P.C. Junction
I got a tip from a friend who comes up to Door County a lot with her family that we should check out the restaurant on the corner of County Road A and County Road EE. She insisted that my kids would like it.
She was absolutely right! Not only did the kids like it, they LOVED it. It was probably the highlight of their trip. It's this great little restaurant where you sit at a bar made out of old doors and a model train delivers your food. How fun is that?
Even better, the grounds surrounding the restaurant are sprawling with fun, free activities--slides, volleyball, pigs, play structures, basketball, billiards, giant chess, and so on. The favorite by far was the off-road, pedal-powered race cars.
David seriously believed he had died and gone to heaven--he had so much fun with those cars!
Mary also enjoyed playing giant chess with Grandpa Mike.
(What I really need is a picture of David and Grandpa playing chess in the hotel game room. Another major highlight of the trip for David was playing chess. He constantly begged to go back to the hotel to play chess with Grandpa. He misses their games a lot, now that we're home. Apparently, Grandpa was an especially flexible and patient opponent. Mom and Dad? Not so much.)
I believe we will have to make another trip up to Door County before we move--if nothing else because the kids want to go back to P.C. Junction so badly!
Tennison Bay
Later that afternoon (after a much needed nap), we returned to Peninsula State Park. Greg and I wanted to take out the kayaks. We put in at Tennison Bay and paddled up around the peninsula to Nicolet Bay and came back. It was so, so nice. I realized we hadn't been kayaking just the two of us in over seven years!! We used to go so often, back in the day, before kids. How I've missed those peaceful paddles with my best friend. (Hmmm. Now that both kids are going to be in school all day this fall, do you think it is bad to beg your husband to take a few hours off from working on his dissertation in the middle of the week to go kayaking while your kids are in school??)
Meanwhile, my parents took the kids on the state park's nature walk. Rather, TRIED to take the kids on the nature walk. David and Mary absolutely, stubbornly refused. Fortunately, my parents could see the humor in the situation (sometimes when you're seven or four, you've just had ENOUGH) and took them to get frozen custard in Fish Creek. Here is a picture from the nature walk that never happened.
(For the record, the kids were really good on the trip. I haven't written about whining and complaining because it was at a minimum, especially for my kids. They were troopers. For the most part, they went along with the agenda, even when they didn't want to. It wasn't all bubblegum and rainbows--but for the most part the kids were GREAT! They were so fun to be with. This summer Mary has been a bit of a booger. She has not been pleasant to be with, to be perfectly honest. I think she's been bored--it has been a boring summer, after all. But on the trip she was like a different person. She was energetic and cooperative and charming and fun! I loved being with my kids! And shouldn't that be the point of a family vacation?)
After we met my parents back at Tennison Bay, they took off to do some biking, and we were headed back to the hotel for swimming (and chess). Except Greg and I were starving. So we popped into Wild Tomato in Fish Creek, a pizza (and salad) place just outside the park entrance. I'd heard good things about it--and it certainly lived up to its reputation. It's one of those places that uses "quality fresh, local ingredients," which nowadays sounds cliche, but here you could taste the freshness and the local-ness. So good.
Even the beverages were amazing. This is cherry soda, made fresh for you with Door County cherry juice. (Door County is famous for its cherries.) It was divine.
I didn't get a picture of the pizza. (I think I was too hungry to bother.) But check this out. The waitress brought the kids a little ball of pizza dough for them to play with. She called it "pizza play-dough." David and Mary loved it! They played around with it while we waited for our food (and then into the trash it went). It kind of saved the day too--they were tired and a little grouchy. But a ball of dough is like magic!
With our tummies full of yummy food, we finally went back to hotel for an evening of lots and lots of swimming. (Because what is a family vacation without swimming together at the hotel?)
