Door County 2013: The Final Chapter

Tuesday turned out much nicer weather, 70 degrees and sunny all day long. It was our only "warm" day and what's silly is that it is the only day we didn't go swimming but that doesn't mean we didn't have fun.

We decided to skip breakfast at camp and go to Al Johnson's instead. Remember this place? The one with the goats on the roof? The food is nothing special but our own little Al Johnson would have been disappointed if we hadn't stopped at his place.

 
He just happened to be wearing the same King shirt last time we were there, two years ago.




 
Of course Alex chose to buy his Door County souvenir here since it has his name on it. 


Our little OCD Alex brought up the fish boil and Al Johnson's over and over again and since he gets his OCD from his momma, I had a fixation of my own. Renting bikes! I reminded everyone all day every day lest they forget and take me home without my bike time. It is so beautiful in Door County and I just wanted to bike around take it all in. I think I missed my calling. I really should have been a cyclist because I have such good times riding bikes especially when I have people I love to chat with as I ride.

Ann and Tony rented a hydrobike and went and rode on the lake but Seth and I rented bike-bikes and took the kids on a 4.5 mile ride on the bike trail. Some of it was quite hilly which means we had to work but also that we got to fly down hills as well and it was the best! I want to ride again right this minute.
 
About halfway through our ride we stopped to enjoy the scenery for a minute. 


 
There were some awesome hills. One was really steep and on a cliff. Alex and Alyssa got spooked and walked halfway down it and rode the rest of the way and Seth stayed back to make sure they got down okay. I said see ya later suckers and flew down it. I couldn't help myself. They rode up and down the rest of them and Alex made me stop at this little hill and take pictures of them coming down.



After our bike ride we met back up with Ann and Tony at camp and had a quick snack before we put the kids to work again on a hike. I hiked this trail with Alex and Alyssa the last time we were there. It is labeled "difficult" because it is rocky and hilly but I was pretty sure even Chloe could manage it. It is a beautiful hike and it was perfect hiking weather. We just moseyed along and stopped to take pictures and play in caves and even Chloe really enjoyed it and never complained to be picked up.

Seth found walking sticks for anyone who wanted them.




 
Trees growing out of the top of the cliffs.







 
In case you wonder when you look at my pictures. I love Alyssa every bit as much as the other two but she is very good at dodging the camera (like me). I forced her to look up at me so I would have proof of her existence. 


 
I put A&A on this weird tree last time we took this hike so I made them do it again, with Chloe, now that she has earned her hiking legs. 
 
Proof that preteen kids still like to hold hands with mom and dad.
 
We did not, and would not, carve on this rock. It already said Alex Seth when we got there which is either for Alex and Seth or could be Alex's first and middle names. 



 
It looks like we are posing on these rocks but we were actually just following the path that goes up and over the rocks when Tony told us to stop and look at him. Such a fun and interesting trail.


After all of their hard work we figured the kids had earned a treat so we took them for pre-dinner custard at Not Licked Yet, another place we found on our last visit. This place had some funky sundaes, one with peanut butter, banana, pickles and bacon and two of my kids got one with potato chips. I didn't get any pictures but we ate and the kids played on the attached playground while the adults enjoyed a moment to sit still and chat.

After dessert and souvenir shopping we went back to camp and grilled hot dogs for dinner and then made s'mores for dessert because even if you eat dessert before dinner you will still need something sweet again after, right? I knew you'd understand.

Alyssa wanted to start the fire. As you can see it took many matches, but she got it.
 
Thankfully the kids were very worn out after hard day's work or I fear they may not have had any sleep that night. I know the rest of us didn't. There was a chance of rain that turned in to a major storm. We later found out that 5 tornadoes touched down in central and NE WI that night. It started at about midnight and it was raining so loudly that Seth and I woke up. I felt rain dripping on me but he didn't and our tent has never leaked in a storm so I thought maybe I was just in a bad spot. At about 1:00 Alyssa needed to use the bathroom, down the street, so Seth drove her there and when he came back it started pouring even harder and he noticed the dripping in the tent as well. We sat there and watched the water just pouring down on the kids. Their heads were dry because they were close to the wall but their blankets were sopping wet. We started layering sleeping mats and clothes on top of them and soon those were drenched too but thankfully none of it seeped through on to their bodies.
 
The same thing was happening on our side of the tent and the floor of the tent was getting nice and wet so we piled all of our bags on to our bed with us. And I haven't even mentioned what was going on under the tent.  So much water had pooled under the tent that when you stepped on to the tent floor it was like walking on a waterbed. The kids were sound asleep through the whole thing and eventually Seth and I got tired enough to fall asleep for a little while as well. In the morning we learned that Ann and Tony's tent had leaked as well but they were smart and had a tarp to throw over it. We had been talking about replacing our tent for awhile so instead of trying to drain it and take it home, we tossed it in the dumpster.

We had until 3PM the next day to check out but we had lots of cleaning to do and didn't think hiking around camp in the mud would be too great so we packed up and parted ways. Ann and Tony took several days and enjoyed the scenic route (through MN, Canada and ND) back to WY.  We took the scenic route home as well and stopped at Lambeau Field in the morning and Cheesecake Factory for lunch/dinner. But before we all went home we did get a few more pictures.

Seth loved this sign and finally made me take a picture of it.
 
 
All of us in our Door County souvenir shirts.



 

It was an absolutely fantastic trip. I seem to love this trip more every time we do it. I like it so much that I don't even whine that camping is dirty. I have bragged about it so much in the past that Ann and Tony were sold on coming out to join us. I think they loved it as much as we did and we sure loved having them along for the memories. Again, Alyssa cried for hours when we had to say goodbye. She is at that age where living far from family is hitting her hard but we are so blessed that even though our kids do not live near grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, they still feel so tightly bonded to them and love every moment that they get to share together.

And in 7 more years Ann and Tony get Alyssa and Bernie! Alyssa wants to go to BYU and Ann and Tony are moving to Lehi so they told her she could live with them. She wants to live in the dorms but she said she would love to visit and that maybe they could take Bernie so he can go to college with her. They haven't agreed to that yet but I am all over it. I think I will fall in to a billion pieces when she goes to college but I would love to have her go to school in Utah where she has family all around. Alex says he will never live in any town unless I live there so he will have to go to college locally and Chloe, well we are just hoping to get that little stinker through Kindergarten at this point.

And until next year (hopefully next year) that is it for Door County.