Daytripping: Door County

As my departure date draws near, I find myself thinking more about spending time with those around me that I'm really going to miss when I leave. It goes without saying that one of these people is my mother. I spend a lot of time with her, not just because she's been awesome enough to let me live (almost!) rent-free to save for school, but she's just an awesome la-day. And she's my mom. Obviously. Like I said, it goes without saying. ;)

She shares similar taste in food and therefore restaurants, and also a similar philosophy when it comes to travel and day trips. We both love our cameras and don't hesitate to veer off the road (sorry, other drivers!) when a photo-op presents itself unexpected. We're also both keen to drive waaaay out of our way to chase cool storm clouds (like this one time), find cool restaurants, or see neat exhibitions, be it art or festival or music. We always want to try the more interesting things on restaurant menus (and can sometimes get carried away, just a wee bit, but really... isn't it always worth it?). She has good taste, so she never wants to go into shops that I think are stupid -- just saying. So, she's pretty much an ideal person to take day trips with.

One thing we had to cross off the Before-Kate-Leaves List is a day trip to Door County. It's a summertime place to go -- nothing is really properly open until June, and August is a fantastic time to go up there because Door County's famous cherries are ripe and ready for the eating/cooking/baking! But there are also plenty of other things to do and places to stop along the way, so we spent a few hours poking around our usual haunts like The Cookery in Fish Creek (pictured above), and visited some places that we'd passed a million times before but never actually stopped, like Wilson's Ice Cream in old-timey Ephraim.

At The Cookery, I've always had a grilled salmon sandwich, and decided to switch it up this time and tried the pulled pork. Verdict: amazing. Also, I sprung for a 22oz. bottle of Crispin Artisanal Reserve apple cider made with organic honey. Let me just say, I'm a fan of hard cider, and this was just brilliant.  I'm going to have to try to find Crispin somewhere else a little more... local. ;)

Ephraim boasts a really amazing bay and a bit more of a beachy-boardwalk feel. A few more art galleries and artist studios are prominent in the shopping areas, and it's also known for Wilson's, which has been around for basically... ever. And yet I had never been there. As you drive along the main route through town, the view looks like the photo above the whole way. Lake Michigan at its summer finest.



I spied on an old couple being really cute. And then we found these flowers outside:



What are those? They look like strings of felt. Or necklaces. Weird necklaces. Or something. I don't even know. Anyone know what they're called?

It was an absolutely goooorgeous day, and we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly. So thoroughly that we had double-dessert (and felt somewhat sick afterward) and were properly exhausted when we arrived back home in the evening. It was certainly nice to spend that much more time with my mom before I take off in only three weeks' time.

How the summer has simply disappeared...

Days to Edinburgh move-in: 22

On a cloudy day...

It's possible to drive through Door County along highway 42, through the well-established harbor towns of Fish Creek and Egg Harbor, up to Ephraim, and never see the Anderson Dock. On the other hand, if you're getting married... you know where the Anderson Dock is. It's traditionally graffitied with the names of boats. Lately it has also become quite popular to write the names and dates of soon-to-be-married or newlywed couples.

So how about some art?! I stopped briefly at one of Door County's more prestigious art galleries, Edgewood Orchard, which features contemporary art from Wisconsin, but also national and international artists. Many of the galleries in Door County feature local work by regional-interest artists, but this one is attractive to me personally in that it carries a wide range of work with a broad spectrum of style and subject.

I went quite a bit out of my art bubble by focusing primarily on the sculptures outside. Edgewood Orchard has a nice winding trail through a large sculpture garden, so I made the most of that. Generally speaking, I'm usually drawn more toward painting and other 2-dimensional work--the wall-hanging kind. Not strictly, of course, but it's what I feel most comfortable with. But I like 3D work, like any 2D work, to have something to say. If it's "pretty" for the sake of decoration, it's just boring. 

Inside and out, Edgewood Orchard had its fair share of interesting work. There was some I didn't care for, of course. On the other hand, there were some things that I would have liked in my house, such as a number of heavy glass bowls by Arcata, California artist George Bucquet at Mad River Glass (which plucked a chord with me since I lived in Arcata for a short while several years ago and miss it still). There were some really magnificent paintings by Craig Blietz of Sister Bay, WI, and some wonderful bronze sculptures of rabbits by Donna Weiser of Los Angeles.

Random Thoughts by Curtis Archer of  Lake Geneva, Wisconsin

Point of View by Dennis Heimbach of Middleton, Wisconsin

(Unfortunately, no information. Boo.)

And these scrumptious succulents... anyone know what they are?

Days to Edinburgh move-in: 113