We left NJ around 7AM Wednesday morning after saying goodbye to Aunt Kathy and Uncle Paul. The real trip has begun! We were reminded of our homelessness while at a rest stop in Ohio when a gentleman in a car with Michigan plates pulled up alongside us and said “Wow! You’re a far way from home!”. Tim and I laughed. I couldn’t help but think not only are we pretty far from our last home, but we’re farther yet from our future home!
The first day driving was one of our longer days. We plugged just over 680 miles. It turns out that our friend from work, John, has friends that live within the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore region, and he graciously arranged a place for us to land for the night. We met John’s good friends Geof and Mary at their beautiful home in Beverly Shores around 6PM CDT. After a long day on the road, we were excited when Geof and Mary led us to the shore of Lake Michigan for a walk along the beach. Their yellow lab, Charlie, was equally as excited and headed straight for the water!
The view was beautiful. It seemed unnatural to have a serene setting within such an industrialized area, but that’s what makes the National Lakeshore so unique. Mary led us along the water and up some of the sand dunes to a place she and Geof love to visit, where the surrounding steel mills are out of sight.
Geof explained that there has been a lot more erosion than normal, and the areas that were usually composed of sand were now exposed, revealing the rocky layer underneath. Mary told us about crinoids and effortlessly spotted several small remains among the rocks.
After a nice walk, we made our way into town for dinner at Bartlett’s, a local gourmet roadhouse. We had a great time sharing stories and talking about different places to travel. When we returned home, Geof and Mary told us about when they vacationed in Alaska and shared their photos. We couldn’t hide our excitement. The sights look beautiful and we can’t wait to see it for ourselves.
It was great to get some sleep after a long day on the road. We woke up around 8:30AM Thursday, and Geof kindly prepared us a delicious breakfast. Before leaving town, we stopped for a walk through the Great Marsh. It was a birder’s paradise (thinking of you, Will B!).
We took Geof’s advice to enjoy a more scenic drive along Lake Michigan to reach our next destination: Fond du Lac, WI. My favorite part of the drive was through Chicago where the highway leads you to the very edge of Lake Michigan. It was beautiful! Beyond the downtown area, there are some seriously gorgeous homes that overlook the lake. Each block we passed outdid the last.
We reached Fond du Lac by 5PM, where we met up with our NH friends Mercedes and Andrew. They took us to their favorite brewery, Lion’s Tail, in Neenah. Mercedes works for Briess (a malt company) and Lion’s Tail is a client. I’d recommend the All Along the Clocktower double IPA, it was awesome!
After enjoying their favorite spot in town, we had a great dinner at a local Mexican restaurant. Then we headed back to Mercedes’ house to rest up for another long day. It has been an awesome trip so far, and we’re enjoying every minute. Today, we got up early and hit the road at 6AM to put in a good 10 hours. Our next destination: Eagle Butte, SD to visit my cousin Bobby!
