Indiana Dunes State Park

After picking up the rental vehicle, a nice Nissan Pathfinder with only 8,000 miles, Sunday night at the State College Airport, the Runk's met at our place and the SUV got packed late Sunday night.

We picked up the Runk's around 7:15 am and headed out. We took 322 to Interstate 80. We were on 80 for well over 320 miles.

Along the way, we reached the highest elevation on Interstate 80 east of the Mississippi (it was somewhere near Clearfield, PA). Interstate 80 took us through Pennsylvania (obviously), Ohio, and into Indiana. Both Ohio and Indiana were toll roads.

After getting off in Indiana, we were only 25 minutes away from the Indiana Dunes State Park. We're not camping in the actual state park, but pretty darn close.

The Pathfinder pulled in around 4 pm (central time) for a total drive time of just under nine hours. That's not bad considering about four stops along the way. Driving with the Runk's was a lot of fun. We played an alphabet driving game, and despite a furious comeback by me, Cara ended up winning. I'll get her next time!

After setting up camp (quickly by the way now that we're pros), we cooked up some pre-made dinner of spaghetti (thanks, Lauren!) on our neat, little camping stove.



Food was just what we needed before heading to the beach of Lake Michigan. It's so beautiful! I'll try to attach at least one photo, but you can expect more from all of us once we hit some free wifi.





Ethan and I found a local craft beer six pack called Three Floyds Alpha King, a great pale ale that hit the spot on the beach. The girls snagged a few beer-itas for the beach.

On the beach, we jumped in almost immediately. Lake Michigan is cold but so refreshing on a 90° evening. We all tossed the Frisbee and football, jumping into the lake.

 

We ended up getting back to camp right around sunset, got a fire started, and showered. Despite insane amounts bug spray, the mosquitos got to us, and we decided to head into the Runk's tent to play some farmer's bridge.

The plan is to wake up with the sun and go on a little hike in the morning along Lake Michigan before heading out to Omaha, Nebraska. The trip should take around eight hours, but none of us are feeling a rush to get out there other than to be able and set up camp in daylight.