Pro tips for a fun family beach vacation

Last month, I learned that it doesn’t take much to have a fun beach vacation. Just a little planning.

My daughter has been talking about going to the beach all year. I’ve heard great things about Michigan City, so I picked a date and booked a room. Her dad and I packed the car, and we drove up.

A quick, overnight trip left us feeling like we were on top of the world.

We immediately went to Washington Park Beach to shake off the long highway drive. Once we walked across what felt like burning sands, we got to the water.

We spent a few hours splashing around, building crumbly sand castles and eating Costco potato chips, until it was finally time to eat dinner.

We found an unforgettable Jamaican restaurant. (I’ll let you guess which one. Hint: Jerk Catfish is on the menu.) I regret not buying a bottle of that very hot, and very good, jerk sauce.

The next day called for a continental breakfast and a beach day before driving home.

We enjoyed our hotel breakfast and headed back to the beach for a few hours.

I felt like a proud mom on Christmas morning. Seeing the joy on my daughter’s face was everything I wanted from the trip.

I’m already planning for next year’s beach visit.

Here are a few pro-tips:

Little kids are impressed with hotels and hotel breakfasts. Mine acted like we were at a lavish resort, which made it all more meaningful. Like, the ice machine was a big deal.
Mondays are the best beach days, because everyone is back at work. Context: Mirror Indy was closed that week.
You don’t have to spend an arm and a leg to have a great vacation.
Prepare car snacks ahead of time.
Charge the tablet. Note: it’s only for the car ride.

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Ariana Beedie is a millennial Aries mom of a Gen Alpha Capricorn diva princess. Guess who’s in charge? You can reach her at ariana.beedie@mirrorindy.org.