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We went to Pokagon State Park in northern Indiana. I like to mispronounce it as Pokemon State Park, hence the blog title. I had to issue a correction though, otherwise my kids would have been very disappointed when we got there and there were no Pokemon.

Weekend Recap, with Photos:

Arrival

If you hadn’t read the introduction to this blog post and you saw this photo

would you have guessed it was a state park?

I wouldn’t have.

I made a 360° panoramic photograph of the inn/lodge. Click on it for a larger photo.

We then made our way to the cabins, a 2-minute walk from the lodge. The inn/lodge has rooms, restaurants, a pool, an arcade, a craft room, banquet halls, etc. We were in the cabins, which worked well to group our extended family together better than hotel-type rooms would have.

Exterior view of the cabins:

Interior shots of our cabin:

We had one of the large cabins with a dining room and living room. Other families had smaller cabins with just a bedroom and bathroom. So most of the gatherings were in our cabin, which was fun.

Then we wandered around the grounds to see all the features and explore. The kids concentrated on one area:

the beach.
We wished they would have changed into swimsuits before going, but one should just expect to get muddy/sandy when going to a state park.

At some point we also found the craft room:

The Big Day

We were at the park to celebrate my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary. But the meal and ceremony were not until 5:00 pm, so we had the whole day to play.

I think we started with walking around some trails:

There was plenty of vegetation everywhere:

but you had to watch out because there was also plenty of this:

Poison ivy – I saw it along most of the paths through wooded areas there.

One notable feature of Pokagon State Park is the toboggan run.

Not only does it have an official starting chute and finish line, but the tracks are refrigerated so they can be kept icy throughout the winter regardless of the actual weather.

We tried to use the paddle boats, but we couldn’t since they weren’t open for the season yet. So we just played on the beach some more and watched fish from the dock.

We also swam. Not in the lake, because there were too many geese leaving presents on the lawn, beach, and in the water. We stuck to the pool.

Before the meal, we killed a little time by flying kites just outside the lodge:

and hula hooping:

Then we had dinner, a little ceremony, and a little cake:

Then we played some games and visited in the cabins until the wee hours of the night.

Wrapping Up

The next morning was Sunday. A few of us went for a run. Others went swimming. Then we had a family church service. Then we went out to eat:

I recommend Clay’s. I think they have more varieties of pie than they do entrees on the menu. Rappleberry pie was the most popular (rhubarb, apple, strawberry, and blackberry – I think). Some chose raspberry pie, peanut butter pie, butterscotch cream pie, or oops pie (chocolate pecan – very rich).

Clay’s Family Restaurant is actually just north of Angola, in Fremont. It’s a little off the beaten path, but it was worth it.

Then we drove home, and the kids suffered cousin withdrawal.

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