Erie to Chicago

We started off the morning in Erie, PA and hopped onto I-90 W bound for northern Indiana. We saw a whole lot of interstate and a lot of toll booths. 

A random jaunt off the interstate helped us tick off another state (Michigan). 

We arrived in Chesterton, IN around 5 and got to catch up with the Warren family for a bit before a wonderful home cooked meal. Mrs. Warren was my second grade teacher and I've remained in contact with her all these years. She was the inspiration for me to become a teacher myself. :) It was a wonderful to simply sit back and relax for a bit. 

On Monday morning we jumped on a train from Chesterton and headed into Chicago for a few hours. We explored Millenium Park, had lunch at Giordano's for some deep dish pizza, and even swing by Glazed and Infused for some donuts. It was a quick trip but just enough, as we wanted to have time to unwind and reorganize before the next leg of our trip. On the way "home" from the train station we swung by Indiana Dunes State Park to go to the beach. We got to put our feet in Lake Michigan which was surprisingly not as cold as I expected. Again, another wonderful home cooked meal with the Warren's and some down time before it was off to bed for the early wake-up call and the long haul to South Dakota. 

States checked off on this leg of the trip: Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana and we did go to Illinois but we still have to drive through it again. :)

Headed further West-

Vickie