To the Beach! Indiana Dunes Style

Relatively easy and nice day trip from Chicago. Their are several Illinois and National Dunes Parks. We have been going to the West Beach Dunes.  The facilities are decent, there is a neat little hot dog stand down the street and the beach is bookended by two huge industrial complexes! Not many beaches can make that boast! I did get a bit of a whiff of petrol fumes on the back of my throat when I surfaced from body boarding some waves but if you don't look right or left too often, you'd think you were quite a ways out in the natural world .... kind of. Anyway, girls have a blast, the large expanse of dunes landscape is quite unique, and it makes for a fun day.

Happy beach girls with industrial complex number one to the east. 

Certainly functioning. 

And to the west Gary, Indiana towards Chicago.

Gary, the once might steel town and home of the Jacksons of Michael and the Five fame, has fallen on hard times. But its industrial sky line is still very much in order and it does have some of its industries reviving. 

This poster terrified Ada when we came here last year. The child about to step onto a hole kept her out of the water until after some strong encouragement and a piggy back ride she agreed to brave the deadly hole strewn shoreline. 

Girls venturing out in the waves which were big enough for boogey boarding if I pushed them into them. 

Sure do enjoy the beach. 

Bit of different beach wear - reminiscent of lots of the water venues we visited in SE Asia. 

Great playmates. Emmerson is a fabulous reassuring and encouraging big sister. We romped around and I chased them and dunked and threw them around and then they we scream for me to stop - and then do it again .... we humans are curious creatures. 

At the neat train caboose renovated into a hotdog place. 

Happy in the van after a good day.

And how the girls relax after a long day. 

Ada can be a tad bit clingy but Emmerson is like a big dog and lets her use her look a pillow.