Summertime at the cabin

We were lucky enough to get up to the cabin twice in July. Our first trip was over the 4th of July. Island Lake has a patriotic boat parade and we went all out for it. Our flag to boat ratio was unbeatable. SO much fun!


After the big parade and the 4th of July festivities, everyone else headed back home. I stayed at the cabin for 2 days by myself and it was incredibly relaxing. I spent my days drinking coffee and reading Martha Stewart magazines in the mornings, running and swimming in the afternoons, and watching the sunset from the boat in the evenings. I am still feeling the hypnotizing effects of this extreme peacefulness and relaxation. It was a wonderful way to start my summer off.

Our next trip up north was a couple of weeks later when Angela and Nancy were up there. We always have such a great time up there together. I am grateful to have such awesome in-laws!


Drew caught some big fish for a fish fry!

We watched the moon rise across the lake.


These are from the night we left. It was one of those soupy hot days. When the sun started to go down, it looked like the sky was on fire!


****UPDATE: We recently found out the we won the boat parade contest!! It was a unanimous decision that we were the first prize winners!! YES!!!!!

Door County

Near Green Bay is an area called Door County. It's that spot on the east side of Wisconsin that juts into Lake Michigan. It is a popular destination to visit because it is a beautiful peninsula doted with adorable little towns, cherry trees, and vineyards. We visited a few vineyards along the way to taste the local flavor. There was a lot of cherry wine!
This is me outside of "Grandma's" with my very own container of Door County cherries. :)



One of the vineyards had a Cherry Pit Spit contest. We had to participate. ;)



Baby grapes



We stayed at the Peninsula State Park (Minnesota state parks were closed at this time because of the shut down, so it was lucky that we had planned our trip to Wisconsin). It is a beautiful park with so much to do. We camped next to the lake and went for a gorgeous hike in the morning.

You didn't misread that. Yes, we camped. We're campers. ;) Drew and I haven't really tried camping together outside of setting up a tent at my family cabin. I found a tent for sale at Fleet Farm and just went for it. This was the perfect place to try our camping shoes on. It was peaceful and quiet. We couldn't have asked for a better place to rekindle our love for camping. I think we'll have to add it to our travel lives. I don't see us being hard-core campers, but adding a night camping in here and there on a trip seems like a great idea.
Next to our campsite was this beautiful beach:


Here are some images from the hike we went on in the morning:





On the way home we got off the beaten track a little to find our favorite vineyard, Simon Creek. Their wine was less sweet than the other vineyards and more bold. I like my wine bold and spicy. They had music and lovely place to relax and have a glass (or a bottle) of wine outside.


On our way to the vineyard, we saw ol' Cookie here and had to stop to say hello. This a a milk farm that goes out of its way to educate people about the milking process. It was pretty neat and would be a great place to bring kids.


Through the glass, we watched as the cows were milked.

So long, Door County! We'll miss you!

Green Bay, WI

Drew and I decided to take a Green Bay/Door County trip. He is from Wisconsin, so naturally he wanted to visit Lambeau Field and the trophies. Green Bay is a very small town with a huge stadium. We had a good time there.









My friends and family that are Viking fans are not going to like these pictures...

I got to learn about the history of the Packers. Pretty cool!

We got in the spirit. If they call you a cheese-head, you own it. Own it.

We stopped at a beautiful park reserve for a walk.

And then went to Titletown Brewery:

They have a beautiful memorial for the 9/11 attacks:



There was a trucker parade the night we were there. Our favorite was this tiny one: