Highlights of Mishawaka and the surrounding 90 miles

Before I completely lose the ability to recall our drive from the East Coast to Mishawaka, I thought I should outline a few notable events and the sights as we drove from Lake George, NY to Mishawaka in early August. After the notable events on the way to Indiana, it seems worthwhile to mention the notable events that we have had the pleasure to experience within the 90 mile radius of our apartment. It will be a long post, so please be patient.

Niagara Falls - New York
We left Lake George NY (where we'd been staying with my sister & family) early in the morning hoping to beat traffic (on a Sunday?) and arrive in Mishawaka before dark. We decided on our way to visit Niagara Falls. Ignoring our map, we followed the signs to the falls which were deceptive in the sense that they forced us to journey off the main thoroughfare and into the narrow roads of the rural towns which had once thrived on their proximity to such a wondrous tourist destination. We drove through the graveyard towns composed of battered hotels which had not seen "the glory days" for decades. Forced to drive 30 mph for the majority of the way, we found ourselves with very little time (or patience) once we arrived at the falls.

Parking was nowhere to be found, at least not for free. So we decided to at least get the best deal on parking and selected a lot where we were guaranteed a free souvenir from the visitor's center. We made our way to the visitor's center with 2 papers in hand, ready to claim our free souvenirs. Ryan went to find a drinking fountain while I waited my turn at the counter.

If you are going to work at one of the largest tourist destinations in the country, you ought to be friendly. Alas, the woman who barely uttered a greeting hastily slapped down a photocopied map along with my special souvenir, was not the vision of a welcome greeting I'd expected. As she lay down my souvenir magnet, I actually said with great disturbance, "THIS.......is the souvenir?"

It was a magnet with a ridiculous picture of Niagara falls. The kind of magnet that should be thrown away as soon as you get it, simply for the fact that the photo it displayed was so bad that no postcard company would even try to sell it as a "view of Niagara Falls." Here it is so you too can be irritated by the fact that of all the photos in the world taken of Niagara Falls, THIS is the one they give out as the free souvenir.

I grabbed my magnet and got out of there. I should have thrown it in the trash instantly but I didn't. And now it is on our fridge.

We meandered toward the falls only to realize that the view from the American side is rather obstructed and much less impressive than what the Canadians get to see. We didn't want to pay $25 for, nor did we have the extra time to spend climbing to the observation deck which allows people to walk an extra 20 feet beyond the fence to get a better view.

I left feeling disheartened. Niagara falls had disappointed me - all the hype & the build up of the "glorious" Niagara Falls for 32 years (my life span) was just too much. As Ryan and I continued to discuss, we realized we had set our expectations for a experience a little more like visiting Semonkong Falls in Lesotho. That was breathtaking for us, and what we expected of Niagara. An uninhibited view all to ourselves. (You can read about Semonkong Falls & our visit here.)

Don't be discouraged by my review, however. Instead, take it in stride and visit the falls from the Canadian side. Trust me, they really do have the better end of the deal.

Euclid Avenue - Ohio
As we approached Cleveland, heavy rains began to fall, and our stomachs began to growl with the hunger that can only be satiated by fast food. Or a really good homemade pasta.

Homemade pasta is hard to find, pretty much anywhere, so we took the first exist just outside of Cleveland. As we left the busy freeway we realized that we had chosen an exit where the fast food rows were not *just* off the freeway, but rather through the neighborhoods. We followed Euclid Avenue towards the Taco Bell sign (McDonald's was the other direction) and thought we'd capitalize on the affordable gasoline too. We pulled into the station and Ryan locked the doors behind him, having noticed the deterioration of the buildings and clientèle as we progressed down the street.

I wasn't as concerned about our surroundings (I think I rarely am) but since I was in the driver's seat I felt obliged to be vigilant about all that occurred outside the tightly sealed bubble of our '97 Nissan Sentra. We emerged with a full tank, and unscathed. Taco Bell was yet another intersection deeper into the urban jungle so we settled on going to Popeye's chicken which was nearly across the street.

We went in to Popeye's, kept an eye on the car (bikes on top of the car were the primary concern) and waited for our order. I found everyone was really friendly, but I also found that we were sticking out like a sore thumb. And it wasn't until I noticed on our way out, the ominous sign posted on the entry door. It was similar to this:
Basic idea...you are welcome, but your guns are not.

Ryan had noticed the sign on the way in, but I hadn't. Which explains why he quickly told the woman taking our order that it was definitely not "for here" but rather, " TO GO!"

I thought he just wanted to make good time on the road. But nah, he was looking out for my safety, an excellent quality.


RV Hall of Fame - Indiana
After entering Indiana we laughed our heads off at the RV Hall of Fame. That's right, when you come to visit, we might go to the RV Hall of Fame. I can't imagine what we'll see inside, but we'll find out together.

During his orientation at Notre Dame, Ryan learned that Indiana is the RV Capital of the World. I'd always suspected that Honduras might be the RV Capital of the World, but it turns out I'm wrong. I suppose it makes sense as Indiana is known as the "Crossroads of America." At least I think that helps it make sense to me.


90 Miles or less:
If you travel just 90 miles to the Northwest-ish, one will find themselves (hopefully) outside the clutches of Gary Indiana (wretched wretched wretched) and in the middle of the beautiful parks of


We went to Chicago for our anniversary and stayed at the Swissotel near the Navy Pier. A fabulous view from our room greeted us each morning....along with incessant rains. We got a few hours of sunshine which we used to explore the Millennium park and enjoy a walk down the Magnificent Mile. I enjoyed walking on Frank Gehry's bridge which I didn't know about prior to our visit.

45 Miles away
If you travel about 45-50 miles to the West, you come to the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, about which we'd heard rave reviews. We hadn't considered that there would be a "beach" feel to the lakeshore and planned our trip there to focus on some hikes. We were both glad for this.

When we reached the beach, we realized we had no desire to swim. Yep, that water is clear, but reddish brown. And it's not because of the sand.

As we approached the water's edges we looked down the beach to our left where we saw the Gary Steel mills on the water's edge less than 6 miles away. (Can you see the towers in the distance?)


We thought the water must be reddish brown because of pollution (I'm sure there is pollution!) but then we read a sign over the creek that runs into the lake and learned more.

The creek flows through a culvert into Lake Michigan and it looks pretty gross.
The sign above the culvert reads:
"Swimming, wading or playing in creek is strictly prohibited due to frequently high bacteria levels." We didn't need the sign to tell me to stay out of the creek water nor did we need a sign to convince us that we would have more fun hiking a dune than splashing in the water. Yuck.

We took a short hike up a dune to an overlook point, which, unfortunately just gave us another view of Gary. But I did get a nice shot of Ryan on the trail. So not all was lost.
We spent the rest of the afternoon at the Michigan City outlets.


We have explored our new area with zeal and will now take more careful recommendations on where we venture. We've heard from several sources that Sagatuck is nice and that there is a great ice cream place in New Haven.

And there are some gems here in Mishawaka too.

Mishawaka Gems
Ritter's Frozen Custard is down the road and they have some of the best frozen custard I've tasted. I'm no expert of course, so we'll have to have some Missouri folks sample it too. One of the best things about Ritter's is that they give Notre Dame students 50% off their purchase. Can you believe it?
Last week we took our friend Bruce there and we got all 3 of our orders for around $4. Ritter's has won our hearts.

Other gems include a Mexican restaurant, Fiesta Tapatia, which is close by. We ate there on Friday night and thoroughly enjoyed our meal. Traditional Carne Asada tacos and chile rellenos. Oh my, it was heavenly.

We're still exploring the area and finding the spots we'll eventually call favorites. When you come to visit, we'll take you to all the hot spots. We promise.