Oakwood Resort is a Great Getaway at Lake Wawasee

Oakwood Resort on Indiana's Lake Wawasee is a great option for people looking for a getaway from Fort Wayne, South Bend, or the Chicago area. This is a large facility right on the water, with restaurants, banquet and meeting facilities, and a day spa. We stayed in one of 80 private hotel rooms, ours overlooking the water. Oakwood also reports having eight cabins and ten vacation homes to rent, so there are lots of space options.

Lake Wawasee itself has an interesting history. The glacial lake is the largest wholly contained in Indiana, with about 3000 acres of surface area. Fed by springs and watershed, it also happens to be a very healthy and clear lake, with reported clear viewing down 15 feet in good conditions. The average clear viewing depth of other Midwestern lakes is 2 - 6 feet.

It's a great lake for sailing and fishing, and appears to support a rich social life for humans. Eli Lilly and Al Capone had places here, as do many other well-off folks from Indianapolis and the Chicago area. Popular lakeside real estate can be expensive, so as one would expect there are million-dollar homes set close together along the lake. Here is a place you might want to book a pontoon or other passenger boat cruise, take a beverage along and let a guide inform you about all the different well-known properties. This can be very relaxing and entertaining.

Oakwood itself is comfortable, although I found the beds to be too soft. Maybe hotels need to go with Sleep Number beds or something similar, in which a patron can make their bed firmer or softer. Lots of hotels have chosen this option in recent years. It was quiet enough - strangely almost too quiet the weekend we were there. We found the evening meals at the restaurant called The Pier to be good. In a remote location such as this, where there are few grocery stores and everything has to be delivered in, sometimes evening menu selections will sell out. Or they will be out of selections from the wine list. I suppose it helps to prepare to be flexible.

I can't recommend the buffet breakfast, however. It seemed as though masses of food had been prepared and laid out, in anticipation of large numbers of people. But there the food sat, the crowds didn't come, so the hash browns had become cardboard-ish and the eggs dry and rubbery. The staff was really nice, though. Maybe it was just an off morning for a usually-lovely breakfast service.

Oakwood has a small salon and spa, called J Three. We were on the receiving end of a couple of massages there, and were happy with the results. We also especially loved the salt-based hand scrub that was placed in lovely bowls next to the bathroom sinks in the resort. I had never tried this. After one washes one's hands, one takes a scoopful of this salt and rubs and massages into the hands. It smells wonderful, but moreover, it wonderfully refines and polishes the hands. Salt is also antifungal and antibacterial used in this way. I'm going to buy some over a website to give as gifts.

Our experience at Oakwood was pleasurable, and I would go back. Wawasee used to be called Lake Turkey, but at some point the name reverted to this Miami native American name, which one source I read said referred to a chief with a flat belly. I adore wild turkeys, but I do think the ancient name is much more charming.

Parents - what are you doing to help protect your kids online?

Ok, you parents out there. It's time we had a serious conversation about what your kids are doing for fun. And I'm not talking about riding carnival rides, such as the one I photographed here at the DeKalb County Free Fall Fair midway set up in downtown Auburn, IN.

No, I'm talking about something much more dangerous: what your children are possibly doing on the Internet. It's the Wild West out there. Anything goes. Sad to say children are exposed to many things, potentially disturbing things; violence, pornography, hate and bullying coming at them over their phones, iPods, iPads, Nintendos, Kindles, tablets, laptops - all those things YOU bought for them, placed in their hands, said "here, this is for you.". And YOU continue to pay for their high speed wireless connection, their data plans, their monthly cell phone bill, etc.

Yet, do you really have any idea what those children are doing with those devices you have paid for? How naive are you? You need to have, if this doesn't happen already, a regular dialog with your children about what it is they post on the Internet, and what is appropriate. Because I am sure many of these kids don't realize the lifelong implications of what they are doing when just trying to have some fun.

Be so bold as to ask to see your children's content. Who's paying the bill, anyway? If it's such a big secret, why? Because this isn't like having a conversation, or writing in your diary at home. This is OUT THERE. Every photo you post of yourself, every time you say something unflattering about someone else, everytime you mention wild partying, it is stuck OUT THERE. You can't really delete it. Someone can, and believe me does, take a screen shot of what you or your kids put out there. The kids think only their friends see this stuff and it's kind of anonymous, underground. I can tell you, it is not.

Here's a big problem. Potential employers, as a regular part of the job, will do Internet searches on their candidates. And they find this stuff, your First Amendment freedom of speech foul language, your racy photos of yourself. And you are judged by this to be a loose cannon. And you or that young person is not hired. Or worse - you or your child are preyed upon in some way.

Yes, the Internet is a wonderful tool that can help us all in many ways. But we are all in our infancy with this. So I recommend absolutely putting strict time limits on how much time is spent with these devices. Monitoring choices of sites, useage, purpose, and regular conversations about same, however uncomfortable or resistive the kids are about it - because the kids think they are in charge. They think the adults are intimidated by this technology or are too dumb to find their way around. Come on, grown ups, change is a big part of life. We do constantly need to know how to do some new things and get familiar with new tools. You can do it!

I absolutely recommend for parents to use a search engine and search their children's names over the Internet to see what pops up. Or, type into your search engine the kid's name and also the social media outlet, such as Twitter or Instagram or whatever the hot new one is. Or, your child's friends name, boyfriend, girlfriend if there is some reason you have concerns. It's out there, and I really don't think you want to be the last person to know. I've seen some stuff by seemingly innocent young children you would not believe. They are kids, they are experimenting, but some of them are also leading double lives. They will grow up, but this stuff will not disappear. Don't be afraid to check. It's your job. And then do something about it. Sometimes you can catch children doing something right, and reward them for that, with words or otherwise. But when you catch them doing something that could hurt themselves or others or is disrespectful or unworthy of them, there is nothing wrong with calling that out. To be continued -