New diver to Great Lakes-Any tips or need to know?

[Marie13]

@Marie13
You apparently have everything dialed in ..
Question ???
How far is Hammond by driving time is it from South Bend Indiana ?
(The USC/ND is in October !)
SDM

Sam, Google Maps is your friend.

 

[Clayton122]

@Marie13
You apparently have everything dialed in ..
Question ???
How far is Hammond by driving time is it from South Bend Indiana ?
(The USC/ND is in October !)
SDM

South Bend is probably about a 30-45 minute drive depending on traffic.

 

[Sam Miller III]

@Marie13
Sam, Google Maps is your friend.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
it is true I AM a Slow walking, Slow talking, Slow thinking broken down diver who lives on a a hill in Kalifornia
But
You may be surprised that I can google maps -- I can locate Hammond and South Bend
(I was taught to Navigate at the Nav School at Harlingen AFB during the Korean War)
But
The question was about driving time ….
-----------How many seconds, minutes, hours driving time ?
It is rumored that particular area of Hoosier land is a drug war zone

The sun is up in Kalifirnia going to be hot --projected to be 72 today !
Think I will jump in the pool

Stay wet

Sam

 

[Marie13]

72? Supposed to be up to 101 in the Chicago area. It will be about 25 degrees cooler in Tobermory this weekend, thank goodness! I despise being hot.

I wouldn’t know about drug running in Indiana.

 

[Sam Miller III]

@Marke13
Ya gogga learn Canadianda

Tobermory eh !

sdm

 

[Marie13]

@Marke13
Ya gogga learn Canadianda

Tobermory eh !

sdm

I’m half Canadian with a good dash of Frenchie (French-Canadian) on the other side. Eh?

 

[Sam Miller III]

@Mariwe13

My wife was born in big T - Toronto !
She is my dear long time NOLD *
(*Nice Old Lady Diver) whom I have shared much with
(but not the phrase Nice Old Lady Diver or even NOLD

Have fun in Tober dive safe
Sam

 

[Chidiver1]

We are booked for July 27 @ 7:00 am and July 28 at 2:00. 3 divers now and maybe 4 by the time we leave. There was there was a scheduling error that showed a 3 tank dive on the 27th but it should have been in August so we are back to the 2 tank on Saturday.

My 7 mil boots came in and don't fit in my favorite fins, luckily they do fit in my second favorite.

Biggest problem we are having now is finding a place to stay close to the pier. Most of the hotels within 15 miles have horrible reviews from bloody sheets, to drug deals, to thug parties, to no hot water, to horrible smells, staff that could care less, and security issues... the list is endless...and current reviews. I'd like to stay within 15 minutes since it's a 7:00 am departure (6:00 am Oklahoma time) and we have a 12ish hour drive to get there. Anything under $100 a night is pretty scary. Found an Airbnb but guests have been warned about the neighborhood after dark.

Any suggestions on where to stay within 15 minutes of the Hammond pier for $100 a night per room or less?

Thanks,
Jay

Did you get it figured out?

There are rooms next to the pier at the casino hotel.
Further south on Kennedy Ave and the highway there are a cluster of higher end hotels, but still in Hammond. The cluster on the west side of Kennedy have Hammond pd working after dark in a marked unit. The cluster on the east side don't, but they are all new construction and upscale.

In between those two there is a Ramada and super 8. They are on Calumet Ave just north of Chicago Ave.

 

[Jayfarmlaw]

Did you get it figured out?

There are rooms next to the pier at the casino hotel.
Further south on Kennedy Ave and the highway there are a cluster of higher end hotels, but still in Hammond. The cluster on the west side of Kennedy have Hammond pd working after dark in a marked unit. The cluster on the east side don't, but they are all new construction and upscale.

In between those two there is a Ramada and super 8. They are on Calumet Ave just north of Chicago Ave.

Pretty much set. Found a Best Western less than 15 miles away that did not have a single "worst hotel ever" review. Goose's scuba shop is 20 minutes South. I call them today and confirm fills. Found a Chicago style pizza place and hot dog place relatively close to the hotel. I'm excited about that and promised my wife's uncle I will eat a "Chicago Dog" for him...whatever that is. Not sure about Chicago Chilli....I'm From Texas where Chilli is a religion.

Mapquest must assume traffic is a nightmare at all hours. It always says 2 minutes per mile, even on the interstate. Wish the Cubs were in town, but I have a strong suspicion that my dive buddy is going to be hooked, and these wrecks are a lot closer, but colder, than the ones he prefers. The dive schedule is not what we had hoped, but will be good to get our feet wet (pun intended) on Lake Michigan.

Thanks again for the responses. I will post a full trip report when we get back. I suspect 2 sets of doubles and a dry suit may be in my future....the Hume is calling me.

Jay

 

[Chidiver1]

Pretty much set. Found a Best Western less than 15 miles away that did not have a single "worst hotel ever" review. Goose's scuba shop is 20 minutes South. I call them today and confirm fills. Found a Chicago style pizza place and hot dog place relatively close to the hotel. I'm excited about that and promised my wife's uncle I will eat a "Chicago Dog" for him...whatever that is. Not sure about Chicago Chilli....I'm From Texas where Chilli is a religion.

Mapquest must assume traffic is a nightmare at all hours. It always says 2 minutes per mile, even on the interstate. Wish the Cubs were in town, but I have a strong suspicion that my dive buddy is going to be hooked, and these wrecks are a lot closer, but colder, than the ones he prefers. The dive schedule is not what we had hoped, but will be good to get our feet wet (pun intended) on Lake Michigan.

Thanks again for the responses. I will post a full trip report when we get back. I suspect 2 sets of doubles and a dry suit may be in my future....the Hume is calling me.

Jay

Then you're in Merrillville if it's 15 mikes.
There is a Portillo's. That is all you need to know. Try everything you can there.

Unless you went a bad way and decided to stay in Chicago itself.