Stealth camping in Columbus and wimping out in Kendallville

Columbus, Indiana is known for mid-century modern architecture. It does have quite a few interesting buildings and sculptures -- many more than I was able to see on this visit. I was considering sticking around to take a bus tour of the city, but the weather forecast prompted me to get up and hit the road instead. Forecast: wind increasing throughout the day, and thunderstorms by evening.

 I took this photo of a church across the street from the library. I like it because of how subtly the cross is incorporated into the design.

In addition to driving around looking for interesting buildings, I went to check out the scene at  Planet Fitness and Walmart parking lots (research for where to park for the night). They both looked okay, and I could have done either of those, but there was a really nice parking lot downtown behind the library. There were trees along the edges of the parking lot,  and it was only a block away from a street with shops and restaurants. It just felt nice and cozy. I asked the women at the desk in the library what they knew about parking overnight in the lot. They said that the public part of the lot had regular overnight use as overflow parking from a nearby apartment building -- just stay out of the library-only part and I should be fine. Perfect!

I parked my van, hung out in the library using my computer for a while, took my computer back to my van, then walked over to the next street for dinner at a very good Thai restaurant. After dinner I took a stroll and snapped the photo of the church at dusk, then retired to my van for the night. 

The parking lot was level and quiet and I felt real joy at sleeping in my van all cozy and comfy. 

The next night I had a reservation at a campground near Berne, Indiana, but then that windy rainy thunderous weather forecast started to work on my imagination. I got to the area where the campground was located, drove out to it, and just didn't feel like staying. Fort Wayne beckoned. So did Kendallville, where I visited the Mid-America Windmill Museum last year. It was still early in the day and I wanted to keep driving. So I did. 

If you're curious about windmills, here's a short video from my visit to the Windmill Museum last year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eITFjocEeg

I wound up driving to Kendallville and staying in a motel. I had valid reasons for doing it, but I am concerned. I really don't know what to think about my choices of where to stay when I'm traveling at this point. I really did enjoy staying in my van the first night. But the idea of a muddy, unfamiliar campsite did not appeal to me at all for the second night. By the time I drove the extra 70 miles to get to Kendallville, I was really tired and did not want to go into town to see what parking might be available. I had not escaped the area where thunderstorms were predicted by driving that extra distance, and I was really tired.

I'm concerned about what this means for my plans to take another long trip next winter. I don't want to spend a lot on motels again next year. If I can't get happier about staying in my van, that doesn't bode well. It's not like I've never stayed in a van in the rain -- it rained my first night on the test trip I took in the rental van last year.  

My next three nights will be staying in the home of a friend. I have another night of sleeping in my van planned after that, but no location chosen at this point. Where will it be?