I think I did not realize just how needed it was until the tram driver said the park was celebrating its 84th birthday this year. The last time we were there was for the 80th birthday. It seems like it was only a year or two ago.
So, we really needed a vacation. And, we had a great time.
We decided to return to the campground we stayed at four years ago - Indiana Beach Camp Resort. At this point in our lives, we are still tent campers. So, after pitching the tent in the rain, sleeping the first night through a thunderstorm, mopping up the tent when we realized we had apparently either a) put the tent fly on wrong or b) put the tarp down wrong, we were more grateful than most for the sunny, albeit hot days that followed. Thank goodness my (sometimes) brilliant hubby made us buy an industrial strength fan at the Wal-Mart.
Camping was only a small part of the fun of this vacation. The real fun was found across the street, at the Indiana Beach Resort.
IB is a total retro experience. Many of the rides are the same from when I was child, but more than that, this park feels like it is only a stone throws away from when it began in 1926.
Maybe it was my visit to the Skyroom Restaurant, or the fact that I was visiting during the week when the park was quieter that made me feel that way. But, when I caved and bought a white, wide-brimmed hat on the second day to keep my face from getting burned, I felt like I fit right in. The kids must have thought so too, they kept stealing it.
Don't get me wrong, the park has plenty of modern excitement, not the least of which is the new coaster Steel Hawg. But, the laid-back attitude, the beach, (which short of the waterslides has not changed much) and the shops with the accomodating older ladies stocking the shelves might make you check your calender, not your watch.
This feeling, though, just adds to the fun at Indiana Beach. It's hard to really get away in this modern world, where we are constantly technologically connected. I found myself looking at my cellular phone only for one thing while on vacation - to see what time it was so I could get on as many rides as possible before the park closed.
We camped for four nights and bought a three-day pass to the park. This seemed like the perfect amount of time. We got on all the rides we wanted, rode our favorites more than once and wrapped up our visit with a ride on the Shafer Queen.
Indiana Beach is the perfect vacation for a family with small(er) children. My 7-year-old (although admittedly tall for his age) was able to get on all but one ride. My nearly-5-year-old was able to get on more rides than I would have expected. And they both had a blast.
On the way home, tent and enough stuffed animals to start a small zoo packed in the truck, they shouted out the window, "Bye Indiana Beach, see you next year."
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