Last day with the family

Today is my last full day with Erin and the boys.

The many walks with the dogs while here have tired me out.  I didn't walk the dogs at sunrise.  I didn't even walk them until almost 8am, when I drove to the Sunset Hills Farm County Park on the north side of Valparaiso.  Alltrails list it as having three miles of trail.

Sunset Hills Farm was once a daity farm run by the Murray family.  The husband, Robert, was a WWI veteran and is buried on the land.  The land is still being used in part as a community garden and education center for young children, but most of the land is either native prairie or old growth forest.

There were many teens out in the park running.  It looked like a cross-country training event.  I kept the dogs on leash so that they were not bothering anyone.  Today the dogs were eager to chase after squirrels.

It got warm fast and I quickly favored the shaded forest, but that is where the mosquitoes were.

I managed three miles and then drove back to Erin's.  I was now done exploring all the nature preserves and county parks around Valparaiso. Ethan was already awake now and we had lunch together at a new restaurant close to Valparaiso University: Industrial Revolution Eatery.  It would be Ethan and I's last meal together.  I've enjoyed spending quality alone time with him.  In a few years I hope to be able to take all three boys out to lunch.

I ended up spending several hours in the backyard watching over the neighbors' three kids.  This kept me from cleaning out my car until Nick got home at 4pm.  With two boxes of my dad's stuff now in the back, there is less room for the dogs and me to sleep on.  The drive back is going to be an adventure, and I hope it doesn't involve more dog puke.

We finished off the day with Ethan and Erin joining me on a two-mile dog walk around the neighborhood.  Ethan was on his skateboard getting pulled by his dog Macks.

I will leave Erin's place by 8am, stop by and visit Carol one more time, then head south on I-65 and spend the day in Bloomington, IN and McCormick's Creek State Park for more grotto hiking.  There are a few more brewpubs in town, too, since my last visit ten years ago. Weather should be clear and in the upper 80s for most of my drive through the Midwest.