Summer Vacation Road Trip
We are spending our summer trying to sell our house, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have time to take a vacation. We decided to see how much fun we could squeeze into a Summer Vacation Road Trip. We took 40 hours, traveled over 1,000 miles and visited 4 states. Here are some of our highlights to inspire you to pack an overnight bag, stock a cooler and plug some new destinations into the GPS.
Our Summer Vacation Road Trip
I recently shared about The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis where we started our vacation. (If you haven’t read that review yet, then take a minute and hop over and read about the dinosaurs, National Geographic Exhibits and tour of Egypt that we enjoyed there in Indianapolis.)
But then we told our kids that we were going to drive up to a state park. Since we regularly visit our nation’s parks, they weren’t quite sure why we had to travel an extra 3 hours out of our way to visit another state park. Imagine their surprise when we pulled into the Indiana Dunes State Park and saw Lake Michigan and the sand dunes. What an amazing place right at the top of Indiana.
Indiana Dunes State Park
One of the highlights of visiting Indiana Dunes State Park is being able to climb the sand dunes. The climb to the top of the dunes is tougher than it looks, but well worth the effort.
This was my first visit to Lake Michigan. I really wasn’t sure what to expect. In some ways it is very similar to standing on the Florida Beaches. This may be a lake, but it looks as large as the ocean. I really was tempted to taste the water to see how different it tasted from the salty water of the ocean, but decided that I really wasn’t that curious.
Read my full review of the Indiana Dunes State Park
Visiting Lincoln Connections in Springfield, Illinois
We drove on over to Springfield, Illinois to tour President Lincoln’s Home and see his grave. Highlights of this stop include seeing the couch he was sitting on when he accepted the presidency and the desk President Lincoln used on a daily basis.
St Louis Gateway Arch
Our last offical stop on this 40 hour Vacation was a trip to the top of the St. Louis Gateway Arch. The Gateway to the West is the nation’s tallest man-made monument and stands at 630 feet tall. I’ve been to the top of the arch several times but this was a chance to see my kids experience it for the first time.
The journey to the top involves a 4 1/2 minute ride to the top inside a small elevator called a capsule.
We’re hoping to squeeze in more fun before Summer races past and school gets ready to start back! What are your plans for a Summer Vacation Road Trip? I’d love to hear your plans and see your highlights!
