More Losses, but with Happy Endings

For years, we came to this house in Indiana for our annual vacation every August. We even lived in Lafayette, Indiana, for our first year of marriage. Yet, we never tried Indiana Beach in Monticello, Indiana. This past weekend, we made our now yearly family visit to Indiana Beach. Bryce wondered when we first came, but we couldn't seem to nail it down. We didn't bring Bryce on the first visit, because I recall riding the roller coasters as a couple. But, it seems too long ago to have been before he was born. Our best guess is that Bryce was with Grandma. This annual tradition feels like it's here for the long haul!

At some point, we also decided it was better to get a hotel nearby than face the drive at the end of a full day. Two years ago, we even allowed Bryce to bring along his best friend, Michael. That was the summer we moved to our Indiana home. That year, we got a lovely room with a kitchenette at the Best Western. Trevor was just a year and a half and it was nice to have a place to bring him for his afternoon nap. (That was also the year he got his finger stuck in the van's door as we unloaded - he saw a ball in the front seat of the van and reached back at the last minute, just as I was shutting the door.)

This year, we decided to allow Bryce to bring a friend again. However, when my husband called to make the hotel arrangements, he learned that a legal limit of five to a room would require us to have two rooms for each evening (our plan was to arrive Sunday afternoon, check in, visit IB, swim in the hotel pool, then spend all of Monday at IB and leave the hotel Tuesday morning). This would double our housing expenses for this brief trip, so we cut our stay down to one night, and I planned to drive home (since I am a night owl and evening driving is really no problem).

A few weeks ago, we learned that Bryce's friend couldn't go, so we cancelled one room, but still kept with the one-night stay. I think if we had it to do over again, we would have stayed two nights. We had a wonderful time, but the few glitches might have played out differently if we had stayed two nights in Monticello.

Sunday was a wonderful day. We had a leisurely lunch here and then departed for our drive to Monticello. After securing our things in the hotel room, we headed to IB to walk around, have dinner and play games (this is where the entry fee without rides comes in handy - although I noticed this year they added options where you can purchase the ride wristbands for two days at one time and reduce your costs). We had dinner at the Tig'rr Den, which has fabulous toasted cheese sandwiches. The boys chose smoothies this time. I think we'll pass on that next time, since they were syrupy and over-sweet and only left you thirstier (I know because I had to drink Trevor's, since he wouldn't touch it after one sip).

A man blessed us with a random act of kindness as he offered us his remaining ride tickets. He said they were leaving, and he noticed our little guys didn't have wristbands. He didn't really have to give them to us because you can use the individual tickets on another visit, but perhaps they weren't intending to come again soon. The ticket booklet is the best option if you don't know if your small children will brave the rides. Two years ago, we purchased a wristband for our middle son, assuming that he would be a ride enthusiast like his older brother. During the whole day, he only rode the train twice (which, thankfully, I could ride with him while pregnant) and the carousel twice.

It was a real god-send that someone handed us tickets, because I assumed Sean might respond the same way Trevor had at a year and a half. But, no, when he saw Trevor going on the airplane ride, he wanted to go on. I was hesitant, but Sean insisted and I relented. He loved every minute of the ride. Both of the little boys ended up riding three rides together that first night.




We headed back to the hotel and went as a family to the pool. I must emphasize "as a family," because often my husband opts out of the whole pool scene (even though I always pack his suit, sometimes surreptitiously, hoping he will cave and go in). We had a wonderful time in the pool. Trevor had floaties on and Sean took turns being held by Mom or Dad. Bryce spent his time in the sauna.

Monday morning, we enjoyed the hotel's continental breakfast and began packing up to load the van. I couldn't find the extra diapers I had packed, so I was thinking we might have to swing by Wal-mart to pick up more. Bryce was teasing Trevor mercilessly, so my husband sent him down to wait in the lobby (there went an extra set of hands). As we headed out the door, I handed a small bag to Trevor to carry, gave Sean his sleepy bear, and grabbed up almost everything else. This meant no hands free for dragging slow toddlers, so I trudged with them out to the van.

Shortly after arriving at the amusement park, my husband asked where sleepy bear was. Oh, the terror, to be without sleepy bear. My two older children never had a particular lovey. My sister-in-law encouraged me to give them one, but they never took to anything, although Trevor had a pacifier and carried a cloth diaper (but we had oodles of cloth diapers, so one was always within reach). Sean has a strong attachment to the little blue Carter's bear blanket my sister-in-law, Miriam, sent when he was tiny. It had always sat in his crib, but about a year ago, we noticed that he began to hold it in a particular way to get to sleep. He pushes it against his right cheek and inserts his two left middle fingers, up-side-down, into the roof of his mouth, while using the forefinger and thumb of the left hand to stroke the silk bow at the bear's chin. Here is a picture from April showing this uncomfortable stance he favors, though he's not pinching the bow.



As soon as Sean heard Daddy mention sleepy bear, he began to fuss. Bryce headed off to ride rides alone. I took Trevor on several rides (he was even eager to ride the Sky-ride, which surprised me) and my husband returned to the van with Sean to search for sleepy bear. Alas, it wasn't in the van or luggage, so he drove back to the hotel. My husband said Sean was inconsolable. Thankfully, someone had found the bear in the lobby and turned it in at the front desk (hubby said he would have searched the trash there if his efforts at the front desk had been in vain!) From the moment they retrieved sleepy bear, Sean didn't let go the rest of the day.

After lunch we took a relaxing boat ride. Hubby now feared Sean would drop the bear over the side. I hoped the movement would lull him to sleep, but Trevor wanted to go up top and I couldn't bring the stroller, so Sean was restless in our hands throughout the ride. A kind man offered to take our picture. It is a horrible picture of me (Trevor was mad that I wore my hair in a ponytail). My husband wore his new head sock (a Father's Day gift from Trevor)! When I see him with it on, I recall the early days in our marriage. My mother even remembered that he always wore a head sock then. She said, "Oh yeah, he called it a 'dew-rag' and said all the other philosophers wore them, too."



After the boat trip, Trevor begged to go to the beach. My husband took Trevor to the beach, while I headed back to the van to attempt Sean's nap. Despite sleepy bear's presence, he refused to go to sleep. After 30 minutes, I gave up and took him to the beach as well (where he loved frolicking in the sand).

Our two little guys hung in there for the whole day. They stayed at the park riding rides clear until 8:30 p.m. (somewhat cranky by the end). Then, my husband took them back to the van, to ride around, while I found Bryce and rode rides with him until the closing.

He loves the roller coasters. We rode the Tig'rr twice (since that is my favorite) and then headed to the Cornball Express. On the first drop, my denim baseball cap flew off my head (I thought I was safe since it has a tight clasp for adjusting the fit). Bryce offered to look for it by the train tracks. Sure enough, he spotted it floating in the water in between the train tracks and the log ride. It was too far away, but he found a stick and retrieved it for me.

All in all, we had a wonderful day. I highly recommend Indiana Beach to families with children. It has a family atmosphere. It was more commercialized this year (since they are adding a new steel roller coaster, called the "Steel Hawg" - up, but not running - and have increased the number of gaming booths), but it was still a great time, with something for everyone and many options. We always find weekdays to be less crowded than weekends, and there is very little wait time for rides. If you have a camper, Yogi Campgrounds might reduce the price of lodging. Plus, I read at their web-site that they have a day in early June when all the rides, plus hot dogs and drinks are a quarter after 3 p.m., but it probably draws crowds.

Here are links to further posts about our 2009 trips, 2010 trip, 2011 trip, and 2016 visit.