We are currently suffering from a major vacation hangover over here. It always seems to suck when you have to come home from an amazing trip to reality of laundry, cleaning, bills, and grocery shopping. The laundry and cleaning will be an on-going process because of sand. Sand is everywhere! There is seriously so much sand. Even when I didn't think there would be sand in the laundry after the second wash, guess what? Sand. Open up the trunk of the car, sand. Get in the car to run to Target, sand on every car seat and floor. Give Ryder his third bath after playing on the beach days before, sand. I'm trying to think of it as little reminders that we had so much fun!
We stayed in Michigan City, Indiana this year. Normally we stay in Chesterton and camp in the Indiana Dunes State Park Campgrounds. But after last year's events, we decided that camping wasn't going to work again this year since Ryder still has a fear of bugs and he doesn't do well with changes. We wanted to try a few different beaches and after a lot of researching, we agreed that Michigan City was perfect for us. Our hotel was on the southern part of the town, just north of interstate 94. Our hotel wasn't the best, but it wasn't the worst that we've stayed in. The drive to the beach was only 7 minutes and my favorite part was driving through the downtown area and over the bridges in the marina. Of course seeing all of the boats, there were a lot of boats, was also a big hit with Ryder.
Our first night, we came straight from the road to Indiana Dunes State Park. I wasn't exactly thinking and we went straight to the beach in street clothes. It wasn't long before I went running back to the car for swimsuits. Ryder dove right in the chilly water! He loved it! It was like he had been on the beach his whole life. There was a large tide pool on the beach that had warmer water in it. The water was shallow and only came up to Ryder's waist. This is where he spend most of our time at the Dunes. Ryder and another child found a tiny catfish in the pond and we helped them catch it and move it over to the creek. We stayed for a few hours before heading to our hotel and getting dinner.
That first night was a little rough. Ryder was so scared about sleeping in the hotel. After crying to go home for an hour, we finally got him settled down, but he woke up frequently. We made sure to get a room with two beds so that we all had enough room. I slept with him so that he was more comfortable and I have to say, now that we are home I miss having his little hand holding me all night. In the morning, which just so happened to be my birthday, we got an early start and headed to Washington Park in Michigan City. This place was our favorite! You pay one price to park all day and then you have access to the beach, the zoo (extra fee), and a splash park (extra fee). We all agreed that Washington Park Beach was way better than the Dunes. The water was calmer, much more clear, and slightly warmer. Plus the lighthouse is within walking distance and we loved watching all of the boats come in and out of the marina.
We decided to check out the zoo around lunch time. It was a very cute little zoo. Ryder was so brave and held a Parakeet even after it pecked his finger. He also had no fear when it came to feeding the goats. He held his hand straight out and thought it was so funny when they licked the food right out of his hand. We decided to drive the 40 minutes south to Valparaiso to give Ryder a good nap. Unfortunately, he didn't wake up in a good mood at all. We visited a local cupcake bakery and had enough time to lick our icing before Ryder decided he was done for the day. So, it was back to the hotel for quick showers before dinner. We ate at Bridges which is an adorable grill built on a dock overlooking the marina. Ryder was in complete heaven watching the boats come in and out. Plus there was a bridge that had a train track running across it. Every time a boat needed to come across, the bridge would rotate, sounding the sirens and all. This was pretty much a complete win in my book! After dinner we headed to the lighthouse. By this point, everyone was tired and a little cranky, but we all trooped through the walk. After a quick dip in the water and a few runs in the sand, we were ready to wind down in the hotel pool. Ryder loved the pool! The entire time he did nothing but jump in, climb out, jump in, climb out. That night went so much better! All three of us slept through the entire night (first time in weeks!) and we all woke up feeling so refreshed.
We were all a little sad knowing that Tuesday was our last day on the beach, but we decided to make the most of it. This was the best day that we had the entire trip! We started on the beach after breakfast. The beach was obviously the reason we've been visiting Lake Michigan for three years in a row now. Ryder is at the perfect age this year for it too. He loved digging and running in the sand. We got him these huge construction trucks before we left home and he loved to dig and dump the sand with them. Another thing that he absolutely couldn't get enough of was chasing seagulls and finding stones and shells. Somehow we managed to bring home about 9 clam shells. The boys found a hole that somebody had started to dig and decided to make it even bigger! Ryder loved jumping in and out of it as well as hiding in it. We headed across the park to the Oasis Splash Park. This thing was so much nicer and so much bigger than the one we have in town. All of us enjoyed running through the water and spraying each other. I'm hoping our hometown will step up their game, wishful thinking.
After lunch and a good nap by all we headed back to the beach. I always get a little sad when it's time to leave our vacation, but knowing that we were spending the day at the aquarium the next day before heading home made it a little easier to say goodbye to the beach. We ate pizza at Albano's Villa downtown and we absolutely loved it! If you ever go, definitely order the cheesy garlic bread.
We headed to Chicago's Shedd Aquarium Wednesday morning. The last time we were there Ryder was just a little bean in my belly. This year he loved the aquarium! His favorites were of course finding Nemo in different tanks, touching the stingrays (which he is now a professional), the seahorses "sea-hoes", the beluga whales, and the play area for kids with touch tanks and underwater viewing of the dolphins and whales. Also, if you ask him, Chicago is the city where George and the man in the yellow hat live. He was pretty ecstatic to see the tall "towers" and all of the airplanes coming into the airport.
Now we are back home and we are really feeling the vacation hangover. Now it's time to pour multiple cups of coffee and tackle the laundry, cleaning, and getting ready for a certain somebody's third birthday!
Happy Friday, friends!
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