I walked Zeke for 3.3 miles around the neighborhood at 6am, around the subdivision and the Crown Point Sportsplex. It was hot and muggy and overcast. The sun was barely visible. It looked like it would rain. I was drenched in sweat when I got back in an hour. If I had known I would end up hiking and walking over eight miles over several trails, I would have not done the early morning walk.
I left Crown Point for Michigan City at 11am, arriving on time an hour later with everyone waiting outside Schoop's. It was hot here, 85F, but at least there was a breeze. It was a very pleasant lunch. I had starved myself just to be able to enjoy a lunch with everyone. The boys were well-behaved. Little Ben, still oblivious to his surroundings, entertained himself with Erin's phone by watching kid-friendly videos on YouTube. That two-year-old is already quite adept at scrolling up and down the phone's screen.
I enjoyed my lunch with everyone. But the time together was over all too soon. My stepdad had to rush back to Culver, IN because he needs frequent naps and has to drain his K-pouch often. Erin and Nick had other errands to do on their day off. Since we are getting together tomorrow to explore St Joseph, we all agreed that today's lunch would be a short one. After a round of hugs, we all went our separate ways.
It wasn't even 1pm. I was not ready to drive back to Crown Point. It was too hot and humid and I wanted to cool off near the lake by Washington Beach, Michigan City's premiere lakefront park.
That was not a good idea. The western entrance road to the parking lot, beach and zoo was backed up with both cars wanting to enter the parking area, and zoo visitors by the zoo entrance across the park area wanting to get inside the zoo. Even the road along Washington Beach on its eastern entrance was slo-mo. I continued driving away from the zoo, staying on the lakeshore road as long as possible and quickly was across state lines in Michigan. Michigan City lies on the border with Michigan, and now homes here in Michiana were upscale beachfront rentals with private beach access on private roads. There isn't much beachfront here, just a narrow strip of sand, and I could see the waves building up. It continued like this through my drive to New Buffalo, 15 miles into Michigan. It didn't look like I was going to get to the beach at all going this way.
And then, rather suddenly, the temperature dropped. I saw my car's thermometer drop from 83F to 75F in 20 minutes. The winds picked up and I saw whitecaps on the lake surface. It went from hot and sultry to pleasantly cool.
New Buffalo was my destination, a little tourist-harbor town for boaters. On the way there, just outside the town, I walked a loop trail in the Grand Beach nature preserve. The sandy trails weren't well-marked and the ones leading toward the beach ended at a golf course. This tract of land looked like land that was bought by the nature preserve from the town, with sandy trails criss-crossing the land from prior ATV use.
I stayed in New Buffalo just long enough to visit two breweries: the Beer Church brewery and the Ghost Isle Brewery. Both were loud and crowded and neither offered any striking beers. Neither had dog-friendly patios, the primary reason I stopped in long enough to taste a few.
It was now cool out, quite a contrast from the muggy morning. I stopped back in Michigan City to walk the historic art district off Franklin street. Every street corner has a modern art piece. There are still abandoned building in this mix, but it's a good start to revitalizing the town's image.
I had effectively spent three hours since leaving Schoop's and was now ready to head back to Crown Point when I realized I had time to hike the Tolleston Dune trail off US12.
I pulled into the parking lot at 5:20pm as another group was leaving. I had the trail all to myself.
More later.
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