Time for another Sister’s Trip. I can always fit that in my schedule! I miss my sisters and even though Carol lives in the area, even we have a hard time getting together, due to work schedules and other commitments. And with Ruth in Minnesota it’s a real treat when the three of us can get together. To save a little money the three of us decided that Carol and I would fly to Minnesota to see Ruth. Then if we wanted to take a couple days we could go on a little road trip to spend some “sister” time. Once we came to that decision Carol and I got our plane tickets (using points this time). Ruth suggested we go to Door County, Wisconsin so she was tasked with finding a place to stay.
Carol and I met at the airport about 5:40 am on Wednesday, May 9th. Plenty of time to get checked in, get coffee and head to our gate for our 7:15 am flight. Soon we were on our way. It was an uneventful flight and gave us time to catch up on each other’s lives. Where does the time go? I don’t think I had seen Carol since the fall, which was the last time I had seen Ruth also.
Ruth picked us up about 12:30 pm and we headed over to visit Alyssa and their new baby, stopping first to get a bite to eat for lunch. Alyssa and Trent live in Woodbury, which is on the way to Ruth’s house from the airport. We got to meet Eli who is just about 3 months old. They are working hard to get him on a regular schedule but the little guy doesn’t want to sleep more than 20 minutes at a time. Alyssa is learning what it is like to be a new mommy. Eli is a cutie and doesn’t seem to be a fussy baby. We visited for a while, and then left to go to Ruth’s, planning with Alyssa to see her Saturday afternoon at Justin and Kristen’s house.
We got to Ruth’s house and got settled then started getting things ready for a taco dinner. Justin, Kristen and the boys Gavin (3) and Declan (1) came for dinner. It was do fun to watch Gavin come with his happy-go-lucky attitude. Declan was more cautious meeting new people but Gavin jumped right in there. He loves to pose for pictures and show us all the things he is learning. He talks clearly and loves to sing. We had a lot of fun playing with the kids, and catching up with Kristen and Justin.
After a good night’s sleep we got up early to head on our road trip. Stopped for coffee at Starbucks (where else?) then we were on our way. Door County was calling us! Door County is about 6 hours from White Bear Lake. We planned to spend our car time catching up on things and singing songs. We actually brought two hymnals and spent a good bit of time singing and reminiscing. Remember how Mom loved this song? Remember singing this with Nana? Wow, what memories. Our hubbies had teased us before we left when we told them the plan…. definitely did not want to be in the car with us during this trip!
Our drive took us into Green Bay, Wisconsin about lunch time. We used our phones to find a restaurant for lunch and settled on the Titletown Brewery which had good reviews. It was in an old Train Station and lived up to the reviews. We shared a couple different salads and some flatbread. Presentation was nice and both the food and the service were good. The parking lot had a Green Bay Packers statue. Since we were within a mile or two of Limbaugh Field we drove over there and took a few pictures. Then we were back on the road again. Door County is on a Peninsula on Lake Michigan. It is a spring and summer destination place with lots of little villages close together. There are cherry orchards throughout the county, and restaurants, boutiques, wineries, light houses and country stores. We were just ahead of the season so not everything was open yet, but on the flip side we also were not fighting the traffic to get onto the peninsula, which I understand can happen during high season.
We were staying in Ephraim which is about ½ way up the 26 mile peninsula on the west side, which is the Green Bay side. We had booked a cottage at the Lodgings at Pioneer Lane. Our place was a charming cottage that had 2 sides, one of which could be locked off from the other. We chose to use both sides so we had two bedrooms, each with a king bed on opposite sides of a living/kitchen area. My “punishment“ for my snoring was to have a room to myself. Somehow, I got the best of that deal! 
We got our things settled then decided to explore the town. We spent some time looking at the computer first to find a place to eat dinner. As we drove around we saw that some things were not open for the season yet, but there still were plenty options. We drove down to Fish Creek which was one village over and ate dinner at the Wild Tomato, a wood fire pizza restaurant. There were quite a few people there but we were able to find a place to sit in the bar area without having to wait. They had more than just pizza so we each had burgers that were very good. Afterward we stopped at Not Licked Yet, a great place for frozen custard. We each had a small cone. The setting was along Fish Creek and was like a park with a playground for the kids, and several chairs along the creek. After dinner and dessert we decided to turn in and rest up for the morning. We were all tired from our full day of driving and then full from dinner and dessert.
In the morning we got up and each of us wanted coffee so we headed to Julie’s Park Motel and Cafe in Fish Creek to get coffee and a bagel or something light before we started to explore the rest of the peninsula. Once we got to Julie’s we decided to stay and eat breakfast after all. We brought in a few maps and brochures and mapped out our plan for the day as we were eating breakfast. Breakfast was good, with great service so soon we were on our way.
We started out by going to Peninsula State Park which was between Ephraim and Fish Creek. We paid for an hour pass which gave us time to stop at a view of the view points and walk around. The Park is on the west side of the Peninsula and has great views of Green Bay and several small islands. The weather was beautiful and we enjoyed the natural beauty of the park. After we left the Park we looked around several of the little shops in the area then drove south to Egg Harbor and looked around some of the shops there before we drove over to Bailey’s Harbour which is on the other side of the Peninsula. Our understanding was there was a much photographed lighthouse that we wanted to see. After driving for quite a while down a 2 lane road we came to a dead end where you needed to walk out to even get a glimpse of the lighthouse. Since we wanted to explore more to the Peninsula we decided not to go out to it.
There really wasn’t much else to see there so we instead drove to the top of the peninsula to Northport where there is a ferry that goes over to Washington Island. The passage is commonly known as Death’s Door. If we had more time it would have been a fun trip with lots of things to check out on the Island. That will have to wait for another day.
On the road again we headed south to stop in Sister’s Bay for lunch. We found Sister Bay Bakery where we were able to buy boxed lunches, and then took them to Waterfront Park which is in the center of town along the bay. After lunch we stopped at a few of the shops. We also drove by Al Johnson’s restaurant which is a known for its grass roof with goats on it. Unfortunately, there were no goats as they were not quite open for the season.
We continued our exploring and stopped at the Stone’s Throw Winery for a few minutes, then went to Wood Orchard market and the Cherry Hut market. We each bought some dried cherries to bring home and I bought some a jar of Cherry Salsa. The peninsula is known for its cherry orchards and all of the trees had recently started blooming so there was an abundance of pink flowering trees. After a little more boutique shopping we got back to our place about 5pm. We had dinner plans to go to a Fish Boil. Although Ruth and Carol had both been, it was a new experience for me. We had reservations for 7pm at the White Gull Inn in Fish Creek.
Fish Boils are a tradition in the area, and everyone agrees you must go to one at least once. It is similar to going to a Mexican Fiesta in Mexico, or a Hawaiian Luau. Everyone gathers around a bonfire that has a kettle of salted water boiling. Potatoes are added and at the right time thick chunks or fresh white fish steaks are added. As the temperature rises and salt is added, the oils from the fish rise to the top of the kettle. Then, kerosene is thrown on the fire, the kettle boils over and the kettle is removed from the fire. Then everyone moves into the restaurant and are served the potatoes and fish buffet style. On the table is bread and coleslaw. Staff is there to assist and show how to easily remove the tiny bones from the fish. For dessert we were served cherry pie with ice cream. We all enjoyed the experience, and the food was good. Once we got back to our place we decided to watch the movie Love Actually. I had not seen it but they both recommended it and didn’t mind watching it again. I think all of us were falling asleep though by the time it was over. Long day, good company and good food had done us in.
In the morning we got packed and tried to get on the road by 9.00 or so. We stopped at the pier in Ephram to see the boardhouse with all the graffiti. We had heard that Good Eggs was a great place for breakfast so we stopped there on our way out of town. It is a small little place that only provides breakfast burritos – basically omelets wrapped in burrito. The tables are made out of surfboards and the atmosphere was light and fun. Breakfast was great. Our drive to White Bear Lake took us a little longer than planned but we got to Ruth’s about 4:30. All of the family was getting together over at Justin and Kristen’s to celebrate Gavin’s 3rd birthday and Declan’s first. Since we were leaving the next day it was our opportunity to see Amy and Jimmy and the kids as well as Kristin and Justin and Alyssa and Trent and baby Eli.
The weather was beautiful and when we got to Kristen and Justin’s all the kids were there and playing outside. Kristen’s parents were there too to celebrate with the family. Jonah came running up to me and gave me a big hug. He reminded me about our trip to Colorado (see post) and how we went geocaching. He said he goes once in a while. Trent was there and asked what it was so we decided to use my phone to see what was around the area. We were able to find one within a mile of Kristen and Justin’s so we decided that we would take a walk after dinner and presents.
Kristen had arranged for a local restaurant to cater the food for the party so we had lasagna, french bread and a couple salads. Then she had a cake in the shape of a baseball for the boys, as well as ice cream. After that the kids gathered the presents together and Gavin opened both Declan’s and his own. Alyssa and Trent had gotten him a batman costume so that was a hit. He was so cute running around with that on. He is so personable. He has cute red hair and dimples and a twinkle in his eye. He talks very clear and evens sings in tune. After the boys had opened their presents Carol and I took Larkin, Ryker and Jonah to find the geocache. They live in a newer development which has several little neighborhoods that have entrance signs. Our clue was “Behind the Glenn”. As we got closer to the area of the cache we saw the entrance sign that said “Glenn” so we headed for the back part of the sign. After a few minutes we were able to find it in a cleverly disguised container. There were a few little trinkets in the box that Jonah traded for some little things he brought. I signed the log then we headed back to the house.
After hugs goodbye, and promises to plan another reunion soon so we can get all the cousins together we headed back to Ruth’s house. Earl wanted to take us to a new Rooftop lounge that had opened up at the Best Western in downtown White Bear Lake. However, once we got there it was quite crowded so instead we went over to the Bear Town Café of which they are part owners. Ruth mentioned that she hadn’t even eaten over at Justin and Kristen’s so we ordered a few things to share as well as drinks.
The next day was Mother’s Day and Earl had set a beautiful table with flowers for us on the patio. It was sunny and warm and refreshing. He made waffles for us and served them with bacon and fruit. We invited him to join us which he was happy to do. Always the entertainer, he told us stories to keep us laughing. We spent a little time looking at pictures and just visiting before we had to go to the airport for our flight home. When Carol and I checked in we noticed our seats were no longer together so we could not finish our trip together. We said goodbye once we got to Seatac and vowed to get together more often, and to start figuring out how to get together for a family reunion next year. Where should we go for our next Sister’s Trip? Tennessee? Branson? Sante Fe? Boston? We’ll have to start planning it soon.
