Meet Laura Verheaghe! Laura is originally from LaGrange IL. She moved to Chesterton 20 years ago after living in Chicago because she fell in love with the downtown gazebo and the small town feel. Laura has 3 kids and 3 dogs. She is the owner of Red Cup Cafe in Chesterton.
What brought you to the dunes? I loved the slowness of a small town. After living in Chicago, I was drawn to Chesterton. The quaintness of the gazebo and the beautiful places to go out, hike, and explore nature. When I saw Bailly/Chellberg I knew I was meant to be here!
How long have you lived here? I have lived in Chesterton for 20 years with a brief 3 year stint back in the city.
What is your favorite thing to do in the area? Snow shoeing in the winter, hiking Cowles Bog in all seasons. I also love going down to the beach in the evenings to watch the sunset.
Tell us a secret about the dunes. Here is a secret about me in the dunes! I was once stopped by a ranger when I was in my twenties for trying to make candles in the dunes like the girl scouts did. We didn’t understand what we were doing wrong. And then in the end, we didn’t use the right materials and the candles didn’t even work!
Give us your top three “hidden treasures” (restaurant, shop, trail, beach, event…really anything!) a) Kemil Beach, but shhhh don’t tell anyone else. The parking lot is already becoming too full!
b) Trail 8 at the State Park. I love to do the 3 dunes challenge!
c) Beach glass and Chrinoids. I get the same thrill finding beach glass and chrinoids as many do shopping for shoes!
What would you like to teach people about the dunes? The dunes are for everyone. Please respect them. Clean up after yourselves and even clean up after others. The dunes are a wonderful place to find a power greater than yourself.
Anything else? Please stop by Red Cup in downtown Chesterton and visit me. I am here all the time! I love meeting new people and being a part of the community. We will be releasing our chocolate chip with strawberry cream cheese icing muffins for Valentines Day, which is a favorite! Red cup is also available for catering and private parties. We love to host showers!
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