This week, my mom and I took the boys to visit Fort Ancient Earthworks and Nature Preserve.  This National Historic Landmark is what Reed would call "a medium drive" from our house and is something we were able to do in a morning.  However, with older kiddos, a family could easily spend an entire day exploring the museum, grounds, and hiking trails!

We toured the museum first.  For a small fee we spent 45 minutes exploring the fantastic collection of artifacts, dioramas, timelines, and fossils.  The dioramas were amazing!  Reed loved the arrowheads, weapons, fish hooks, and the fact that Native American children did not have to wear pants.  Sigh.

The collection worked chronologically from the Ice Age; to the American Indians who settled in Ohio; to the arrival of the Europeans, disease, and war; and then to the discovery and exploration of the Fort Ancient site itself.

The museum was kid-friendly... with the exception of a giant mural of a European getting scalped.  Luckily I spotted it ahead of time and distracted accordingly.

"Oh, my goodness!  Is that a real tomahawk over there?!"

Sheesh.

The grounds of Fort Ancient were mysterious and breathtaking.  The woods were quiet and dark, and the earthworks were visible from almost anywhere we walked or hiked.  We took one short hike to see a couple of the special stone capped mounds, and I had no trouble doing the walk with Barrett on my hip and Reed chattering ahead with my mom.

After our walk, we drove to an overlook/picnic area and spread out a blanket for lunch. At nine months, lunch is currently a full-contact sport with Bear.  Lunch on a blanket should be its own Olympic event.

One. Big. MESS.

We had such fun laughing and talking while eating in the shade and looking around at the woods and earthworks.  Reed and Barrett provide plenty of live entertainment!

I am so excited to take these two out-and-about this summer and learn and grow together.  I sure have missed having adventures, and now that Ohio is opening up after COVID, we are ready to explore!

​While we are on the subject of adventures...
book recommendation time!!  

In Adventuring Together, Greta shares her experiences as a not-so-outdoorsy mom adventuring with her family, and emphasizes that getting out and exploring together is one of the best ways to make memories and relationships that last.  I am planning on embarking on at least one escapade per week this summer, so I will keep you posted on all of the adventures (and misadventures) as they come!

Any recommendations for adventuring with little ones?  I would love to read them in the comments!

For today's post, I'm rewinding to exactly one year ago to write about our trip to Indiana Dunes National Park!

As you know if you have been following the blog for a while, our family loves to visit the National Parks.  However, due to being 8 months pregnant and in the middle of the pandemic last summer, our options were limited.  We decided to stay close to home (the dunes are just a four hours away), and our hotel was across the street from a hospital.  

​No joke!

Reed: always the cheerful and patient traveler.  I can remember carting him off to Myrtle Beach by myself when he was two.  AND- he potty trained himself on the way home.  I guess it is more exciting to go to the bathroom on a car trip when you get to visit somewhere new and get snacks every time!

The dunes border about 15 miles of Lake Michigan.  They are beautiful and clean, and there are miles of hiking trails and other things you can do other than sit on a beach. 

But I like to just sit on the beach.  Especially when very pregnant.

The National Park maintains several beaches, parking lots, and bathrooms along the stretch of dunes.  We visited two of the beaches: Kemil and Dunbar.  The park rangers recommended these as especially kid-friendly beaches that would not be over-crowded.  

They were right! 

 We ate takeout at the hotel during our stay because all of the restaurants were closed.  And that is how I discovered Panda Express.  Honestly, I had never had it before.  Right now we are in the middle of moving to a bigger house, and we discovered our new house is about 5 minutes from a Panda Express.

This may or may not have been a deciding factor on that particular location.

I digress.  It ended up being for the best that we ate in each night because I was TIRED from being 8 months pregnant out in the heat.  My feet were so swollen, and although Lake Michigan is clear and lovely, the water is still pretty chilly in June!  Terrified of going into early labor, I avoided swimming too much.  So after takeout dinner each night, we went on a few long drives exploring the area.  And that is how we discovered the Michigan City pier and lighthouse.

Visiting the lighthouse was such a fun adventure.  We parked in the big pier parking lot and walked down the beach toward the pier.  We passed a very exciting beach wedding, boats jetting across the lake, and plenty of dogs playing fetch.  

Then we walked down the looooong pier with beautiful crashing waves and the sun setting behind the lighthouse.  It was windy and a little terrifying and so much fun.

Our trip to Indiana Dunes was such a special and memorable way to mark the end of the chapter of life as a family of three.  We cannot wait to go back and do the trip more in the Hacker-family style with plenty of camping, hiking, and eating out!

​Although I'm sure we will still do a night of Panda Express ;)

Were you able to get away on a trip during the COVID pandemic?  If so, let me know where!  On another, completely unrelated note to anything I am currently experiencing...

Vacation ideas for traveling with a one-year-old??

​Have a great week!