hike, a mile long loop trail up and down wooden stairs, before we spent a few hours on the West Beach. One of the things I didn’t capture in my picture of the beach was that you were between two Industrial Parks which were situated on Lake Michigan. Many travel blogs tell you to go to one of the other beaches so you don’t have to see the industrial parks, but I kind of enjoyed it. I liked the juxtaposition of the National Park versus the industrialization. After all, saving the environment from such industry is the whole point of the National Park system, preserving nature. Seeing this diverse biosphere nestled between the factors that it is being preserved from really struck home for me. Plus we could see Chicago from where we were which was cool to point out to the boys!
For lunch we went to Journeyman. The food was delicious here and so were the cocktails. The beer was ok, and it made me wish I went for another cocktail but that’s more because the cocktails were just that good! This is another location I highly recommend!
We then visited the Houses of Tomorrow from the Century of Progress. These houses were all created and built at the 1933 World Fair and were transported either by rail or boat to their current location. They are currently leased by individual families who promise to renovate them. The Florida Tropical was provably my favorite, although Flat Kanley liked the House of Tomorrow (first picture) as it had an actual airplane hanger in it!
The next day we went to the visitors center and did a few more hikes through the different biospheres of the park. While the visitors center was small it had a coffee bar inside and that made it awesome! Fluid Coffee is a local chain with 7 locations in the Great Lakes area. It was so good we went there every day we were in Indiana at least once a day, and we even stopped there for coffee and breakfast on our way back home, stopping after leaving Chicago! (Note: The picture of Fluid comes from IndianaDunes.com, the picture I took had the barista in it and I didn’t want to post her picture without permission!)
After we took our hikes we headed out and drove up to Chicago!
We got into Chicago around midday and went straight to our hotel in downtown. We went to see Cloud Gate (aka the bean) in Millennium Park and walked to the Navy Pier. Flat Kanley set up some firing solutions on the Bean thinking it was some sort of Necron ship! We walked to a Portillo’s but it was closed and after all that walking we just went back to where we were staying and just ordered delivery off the app. I forgot to get a chili dog and they forgot to give me the gravy for the Italian Beef so this was a low point of the trip for sure!
The next day we started off with breakfast from The Goddess and the Baker, where everything we got was delicious! We then went to the Griffin Museum of Science and Industry where we got to see the U-505 amongst other great exhibits. I really enjoyed the exhibit about the effect of human use of plastics on the oceans!
For lunch we went to a Adepticon institution, Kuma’s Corner. More specifically we went to the original Kuma’s Corner in Chicago, not the Schaumburg location. After being at both locations I felt like the Schaumburg location was like the movie version of the original. It really pumps up the metal theme to 11, while the OG location is more understated, and thus more metal in actuality. I’d be thrilled to have either as my local bar of course!
After lunch we went to went to Winnetka, IL to see the original Home Alone house and then we went to see the Professional Lacrosse League game at Northwestern University. For those who don’t know the PLL’s referee, Matt “Matty P” Palumb is one of the most animated and thus popular referees in all the league. Not only did the boys team, The Waterdogs, win their game but one of the boys got this great picture with Matty P!
For dinner we hit up another Chicago institution, Lou Malnati’s for deep dish pizza. They wouldn’t admit it but I think the family wasn’t a big fan of deep dish, but it’s a must have at least once!
After dinner we returned to the place we were staying and Flat Kanley took one last look at the city he conqured!
In the morning we headed home, but not after a detour to the famous Toledo Game Room! I was very excited to get to make the side trip, and considering she likes driving straight home after a trip I appreciate my wife not only agreeing but supporting this quest!
After visiting the Toledo Game Room we finished our drive home and managed to unpack.
Indiana Dunes frequently ranks fairly low when people rate National Parks, but given the diversity of the biosphere and how it provides recreation for an urban/suburban population I think it was a really nice place to visit. Plus Valparaiso is a great little city with lots of places to eat and hang out. I think we could have used an extra half day there but we did get the overall feel for the park. I doubt we will make it back with all the other National Parks we still have to visit but if I found myself in the area for some reason I’d check it out again! While there were other touristy things to do in Chicago I think for what we like to do we saw enough of the city. I wouldn’t mind another swing by a Portillo’s to get my order right though!
-Wachtmeister
The Wachtmeister's Patrol 