Beverly Shores, September 4

Back in the days when I was swimming with Mike we typically took a September outing to the Indiana dunes. We would hike the dunes and then go for a swim from the beach at Beverly Shores. So when Leo suggested we do a swim there I was happy to oblige. Even faithful readers of this blog may not remember Leo since he mostly predated this blog, even in its earliest incantations (1996). But he was one of our original Lake swimmers and instrumental on turning me on to the Lake. Lately Leo has been doing most of his Lake swimming solo, much of it in Beverly Shores where he has family. Locally he has continued to be a regular in our morning pool sessions and has swum just about every Big Shoulders Race. In fact this swim was intended as training for Big Shoulders next week.

We got in the water before 8AM. Our first impression upon tentatively sticking our toes in was that the water was 70, so I used a light cap. But after starting to swim I realized it was cooler, in fact only 65, but with the sun out it felt warmer. There were 1 foot swells, but the swimming was easy, although we noticed a slight current from the east. This long beach without any breakwaters is, of course, subject to currents. But it is quite safe as long as there are no riptides since you can get out anywhere. We estimate we swam 2 miles, but it is harder to judge since there are no fixed markers like in Evanston or Ohio Street.

After Mike and I would swim we would go to Wagner's in Portage for a dinner of ribs. We never could figure out whether the ribs were especially good or it just seemed so after the swim. Today after swimming Leo took me to his favorite spot, Joe's Bar on Route 12 east of Beverly Shores. We had breakfast and it was especially good. So I still don't know if it is Northern Indiana that has good food or whether food just tastes better after swimming in Indiana. In any case it is something to look forward to at least once a year.