South Shore Blog

Photo: Shooters at Oakwood Gun Club break clay targets for fun and to hone hunting skills.

It’s surprising how many hunters put down their guns at the end of the season and don’t load them again until they are uncased and ready to be carried on opening day the following year. Perhaps in the good ol’ days when rabbits, quail and pheasants were far more abundant a hunter only needed to walk far enough and shoot often enough to eventually bring home some game. Those good ol’ days must have occurred before I started hunting.

There are few sights I enjoy more than the perfect pink and purple sunset. Now picture that sunset over the dunes. Now picture that sunset over the dunes with the Northwest Indiana Symphony playing live in the background. Now put a Mother Wilma’s s’more in your hand and you have one happy concertgoer. There was about 2,000 happy concertgoers all enjoying a similar experience at the Symphony at the Dunes Concert at West Beach this summer. 

I never knew that Gabis Arboretum existed and oh man have I been missing out! This 300-acre preserve is packed with a variety of trails, gardens, woodlands, prairies, and wetlands. When I told my sister I was interested in exploring this place, she got excited because she had been there a few times with her students. She could not believe I did not know about it! We decided to make the drive out to Valparaiso on a Thursday afternoon with the dog. I was immediately impressed with the preserve right off the bat. Driving through the entrance feels like you are passing into a fairy world. The Active Times said this place is the most romantic place in Indiana and I would have to whole-heartily agree.

Photo by by Jeanette Jaskula

There’s nature to be had for all sorts of sleeping habits. For the early risers, there is bird watching. For the late sleepers, there is mid-day butterfly watching. And for the night owls, there are moths.

Now, don’t shrug your shoulders at the vastly important and diverse family of moths. In Newton County alone we have more than 900 species of moths! And they aren’t all brown – there are yellow and pink rosy maple moths, orange ornate moths, green luna moths, and black and white eight-spotted foresters.  

Walking into The Center for Visual and Performing Arts, home to Theatre at the Center, the atmosphere immediately makes you feel the old thrill of getting dolled up and going to see a show. The pride and love of theater and the arts is obvious in the décor of the main lobby. Photos of past shows cover the outer auditorium walls, displaying the memories of shows past.

Dragons are all the rage these days. Friends are fascinated by the beasts in Game of Thrones. My son likes the evil, fire breathing monsters that are to be fought, slayed and conquered in the game Dungeons and Dragons. 

As for me, I delight in the dragons of the sky that that hover, glide and zoom over our Newton County wetlands, entertaining me on sunny summer’s day. 

When the sun shines and your belly is rumbling you’ll want to enjoy these locations with great fare

It's been 20 years since I stepped foot in the Crown Point square. I was three years old, bouncing down the sidewalk toward my first ballet class, tutu and mother in tow. Surely the only thing more exciting than my class was the treat my mom would buy from our friend, affectionately known as the “Hot Dog Lady”. She was a Crown Point legend back in the day.

Looking at the square now having been gone for twenty years, it seems that nothing and everything has changed. The old hometown feeling and soul of the town still exists but the building facades have changed a bit. Being born in Crown Point allowed me to enjoy the downtown area when I was very young, but after moving to Connecticut with my family at age four, walks down memory lane were few and far between when we would take trips back to the region.

I’d venture to guess most people have not explored the small town of Rensselaer, Indiana just off of I-65. I was one of those people, until the Ren Art Walk. I’m a fan of exploring and of art in general, and I wanted to see what all the buzz was about and I am so happy I did. 

The new art installations in Rensselaer, also known as the #RenArtWlk, is more than worth the trip to the small town about 45 minutes south of Merrillville, Indiana and under two hours north of Indianapolis.

There has been a lot of rain in this area these past two months. A lot of rain. Outdoor adventures I’ve been wanting to go on had to be put on hold. My poor dog has been so bored of late because of this. So, when I woke up last Saturday morning to sunshine, I had to take advantage of the nice summer weather. One of my favorite things to do with my dog is to go hiking and so we choose the Lemon Lake County Park in Crown Point, Indiana as our designation.