Saturday & Sunday in Door County

I left out this photo from Friday night. LE was tuckered out and rested
in Grunkle John's arms while Graunty Kay finished making dinner.

Well, despite our hopes, Saturday turned out to be a gloomy day. It rained all morning, as forecasted, but then it continued to rain on throughout the afternoon and evening as well, which was not forecasted. This was no real surprise to me, of course, since this was my third trip up to Door County and this was the third trip that it was rainy and cold. At least this time it wasn't super cold like in the past.

Watching the chipmunk stuff his cheeks
(or, if you ask Grunkle John, it was the ground squirrel)

The five of us (Graunty Kay, Grunkle John, John, LE, and me) went to breakfast at the Sandpiper in Bailey's Harbor. They have pancakes as large as a platter. John and I split one of their meals, which included two eggs over medium, two outrageously large pancakes, hashbrowns, and bacon. I can't believe any one human being could eat that on his own. 

Naturally, we did what anyone would do in a food coma on a rainy day: napped. Admittedly, our nap was the shortest because LE wasn't in the mood to sleep. John, LE, and I headed out to Fish Creek to visit Julie,  John's second cousin twice removed (or whatever she is; I can't get it right and John corrects me every time). Julie runs a kitchen gadget shop there, and it's always impossible to leave there without realizing your "need" for a new gadget. It was good to see her and to have LE meet another relative.

We drove to Wilson's Restaurant & Ice Cream Parlor in Ephraim. Wilson's has been around in one way or another since 1906, and remains a cute place to stop for lunch with soda-fountain whimsy with juke boxes on every table (albeit they were all out of order this time around). John and I shared a reuben and a scoop of chocolate peanut butter ice cream.  Even though the one scoop was more than enough for the two of us, we somehow managed to finish it. We wouldn't want to waste, right? Apparently, we don't want a waist, either. (That was bad, I know.)

This photo would have been cooler if the new cars weren't there.

We spent the rest of the day lounging at The Little One, working on Kay's obnoxiously unfulfilling puzzle, reading, and doing a lot of sitting before getting ready to leave the cabin once more for the night to get an early dinner at Coyote Roadhouse on Kangaroo Lake. We finished the night off with vanilla ice cream and a freshly made cherry pie with cherries from Door County (a.k.a. the key to my heart).

On Sunday morning, we had a lazy morning recovering from the busy weekend. We were really tired despite the fact that we didn't do much. I know that I was tired because LE wasn't sleeping very well there, and now that I think about it, I guess John was tired because he was still recovering from working nights the week before.


Sunday turned out to be a gorgeous day! John, LE, and I drove out to where the Reis' tend to vacation-- White Fish Bay on the Lake Michigan side of the peninsula. That's where LE got her first experience of the beach. John took her for a long walk down the beach while I read in solitude. The beach only had a handful of people there since it was the weekend after Labor Day and school just started back.

LE was thrilled to be there. Can't you see the excitement in her face?

Toes in the sand. Ahhhhh. 

We drove up the east side to the Yum Yum Tree, a candy store that has a bathtub filled with taffy.
We stop there every time we go up to Door County. 

Then we cut across the peninsula to Sister Bay to stop to take pictures (but not eat) at Al Johnson's,
a restaurant that's famous for its goats on the roof.

Across the street is the marina, which is beautiful. I think Sister Bay is my favorite place in Door County.

We took one family photo at the cabin before heading out.

LE helped us pack up the last bag in the trunk.

It was a great, relaxing trip. Thanks for letting us stay with you, John and Kay!