Vacation day one! Cara, Lin, and I arrived at our Airbnb late yesterday afternoon. It’s a small house, that the owners call “Camp Baxter” (there is a sign in everything) in the middle of an otherwise unassuming (and dare I say underwhelming neighborhood). But they’ve created this little oasis that’s tucked away with a fenced-in and private yard complete with a fire pit, deck and furniture, and a hot tub.
The inside is renovated/updated . . . like the bathroom has heated floors and there are four giant TVs in the small house (living room, both bedrooms, and in a bonus area in the basement). It’s comfortable for us for the week. “Us” includes Cara and Lin’s cat, Nasa, who also made the trip and acclimates better to new spaces than Merlin and Arthur could in even in my wildest dreams.
We did a grocery run last night and picked up an easy and satisfying dinner of Dominos pizza. We had a couple of beers and settled in, ultimately going to bed early to sleep off the long travel days and get ready for the week.
I woke up this morning just after six without my alarm and with eight hours of sleep. It was glorious. I got out of bed and was able to read my book for nearly two hours before the rest of the house stirred. Again, glorious. We didn’t rush this morning and ended up heading out around 10:30 to check out a part of the Indiana Dunes National Park ~20 minutes away:
Bailly Homestead, Chellberg Farm, Little Calumet River, and Mnoké Prairie Trails
For a few hours, we walked the varied trails — woods, marsh, prairie — and explored the old family homestead that had been turned into a historical landmark. The Bailly family was one of the earliest (European) settlers in Northern Indiana. We actually started our walk heading towards the cemetery marked on the map, only to find this monument to just four members of the Bailly family. Cemetery can’t be the right word for it . . . mausoleum . . . secret tomb? Here’s a picture:
We stopped for a picnic lunch at a quiet spot along our hiking route, enjoying PB&Js, carrots, chips, and other snacks straight out of an elementary school lunchbox. It’s turned out to be a beautiful day, the high 50’s and feeling warmer as we moved. We have some rain (and chilly weather) in the forecast this week so we’re doing our best to soak it up.
On our way back to our Airbnb, we made one other stop in the National Park since we hadn’t seen the water yet! West Beach has a short trail that climbs to a scenic overview of the dunes and Lake Michigan. We climbed first, and then followed the boardwalk trail down to the beach.
Back at our home for the week, we’re taking an afternoon siesta. Tonight we’re going to try out that hot tub and try to get a fire going. Maybe sip some wine or whiskey as we eat our Domino’s leftovers.
It’s going to be a good week.
With Love,
Natalie