Growing up, my Family lived in Glenview, IL, which was a suburb, north of Chicago. When we were really young, my parents bought a summer home, that we called “The Cottage.” The Cottage was about an hour and a half away, in Michigan City, IN, and it was this small house that was directly on the beach of Lake Michigan. The only thing separating us from the water was the rolling sand dunes and “Cigar” trees.
We didn’t go to the Cottage every weekend, but we did spend a majority of every summer there, (I sometimes went in the Winter as well) and we shared those times with a vast assortment of friends and family. All of us have fond memories of the Cottage and the times we spent there. It also had one of the most beautiful beaches I’ve ever been to in my life.
The Cottage – When my Family owned it
The Cottage only had two bedrooms and one bathroom on the main floor, and an enclosed porch that faced the water. It seemed like there were always renovations going on as we got “drafted” into helping with all sorts of fixer-upper projects (until we did such a bad job that we were “banished” to the beach!) There was a large garage under the house, which a second bathroom and shower was eventually added to, along with a large room that had bunk beds and single beds, for additional sleeping areas. On any given weekend, before we could invite anyone along, we had to do a “head count” to make sure we had enough beds for everyone. Nine people could sleep upstairs and I think up to six people downstairs?
My Dad bought the Cottage for about $15K in the early 60’s. When he sold it in the 80’s, it sold for around $85K. Today, the property is worth in the multi-million dollar range, as lakefront real estate went crazy in that area. I will show photos of what the cottage looked like when we lived there and what it looks like now! You can’t even recognize it as the same place.
I will be sharing many, many memories from our Summers (and Winters) at the Cottage.
The Cottage Today
The Cottage – Today
