PHIL WIELAND: My return to Long Beach: What am I dune here?

In response to my recent column about getting lost in Long Beach, Donna Kavanagh offered to take me on a tour of the tiny town and suggested we meet at the Holiday Inn just off Interstate 94 in Michigan City.

On my first visit, I wandered helplessly along the seemingly endless maze of meandering, maze-like streets until I thought Long Beach might be the Brigadoon of America, appearing briefly out of the mists every 100 years or whenever the Sierra Club actually likes something NIPSCO is doing, whichever comes first.

I was suspicious when I arrived at the designated intersection and found no Holiday Inn. A man at the LaPorte County Visitors Center said it became a Clarion Inn a couple of years ago.

The rest of the tour went better. Kavanagh explained a lot of the history and political doings in the town, which has fewer than 1,500 permanent residents and maybe twice that many who have their second or third homes there.

Other residents had emailed that Long Beach has been the home of national notables such as Dr. Scholl (of foot fame) and U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. Kavanagh said other residents included gangsters such as Al Capone, whose alleged home she showed me.

John Lloyd Wright, scion of the renowned Frank, lived in Long Beach and designed several homes and buildings in the town, including the school where the Sierra Club announcement was made.

We visited Scott and Joan Shelton, who have a shuffleboard court in their backyard where plays are performed for friends. (I think they also play shuffleboard.) They all touted the town's strong arts and cultural offerings but bemoaned the plague of "instant" condos that pop up to block the lake view.

I assumed by "culture and the arts" they were not referring to the 8-foot wooden pink flamingo holding a watering can I saw in the little flower garden in front of one house.

Kavanagh and a group want to raise money to preserve a large natural dune area called Moon Valley in the center of the community from the ravages of development. As we drove along Lake Shore Drive, five deer loped into view along the steep embankment they call "lawns." I warned them to avoid Ogden Dunes.

Kavanagh said the layout of the streets keeps strangers away and maintains the quiet atmosphere residents want. The police chief said the roads help keep the crime rate low because the crooks can't escape the maze.

I know how they feel.

The opinions are those of the writer. He can be reached at phil.wieland@nwi.com or (219) 548-4352.