Hubby's grandparents have a home there so he grew up vacationing with them there. When we were dating, he and I would escape from Chicago to spend weekends with friends whom also had a Door County home. We chose Door County as the site for our destination wedding. So, visiting is nostalgic and brings back many happy memories. We always enjoy sharing this special place with our kids.
(This is a photo of the church where we were married--- now they have air conditioning, but they did not on that hot June day in 1999!)
Fish Creek, WI is home to a great drive-in theater. We motored in, backed up the Suburban, opened the hatch and tied it to an acceptable level to not block those behind us, coated our skin with bug spray, and readied ourselves to see "Inside Out". As we waited, the kids played on the playground, played catch with a new friend, and gave plenty of attention to a puppy who was nearby. Surprisingly, once the movie started, the screen quality was great and we listened through both the drive-in speaker and our car stereo.
This year we celebrated the 4th of July week with the inlaws (parents, brother, wife and their twins). Door County celebrates it Old School with a parade filled with tractors, horses, and local groups marching down the Main Street in Bailey's Harbor. The kids filled Ziploc bags with candy that was tossed. We sought cooler temperatures in the Blue Ox bar- site of our post wedding party- truly classy being in there in a big white wedding dress!
Post parade we danced in the park to a band that played out of the side of a storage container. The kids loved dancing with their 3 year old cousins.
Fish Creek had a band play in the park (the lead singer and drummer were from our wedding band--- SUPER FUN to listen to them again!) and then fireworks set off over the marina.
The kids spent countless hours near or in the water. The boys devoured their breakfasts quickly in order to get to the dock to fish. They stood patiently and learned to untangle their lines. One day, Hubby rowed the boys on a 2 hour cruise to his favorite fishing spot near a sunken ship. Before we left California, he had talked about taking the boys on the adventure- so I am glad that he was able to make it happen. Son #2 had the most luck catching two bass over the weekend. Son #1 was frustrated with his ability to only catch small Gobi fish. The girls splashed in the water and created adventures along the shoreline. They created masterpieces with rocks and lake moss. Father-in-law took the kids boating in which they attempted to ski and tube-- but it was too choppy for their liking. Instead they enjoyed the cool wind and high speeds!
As a family, we took a 2 hour hike through Door Bluff Park. The kids laughed at my screaming and perching on a log after seeing a snake. We explored trails without a map or knowledge of where we were headed. Carefully, we walked along the beautiful bluffs overlooking Green Bay.
The kids also loved spending time with their 3 year old twin cousins. They were often fighting about who was to sit next to them at a meal, who could hold their hands, who could read to them, etc. Having 1800 miles separate our homes can be challenging, but having quality vacation time to reconnect is priceless.
Door County vacation means ice cream! The kids were spoiled with Malibu Moo's ice cream twice and Wilson's ice cream once during our 5 day stay. Good old Wisconsin dairy!
One of our favorite pastimes of Door County escapes are the beautiful sunsets. Supposedly fires in Canada during our retreat were creating especially vibrant red sunsets. To us, it created a perfect end to our days.
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