Climbing Mount Baldy

Saturday night, the folks ate at Wagner Ribs.  Mama was excited to eat there because the restaurant has been voted the best ribs in the region since 1993. Mama was not disappointed.  She was really delighted when she saw they had a baby back rib/ribeye combo. It was a lot of food, but since the folks didn't eat lunch, she went for it.  She ended up bringing home half the ribeye.  We had some and then the folks had the rest for breakfast. The baby back ribs were excellent.  The ribeye was better than most.

Breaded Mushrooms

Side Salad

Baby Back Ribs and Ribeye

Dad's Meal - Crab Cakes and Baby Back Ribs

Dad's side item - Cornbread Cakes

This was one of the best meals that the folks have had in a while.  The one complaint they had was that the salad came out with the appetizer and then the rest of the meal came out immediately.  They like their food to come out slower than that.  They would love to eat here again.



Sunday, after our failure to walk to the beach, the folks went on their own hike. They climbed Mount Baldy.  It is roughly 125 feet tall and is the largest "living" dune in the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. As it moves, it buries everything in its path, including trees.  It is moving approximately five feet a year.  They are predicting that the parking lot will be covered in five years.

Mount Baldy as seen from the parking lot.

It was a tough climb to the top. There were some people who didn't make it.  Mama didn't know if she was going to make it.  It was a hard climb uphill, but walking in deep sand made it even harder.

The following pictures are from the top of Mount Baldy.

Light houses in the water as seen from Mount Baldy.

Going down is so much easier.

There are so many trails here. If you like to hike, this is the place to come.  We have ten trails in our park, but there are many more outside the park.  It's a great place to visit!

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Doesn't Need To Wear His Boot In The Sand

A Tale Of Two Beachgoers

We were very excited about going to the beach yesterday.  Dad said we should wait until the afternoon to go so that we didn't freeze in the water.  We decided to walk a trail in the morning.  It leads to the beach. We put our beachwear on which means we both wore harnesses because Scout gets very excited in the sand.  Scout was not impressed with the sand here though. Let me tell you, it is harder walking in deep sand then you might think.  We walked and walked and it was tough going uphill in the sand.  Then something bad happened. We ran into steps!

Scout refused to go up.

I was not happy that Scout refused to go up the steps. I refused to come down for a while. It wasn't just that set of steps though.  There were steps as far as we could see.  Mama is going to buy a postcard today that shows all the steps so that we can show you.  There is no way Scout would have made it.  There was nothing on our trail guide that indicated all the steps.  The folks went to the visitor's center later in the day and there was a map and description that said the trail had many steps and not recommended for children. :::sigh:::

We came back to the RV and rested while the folks went to the visitors' center and then to lunch.  After they came home, we put our beachwear on and we drove to the beach.  Oh, boy!  We were very excited.

Our excitement didn't last long because one of us got very scared.  There were kites all of over and one of the kites even made a buzzing noise.  Not good!

 

So, who do you think was scared?

Was it Scout who was scared?

Was it me who was scared?

It was Scout, of course. I'm not scared of anything.  Scout wouldn't get near the water.  Mama was so disappointed because Scout loves water and she has been wanting to take her to the beach for years.  If it wasn't for the kites, we think she would have been okay. 

I loved the beach!  It was hard for Mama to take my photo and play with me at the same time.Dad couldn't help because he had to stay with Scout who refused to move.  I ran into the water and then when the water chased me, I drank it.  It was so cool!

This is all that Scout did.

Scout was very upset with Mama for taking her to the beach.  She refused to have anything to do with her for a few hours.  This morning Mama said the word "beach" and Scout gave her a stink-eye. 

I am having a blast here. This morning, we walked on a trail.  Scout almost gave a man a heart attack because she did like a ninja move on him as he walked by. Sand can make Scout a little nuts.  We apologized to him and hope we don't see him again. 

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Loves The Beach

We Are Not In Illinois Anymore!

Bye Illinois

We packed up Goldie this morning and left Illinois.  Mama had to turn in our key card for the gate and came face to face with "pigman". He actually said "have a safe trip."  Wow!  Dad said he was probably just glad we were leaving because one less motor home in the campground. Mama was happy to leave.  She was always scared we would get in trouble for something. It was not a very relaxing stay. He never bothered us, but we knew if we did anything that he didn't like, we could be kicked out. 

Last weekend, Dad announced that he made reservations at another park and the train station is just outside of the park.  Dad's commute will be an hour less each day now.

Okay, so where are we?  It's a beautiful place!

If you said somewhere with an ocean, you are WRONG.

It is:

We are at Indiana Dunes State Park!  This place is so cool!  As you can see, there is a beach and the ranger said we can walk on it since swimming season is over!   Scout gets very excited when she touches sand, so she is going to go nuts.  She is going to have to wear her harness tomorrow because are going to play on the beach and dip our paws into the water!  We are also going to do a trail or two.  We wish we were staying longer than a week. 

Today is Scout's Gotcha Day!  She was adopted five years ago today.  Mama brought us home some rib eye steak to celebrate.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Going To The Beach!

One More Week

We will be headed home in a week.  We have mixed feelings about it.  We are excited about running in our yard, relaxing on the deck, playing with all the toys we left behind and getting more bully sticks.  Mama is happy that she will not have to walk us seven times a day and she can do laundry at home instead of going to the laundromat. She is also excited about having a car again and being able to go shopping when she wants.   Mama has a huge "to do" list, so I don't think she will be bored. We are all sad that Dad will not be with us.  He will be in Jamaica until November.  He will be home for a few weeks after that and then we don't know where he will go. It is likely that he will come back here for another month or two.  It really doesn't matter where he goes because he will be gone for 30 days at a time no matter the location.  However, if he goes someplace warm like Texas or Florida, do we stay home or go with him?  That will be interesting.  It depends on what the weather is like for us getting to the destination as to whether we will go.  So, even though we think we will be home until March, we could be back on the road sooner.

Last Sunday afternoon, we watched the Rams' game.  They played against the Chicago Bears.  It was not a good game for the Rams.  After the game, the folks ate at McBride's Pub and Grille.  They were quite disappointed in the restaurant.  There was a jukebox playing that was so loud that people had to yell at each other to be heard.  Mama said it was like being at a concert. Mama was thrilled when the jukebox turned off, but then the bartender turned the radio on almost as loud.  There was one waitress for the entire place, so the service was really slow.  They almost walked out, but finally the waitress took their order.

Hot Wings- 1 pound

Baby Back Ribs w/fries and slaw

Baby Back Ribs, Chicken Breast with Cheese and Bacon and Fries

The chicken wings were good.  A pound equals seven wings.  The baby back ribs were really good as was the chicken breast. The prices were reasonable.  However, they said they would not eat here again due to the extremely loud music.  Also, since no smoking is allowed inside, the patrons were lined up on both sides of the door outside.  The folks had to walk through smoke to leave. Smoke really bothers Mama, so that didn't make her any happier.



Joey,
The Greyhound Who Is Semi-Excited About Going Home

Squirrels!

My favorite past time while walking is watching squirrels.  I would like to chase them, but I have two problems. I have Mama attached to me who is an anchor and then I have Scout who gets her leash wrapped around trees when I do get the chance to "chase" them.

Here I am this morning watching a squirrel.  Nice form, don't you think?

This is what Scout did while I watched the squirrel. 

Scout said she saw deer this morning, but I didn't see them.  I was too busy watching for squirrels.  Dad mentioned last night that our rabbit population at home is probably out of control.  They better watch out because I no longer have restrictions.  Mama is worried about me running, but she has to let me be a dog, right?

Sunday, the folks ate at Portillo's Hot Dogs.  The inside is decorated with gangster pictures. It is a place where you go to the counter and order your food.  The prices are not bad, but the serving sizes were a little disappointing.

They have a drive-thru that always seems to be quite busy.

Outside Portillo's Hot Dogs

Jumbo Chili Cheese Dog w/Onion Rings

 Mama felt the jumbo chili cheese dog was not jumbo at all.  It was very good, but definitely smaller than she expected it to be. The chili was really good.  The onion rings are a side order.  They were also really good.

Dad ordered a polish sausage.  He had it half eaten before Mama got to the table, so no photos.  He said it was good, but also felt serving size was too small.

Inside Portillo's

 The folks really liked the food, but needed more to fill them up.  They said they would like to eat there again, but would order more the next time.

Joey,
The Greyhound Who Thinks Squirrels Are Awesome!