Sunday, October 7, 2007

Fun Monday - Come for a Visit

The colorful Pamela of Dust Will Wait is this week's hostess of Fun Monday. These are Pamela's directions:
I want to see what you see on any given morning this week; from
somewhere very near where you live. Front porch, back porch, down the street, around the corner. Just makes sure it's your neighborhood. Post a photo that will send me to the travel agent to book a weekend at your local Bed and Breakfast.Post your October View on Monday, October 8.

The town that I live in used to be called a bedroom community, which means that many of the residents living in the community, work elsewhere but come home to sleep in our community. I am guessing that is true to some extent today but not as much as days in the past. In earlier times , most dads and some moms either worked in the steel mills or the oil refineries here in Lake County. Today, there are other employers in addition to these factories. Some might call our town a suburb of the nearby cities. However, others might refer to this area as urban fringe. Wikipedia says this about Urban Fringe.


The urban rural fringe, also known as the outskirts or the urban
hinterland, can be described as the "landscape interface between town and
country" [1], or alternatively as the transition zone where
urban and rural uses mix and often clash. Alternatively, it can be viewed as
a landscape type in its own right, one forged from an interaction of urban
and rural land uses.

This definition aptly describes our town with its shopping malls
and restaurants interspersed with farms and meadows. If you love to eat and
shop, you should book a motel suite for a weekend stay in our town.
Additionally, we are near to the beautiful shores of Lake Michigan, and the trip
to Chicago might take 45 minutes.



Here is a farm located across the street. On Saturday, the farmer was harvesting his soy bean crop. Notice the apartment complex in the distance.

This Dairy Queen is next to the soy bean field.



One of the best sites in northwest Indiana anytime of the year is the Lake Michigan shoreline complete with sand dunes, wildlife, deep blue water, and wildflowers. Come for a visit; we will take a picnic to the beach.

52 comments:

theotherbear said...

Wow! Great photos. I'm sorry now that my little grumpy mood this morning made my post so bleak!
It looks so strange to see an apartment building next to a field. Looks like a gorgeous part of the world to hang out in though!

Anonymous said...

We lived in MI for three years, but I never made it to Lake Michigan. Too much work, too little time.

Thanks for sharing!

Beckie said...

I don't know what would be better...45 minutes to Chicago, Lake MI or the DQ?

Have a good Monday!

Anonymous said...

No I dont want a picnic, I want a freaking hot fuge sundae from that dairy queen! Get movin! LOL

Margaret said...

A picnic at the beach would be delightful! I have always wanted to visit the Great Lakes.

Anonymous said...

Love the second photo, great juxtaposition of field and apartment building.

Pamela said...

Quite the wikipedia description. Urban fringe, new word combo for me.

I think I crossed the southern tip of Indiana when we drove from Delaware to St. Louis Missouri.

Soy beans and Dairy Queens. Good news... I like both. Packing. (:

karisma said...

Looks like the best of all worlds rolled into one. I love the last picture, just stunning!

Hootin Anni said...

Pretty, pretty....
While I'm visiting with you on my excursion to your 'hood ---we can stop in and have a mudslide at DQ!!!

katy said...

lovley, ok so i am packing my picnic now

captain corky said...

Great photos. I love pictures of water. Ever do any fishing there?

PAT said...

Beautiful photos!

I love beautiful Lake Michigan!

Pat

Walker said...

I've lived in Indiana all these years and never have been to the dunes. Love your environment there!

Anonymous said...

I love Dairy Queen. Reminds me of home.

Anonymous said...

Oooh. You live in the "Transition Zone". Sounds freaky...looks pretty nice though.

the planet of janet said...

i'm in for the picnic. (but can we stop at the dq after?)

Anonymous said...

We are becoming urban fringe. We don't have a mall yet. And what soybean, cotton or peanut field would be complete without a Dairy Queen. :-)

Sandy said...

Beautiful pictures! I am always reminded of areas like yours (and mine) when I hear about overcrowding and how there's no room left. Nice to live where we do, isn't it?

Sandy said...

Oh, I forgot. I love the picture of the D-Q! We have a saying around here that if a town can't support the D-Q, it's just not worth going to!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful. I've been to Chicago but never have been able to venture out, I see what I'm missing!

Karina said...

What an interesting combination of things...a farm, a Dairy Queen, a beach! :D Great post.

Anonymous said...

I like the urban fringe thing. We're kinda like that, but what with one person moving here every minute (I think that was the most recent tally), I don't think we'll be fringe for long. I've been to N Indiana quite a number of times for football games. Go Irish.

Amanda said...

Thanks for sharing!! If there was a Dairy Queen on my street, I'd be in BIG trouble.

And I agree, you've got an interesting combination of scenery. Guess you are never bored, huh!

Beccy said...

Oh wow, what a lovely place to live.

my4kids said...

We don't have a Dairy Queen her ein our little "city". I wish we did.
Love the shoreline picture!

Anonymous said...

So we are all meeting at the DQ for an ice cream picnic???

Jill said...

we have at least 6 dq's in our little area. it's very tempting but we've only given in twice in 4 months. i am not much of an ice cream eater once it gets cold so i wont be too sorely tempted. our area is a bit like yours i think. kind of on the fringe..

molly said...

I'd book a room but I'm thinking Fall might not be the best time....Since moving to FL six years ago my blood has gotten seriously watered down.....to "wimp" consistency.

Anonymous said...

Urban fringe - interesting way of saying "sprawl". You have farmland near you like me....sad to see the apartment complex so close, though.

ChrisB said...

Lovely photos. Now do we visit the dairy queen before or after the picnic?!

Sayre said...

I was telling my son about where I lived as a kid and how quiet it was when I was young. This as we were driving past my old street, which is now in the middle of a very busy part of town. The urban fringe definition hasn't fit there in a long time. Kind of sad to see the encroachment on formerly pleasant landscapes...

alisonwonderland said...

i'm packing the picnic basket right now! :o)

Tiggerlane said...

FINALLY got BOTH videos to POST! (And the secret of how to tape and drive is revealed.)

Kaytabug said...

Cool!! It sounds like my hometown has become an urban fringe. A picnic at the beach sounds serene...like my yard ;)!

daddy d said...

The area is close to work, 2.25 miles. The field across the street is nice open space. Nothing is perfect, but the are positives.

Anonymous said...

LOL! You and I both posted about ice cream hangouts! :)

One trip I would love to take would be to Chicago and see Lake MI. And a picnic at the beach sounds like the best part of the trip, next to a trip to DQ!

Kila said...

You aren't too far from my neck of the woods!

The buildings are taking over many fields here in WI, too.

Robocop said...

I so miss living near water.

Junebug said...

Ooh, I love Dairy Queens, not too many left around here. The nearest one to me is 20 miles. Come back and see my new pictures that I posted after my dentist visit.

Jenni said...

I have been to Hicksville and I have been to Fort Wayne on several occasions. (Have I told you this?) I lived in Rome City, Indiana for two years and I went to East Noble High School in Kendallville my freshman year.

Don't you just love having a farm across the street? I get such a kick out of seeing the farms still hanging in there. There is a farm in Wichita that the subdivisions have grown up around. Well, actually there is more than one, but there is one I always think of because it is such a lovely little farm.

Unknown said...

Hey, we were in Kendallville this summer. :) We drove all over the top part of your state. :) usually I'm seeing Lake Michigan from the side, like I did this weekend in Milwaukee.

Lovely, view, next time I'm through (next summer) I'll stop and say HI. :)

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous pictures. I love when I go visit my brother in Indy. The scenery is so beautiful.

And now I want a milkshake!

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful view of the water. It is kind of cool how the farmland mixes with urban. I lived in Michigan for 8 months when I was a teen. I found the winds very cold due to the humidity off the lakes.

Hootin Anni said...

I JUST LEFT YOU A TREAT at my blog!!! If you'd like, drop by and pick it up!

Happy Tuesday.

Ms. Kathleen said...

What a great area and I love the picture of the lake, so very rustic and untouched. Thanks for sharing!

Biddie said...

Wow. What a wonderful place to live. I think that my own 'hood' is way less interesting.

Tiggerlane said...

I would love to live in such a peaceful area - and still be 45 minutes from Chicago!

I'll bet you have a lot of peace and quiet out there.

Anonymous said...

i hope the soy bean farmer holds on to his land and there's not a wal mart there someday. =)

Beautiful picture of the beach! I'm jealous

Tink said...

I love the shot of the soy bean field. It seems to stretch on forever. We just don't have that here.

debi said...

Beautiful. How lucky to have that farm across the street. I didn't know you were so near the beach.We have a long drive to the beach. 16 hours.

Patriot said...

Beautiful Lake Michigan!

I just wanted to let you know about a free giveaway I'm hosting at my site. It's for all-natural bath and body products made in Texas. Come check it out - and help spread the word! I will continue to hold more giveaways over the next few weeks as well!

Thanks!

Kerith Collins said...

the urban fringe...i wish we were on the urban fringe...we are just on the middle of nowhere fringe!