Do We Really Have to Go Home?--Day Three

By Wednesday, our last day, we knew we would have to come back (and next time with our bikes and kayaks).  I think knowing we could return was the only way we could bring ourselves to pack up the car that morning.  But before we drove back home, we had a full day on the peninsula to enjoy.

That morning we drove through Peninsula State Park, checking out on old lighthouse, soaking up the vistas of Green Bay, and making plans for a return.  We then, for the first time, crossed over to the lakeside to visit the Cana Island Lighthouse.  After a low-key pizza lunch in Bailey's Harbor, we finally made Mary's dream come true--a sandy beach!  For a year and a half now she has been making plans to wear her pink flip flops on the beach and build a sand castle.  We all enjoyed obliging Mary.


Peninsula State Park


Highlights included just being there!  Due to the fog that morning, the visibility wasn't stellar, but I think the clouds only added to the peacefulness.  (Supposedly more people pass through this state park than Yellowstone every year--so we were fortunate to experience such a peaceful morning.)  It's a beautiful place!

To keep it real, I should point out that David declared it a boring morning, and both kids thought they might die when we made them get out of the car to see the Eagle Bluff lighthouse and Nicolet Beach.  (If only they knew how lucky they were--we did not make them climb another tower...but we could have.)

Cana Island Lighthouse


Highlights included sunshine and views of Lake Michigan.  Greg and David climbed the lighthouse, while I stayed in the car with a napping Mary.  After Mary woke up, we joined the boys on the island (which you can walk to since the lake level is low enough).

Whitefish Dunes State Park


Highlights included the loveliness of the beach, the hours of relaxing on the sand, Dad the Engineer, and the miracle that our children actually HELPED carry stuff.  They also maintained a really good attitude...despite the 54 degree water.  (Yikes!  That is cold!  I'm not sure if that's normal or not.  We'd been swimming the day before in the very same Lake Michigan and the water was fine.  Go figure.)

Phew!  We were one exhausted (but happy) family on our way home.  Door County was the highlight of our summer.  To be honest, there was plenty of bickering between the kids.  And a fair amount of whining.  But less bickering and whining than usual.  We truly liked being together.  David did a fabulous job of enjoying himself, and Mary was remarkably pleasant despite her sleep deprivation.  Without fail, every time we happened upon a clean, flushing restroom, Mary and David would have to go to the bathroom...twenty minutes later.  But it is a wonderful thing to travel with two fully potty-trained children.  I like my family.

So if you come back from a vacation happy to live in this world and happy to be a part of your family, it doesn't get any better, does it?

What a great way to end the summer...and now if we could only muster the energy to get ready to go back to school....

Door County--Day Two

 We dragged ourselves out of bed Tuesday morning in order to drive to the tippy top of the penninsula in plenty of time for a morning ferry to Washington Island.  What a beautiful drive--through adorable, wind-beaten villages and scenic, country roads.  (I couldn't help but imagine how gorgeous it must be when the leaves change.)  After an afternoon on rural Washington Island, we enjoyed our drive back too--with a stop in Sister Bay.  David and I couldn't pass up another dusk down at the harbor, and this time Daddy and Mary came along.


Washington Island


Highlights included the ferry ride (flashbacks of David nearly toddling off the ferry to Samos back in the day), Schoolhouse Beach (pebble beach = no sand in the car!), yummy milkshakes, a breathtaking stavkirk, and climbing to the highest point on the island.

(Notice the flags of Finland, Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway at the ferry terminal?  This is an island proud of its Scandinavian heritage--but in a low-key, non-touristy way.)

Sister Bay and Al Johnson's Swedish Restaurant


Highlights included the peaceful drive, Swedish meatballs, Swedish pancakes, the goats on the roof of the restaurant, and checking out the waterfront.

Return to Egg Harbor


Another dusk at Egg Harbor.  David picked out his favorite boat, and Mary enjoyed posing for pictures.  Then it was off to bed.

It was at some point on this day that Greg and I realized that this is what we do.  I'm not exactly sure what "this" is.  But whatever "this" is, Greg and I and our family were very happy, comfortable, excited, and content to be doing it.