Despite the baby news, I'm still in the middle of posting about our trip to Door County.
We spent one day going out to Washington Island and back. (Door County is pretty low-key, but Washington Island takes low-key to a new level. It's great! Despite the fact it's regularly visited by tourists, it feels as if it's natives only.)
The Ferry to
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| Leaving the mainland behind. |
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| Grandma Evie and David |
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| Arriving at Washington Island |
The Icelandic Herd
Once we got to the island, we stopped to look at a herd of Icelandic horses. They are the only herd of pure bred Icelandic horses in the country. They were lovely, sweet-tempered animals! You can see that they are on the small side, and their manes and coats are beautiful. (The long manes led Mary to believe they are all girls.)
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| Mary says hello. |
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| Ever since her best friend's birthday party at the stables, Mary fancies herself a horse person. |
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| My mom loves horses too, so this was a special grandmother-granddaughter moment for them. |
Stavkirke
We stopped by the local stavkirke.
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| Mary leading the music inside |
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| This is my kids walking in the woods; they are not crying. It's a miracle! |
Tower Hill
We visited the tallest hill on Washington Island. I climbed the hill, but then I passed on climbing the tower on top of the hill. (I was having flashbacks of when I thought it would be a good idea to climb the Eiffel Tower pregnant, instead of wait in line for the elevator, and I ended up bawling like a baby from exhaustion just one level up--who knew a little peanut could take so much out of you??)
Jackson Harbor
As our final stop that morning, we drove over to the other side of the island to check out Jackson Harbor. (We hadn't made it there last time.) It was a pretty little harbor.
There was a small museum, which included this Model A-turned-snowmobile, which was used for delivering the mail.
I don't usually think "Coast Guard" and "Midwest," but that's all different on the Great Lakes. The area around Washington Island (known as Death's Door) was important and treacherous for ships. The Coast Guard, with their lighthouses and rescue boats, had an important role in these parts.
We grabbed some lunch at the Albatross (where Mary and Grandma Evie enjoyed the swing) and then headed up to Schoolhouse Beach.
I love Schoolhouse Beach! The colors are beautiful. Look at the water--it's gorgeous. The water is definitely on the chilly side, but still very good for swimming. It makes for a (very!) refreshing dip. David and Mary were a little wimpier this year than last, but we did all make it out to the diving platform for some cannonballs. I really like this beach for practical mom reasons too--changing rooms, flushing toilets, and NO SAND. (Like last year, I was amazed at how much simpler leaving and clean-up was with no sticky wet sand to contend with.)
The Ferry fro
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| Leaving Washington Island--it was a little chilly with that stiff breeze. |
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| Love this girl! |
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| The water was a little choppy coming back. (There is a good reason they tell you to put on your parking break--those cars were wanting to rock and roll.) |
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| Grandma Evie, David, and Grandpa Mike watching the harbor on the mainland come into view. |
Sister Bay
On the way back to Egg Harbor we stopped in Sister Bay for a visit to the famous Al Johnson's Swedish Restaurant. Outside, we spied a couple of goats chilling on the sod roof, and, inside, we enjoyed plenty of Swedish meatballs and Swedish pancakes. Yum! Then we walked over to the harbor before heading back to the hotel.
