A River DIDN'T Run Through It...and Other Adventures

In mid-July we made our annual trip to Door County, Wisconsin where we took the girls camping - it was Margot's first time! We left Monday morning and when we finally made it to Peninsula State Park in Fish Creek the girls were extremely ready to get out of the car. We let them run around the campsite and once they burned off a little steam we got out the pack-n-play to hold Margot while we set up the tent. Isabelle was actually a great help! When she wasn't putting poles together, she entertained her sister. I'm not going to lie, Margot eventually had enough of being stuck in the pack-n-play, but by that point we were almost done and the girls played in the tent while we finished up. It worked out pretty well!

After setting up camp, things were going so well that I broke out my new camp stove (thanks again Eric and Janell!) and made an early dinner. Our plan was to go for a short hike after we ate, but it looked like it might rain, so Tom got a fire going and we were going to make s'mores. That's when the park ranger showed up with a bull horn and sirens blaring. He told us a severe thunderstorm was moving through the area, so we packed up all of the food (we thought), secured the tent and hopped in the car to ride out the worst of it. Margot fell asleep fairly quickly and we tried to find a radio station that would tell us what was going on. Soon the storm came and since we couldn't find any information on the radio AND we didn't have any cell reception, we drove to the park entrance where our phones did work. It looked like it would rain most of the night, but the severe storm was passing. So we went back to camp just hoping our tent was still dry. After a stop at the bathroom with Isabelle - her raincoat kept her dry, mine did not and currently resides in a dumpster - we ran into the tent and all four of us snuggled on the air mattress and read a lot of books while the rain continued to pour down. Isabelle eventually got into her sleeping bag and fell fast asleep. Margot not so much, but halfway through the night we got her to sleep in the pack-n-play and everyone slept in the next morning. We didn't leave the tent until it stopped raining around 8. It rained ALL NIGHT.

It was a crazy night and it turns out the raccoons had a good time right outside our tent. They got into the cooler that had most of our food. With the storm coming, we just forgot about it. I hope the raccoons enjoyed the turkey sandwiches I made! They must have, because all I found were a couple empty bags next to the car.

After that we deserved a good breakfast at Al Johnsons Swedish Restaurant. It was outstanding, as always! After breakfast we decided to hike from our campsite in Welcker's Point to the Eagle Bluff Lighthouse where we took a tour of the lighthouse. Actually we made it halfway through the tour before we had to bail - kids! Our next stop on our hike was Nicolet Beach. It turned into a beautiful day, but still not quite warm enough to go swimming. Instead we took the kite out for a spin, ran around the park, play on the jungle gym and had lunch thanks to the snack shop at the beach. It turned out we weren't the only ones hungry.

I came out with the pizza and Tom left with Isabelle to go the bathroom. Margot immediately ran from me and as I ran after her the seagulls spied an opportunity the score some lunch. They swopped in and I ran back to scare them off. I thought they got one piece of pizza, so I set it aside. Then Tom and Isabelle came back and he was yelling "WATCH OUT!", so of course I turned to him and a seagull flew in, checked me and snagged the piece of pizza I had set aside. It was insane! After that we took our pizza inside and ate in piece. Although we left quite the impression. I had a women come up to me later and she told me I did the best I could.

Wild Animals - 2
Emmons - 0

The rest of the afternoon was rather low-key. Margot fell asleep on the hike back to camp and Isabelle had fun playing in the tent and worked on her fairy garden she had started that morning. That night we went to Gibraltar Grill for dinner where we sat outside on their new covered patio. It was a very relaxing dinner. Something I don't normally say these days! After dinner we went back to camp, enjoyed the campfire and the s'mores we made. Delicious! Soon the girls went to bed (Margot put up a fight) and Tom and I enjoyed a few Spotted Cows by the fire.

Isabelle with her fairy garden!

Everyone slept like a rock that night and we even slept in a bit the next morning. It must have been all the fresh air! We ventured into Fish Creek for breakfast and ended up having a great time at The Summertime Restaurant. We ate inside and the learned it started out in 1910 as an ice cream shop. I'm sure the girls wished it was still an ice cream shop. After breakfast we walked by the docks and decided to come back later for a lunchtime boat tour. We picked up lunch supplies and headed back to break down camp, because later that day we were driving to a little resort called Lake Lawn that is on Lake Delavan in southern Wisconsin, very close to Lake Geneva.

When we planned this trip, we weren't sure how Margot's first time camping would go, so we thought a few nights at a little resort would be a nice way to cap it off. I have to admit, that day I was having second thoughts and wanted to stay in Door County. I even called the resort from the boat dock and found out the resort have a 72-hour cancellation policy, so our plans were not changing.

So long Eagle Tower - it's been condemned!

After breaking down camp and making lunch, we hopped on the boat for our tour that ended up being almost two hours long. Way, way too long for two tired girls, but most of it was enjoyable! Soon we were in the car, the girls were fast asleep and Tom and I were munching on chocolate covered cherries and cheese curds. We pulled into Lake Lawn Resort that evening and settled in. The next day was cloudy, a little rainy and cool. We did manage to go to the playground, swim in the indoor pool, have a delicious lunch and swim in the outdoor heated pool when the sun peeked out.

Later that afternoon we went to Old World Wisconsin in Eagle, Wisconsin. We saw a sign for it on the highway the day before and figured why not check it out. I wish we had gone earlier in the day so we had more time. It is a huge living history farm on almost 600 acres. Their website really doesn't do it justice. We needed at least half a day to really explore, but we only had one hour so we took the tram to the Life on the Farms area. We toured the 1860s German farm, the 1880s German farm and the 1900s Polish home. A highlight was seeing the baby pigs and the beautiful kitchen gardens. We will definitely find our way back to Old World Wisconsin! There is so much more to explore, including the 1880s village, the Yankees area, the Finns area, the Danes area, the 1900s one room school house and the Norwegians area.

That evening, as the rain poured down again, we had a great dinner (and beer!) at Sprecher's Restaurant and Pub in Lake Geneva, followed by dessert at Lake Lawn Resort. The next morning we packed up and made our way back home. We had many adventures that week and we can't wait for our next trip up north!