Door County Trip

Mandy and I were in Door County WI for the last 5 days, staying at a place called the Birchwood Lodge. We had a fantastic trip and I am here to recount what I can so that you all can vicariously have a vacation as well. enjoy!

First off, I made a mix CD (of course) for this trip and we listened to it quite often while we were there. So to kind of 'take you there' in your mind, I will show you the track list of the mix.

1. Everybody's Talkin' -Harry Nillson
2. Golden - My Morning Jacket
3. She Just Wants to Be - R.E.M.
4. Up shit creek again - Tom Waits
5. I Guess Things Happen that Way - Johnny Cash
6. Girl - Beck
7. Pillar of Davidson - Live
8. Us and Them - Pink Floyd
9. Black Swan - Thom Yorke
10. City of Delusion - Muse
11. Gong - Sigur Ros
12. Alice Childress - Ben Folds
13. Wasted - Martin Sexton
14. To Be Alone With You - Sufjan Stevens
15. Within You - Ray Lamontagne

We arrived Thursday afternoon, unloaded the car into our 2nd floor grand suite which includes: King Size Bed, full kitchen, whirlpool, TV/DVD, HUGE walk-in shower with 3 heads, dining room table and living room area.

The first thing we wanted to do after getting unpacked was to take a long walk along the water and soak in the scenery:





We took our time, walking through backroads with paths laden with leaves and small doogies with their owners (that sounds like the dogs were dead, but they weren't). The smells of Wisconsin were filling our noses in the perfect way. And so the vacation was underway.


Well, after about an hour of walking around, we decided (of course) that we needed to get a great cup of coffee and play some chess. So we walked down the road to a great local shop called "Leroy's Water Street Cafe"

While we were playing chess, a group of folks came in and I overheard one of them telling the barista that he was from Pennsylvania. Well, being from PA, my ears perked up a little. When they were walking by our table I thought of asking where in PA they were from, but then for some reason I changed my mind and didn't say anything. As they walked by, one of the guys asked Mandy who was winning the chess match. Well, with the conversation already started I went ahead and asked the man where in PA he was from. "Clarion," he said. This is only 30 minutes from my hometown, Grove City, so we chatted for a bit about that area and what not. I thought it was a cool enough connection, my mind is starting to go back to the chess game. Then two of them, a husband and wife, say that they're not from Clarion, they're from Michigan and are living in Wheaton, IL. I tell them "I work in Wheaton!" It turns out that not only have they been to my Caribou several times, they are close friends with one of my employees, Christina. This is a pretty wild connection from the seemingly unrelated (non PA) couple that was on the sidelines of the conversation until now.

So through chatting with them, we discovered a great place to go and watch the sunset that evening:

They also told us of a great restaurant called Mr. Helsinki's, which was in the upstairs portion of a store in one of the villages there. Delcious food! Here is Mandy enjoying her fondue and tomato/cheese crepe we had for dinner:

After that, Mandy soaked in the whirlpool tub and I watched the Tigers beat the Yankees. A great end to our first evening there.

The next morning, we went to breakfast at a Swedish restaurant called "Al Johnson's." This place is famous for its roof being covered in grass and for having goats graze on it all day. It's quite amusing:

Then, upon the suggestion of a barista at Leroy's, we immediately hauled out to the Peninsula State Park, which is about 5 minutes from our hotel. When we arrived we rented bikes (wish we had our own!) to ride through the park. It was completely awesome. Not only were the smells of the forest wonderful, but the scenery was breath taking. The pictures don't do it justice, but here's what we captured just during the ride:

Then at the pinnacle of this 12 mile ride we took, we came upon Eagle's Tower (and when I say "came upon" I mean more that we "huffed and puffed up massive hills and sweated our tushes off upon it")

From the top of this tower, we were able to see a LONG ways off. It was amazing. Incidentally, the tower was wavering a little the whole time we were on it with 50 million kids who wanted to get to the top first. That, compiled with my natural distaste (that means I pee myself) for heights, means that Eagle Tower had it's pro's and it's con's.

Here's what the top of the tower held for our eyes:

We ate lunch at the top of the mountain, then rode down the rest of the way. After that, we (of course) went and checked out a different coffee shop nearby called "Drink Coffee"
This shop was nice, it had a computer with free internet access for customers with which I sent my 2 emails while I was away. Mandy and I tried out a total of 4 coffee shops, Leroy's being our favorite by far. One day we were exploring different villages looking for their coffee shops (of course) when I decided to ask the owner of an ice cream shop where a great coffee shop in that town might be. This merchant told me that she sold coffee there. I said "No, I'm looking for a sit down, coffee shop type atmosphere where we can read and stuff." She pointed to her one table in the corner next to a big gumball machine. "You're lookin' at it." Mandy said later that I didn't do a very good job at hiding my disgust.

That night we went to a fantastic restaurant on the water called "The Shoreline." It opens at 5 PM and when we got there at 4:45 there was already a line 20 people deep, shivering and waiting to get inside. Here's why... (our view while we ate)


Back at the hotel, we watched 3 movies during the trip (Thank you for Smoking, Tristram Shandy, and Psycho) all of which were good. We swam in the pool downstairs (which we had all to ourselves) and soaked in the hot tub. We watched the Yankees, Padres, Twins and Dodgers get eliminated from the playoffs (I especially enjoyed watching the Yankees go down).

The morning we left, we went to have brunch at the "White Gull" inn. Mandy had Blueberry pancakes and I had Cherry Stuffed French Toast (unbelievable). As we were leaving, I overheard (I eavesdrop) these 2 little boys talking to each other. The first boy said "I bet you I'm gonna be in the Book of World Records." "Why?" asked the 2nd child. "Well, in a couple of years I will... (he puts his fingers up representing a headline) for being The First Man To Not Have Chicken Pox.... EVER."

Mandy and I believe that this has been our best trip we've ever taken, from start to finish. On the drive home she discovered her dream candle shop (in which I spent an hour pretending to be the most patient husband known to man). If any of you feel that this trip is something you'd ever like to do, the website for the lodge we stayed in is: www.birchwoodlodge.com and now you have the names of some pretty awesome places to go while you're there. If you're not interested, well hopefully this was entertaining enough for you.

I needed this trip. Here's a before and after picture so you get the idea how badly I needed a short vacation: