Door County in October

As usual we were making our travel plans at the last minute.  With a 4-day weekend in front of us, we wanted to take sammies for one last trip in the RV, somewhere natural and beautiful.

Stafford was pushing for the western shoreline of Michigan as the wind was supposed to be historically excellent for kite surfing.  Plus some of his kiting buddies were there enjoying said winds. But I was itching to go back to Door County.  I was just talking with a friend about how upscale it has become, but for me, it is a place of memories.

We went up there often when I was growing up before all the nice restaurants and boutiques existed. Thirty years ago it was pretty rustic and low-key.  I have memories of my family hiking in Peninsula State Park, (getting lost, too, while my dad yelled from the ledge above to just follow his voice), horseback riding (younger sis crying when her horse bent down to eat some grass), wandering in art studios and pottery shops, eating at fish boils and a Swedish restaurant with goats on the grass roof, and swimming at my friend's family's boat slip at Anderson Dock.

The other factor was that the places in Michigan he wanted to go to didn't have much to offer me besides walking. One can only walk so many miles alone on a trip before it loses its appeal. Biking was out of the question as I am a fair-weather cyclist, and it was about 15 degrees below my comfort level.

After further discussion, we decided on Door County.  In our usual last-minute style, I called an hour before we left for a campsite reservation in Egg Harbor. We were lucky that the Wilderness Frontier Campground still had an electrical hook-up, and this is key - flush toilets and hot showers.  Our RV does not have insulated water lines, so we can't pump water through our tanks in freezing weather.

We arrived at about 9:35 p.m. in total darkness.  Following a very narrow hilly dirt road, we found our site.  The family next to us was still playing their radio loudly and the kids were still yelling.  I could see panic rising on Staff's face, but I reminded him that with our heater on and windows shut, we would hear none of it.

Now about that heater. Who knew that it wouldn't work when the outside temperature was below 45 degrees?  If only we had read the manual. We were too dog-tired to drive the hour back into town for a space heater, and frankly, I figured with all the dog and human body heat it would be fine.  Wrong!!!

It was one of those times in life I wished I was "I Dream of Jeannie" and could just cross my arms and blink myself back to my warm bed at home. It was so horribly cold that I couldn't warm up no matter how close I was to Staff, and any part of my face that was exposed to the air felt like ice. Thoughts of Yuki freezing to death were keeping me up, too.  Staff had draped a towel over Cloud to keep him warm, and a jacket over Yuki. But I still couldn't shake those morbid thoughts. Not to mention all dogs had "issues" related to a cheap bag of sweet potato treats we bought them, which I won't go into. Suffice it to say, each one needed a midnight walk around the trailer.  Even though we took turns walking them, I spent most of that night feeling extremely sorry for myself.

Peninsula State Park

The next day I told Staff that I couldn't do another night like that and he agreed.  We drove back into Sturgeon Bay where we found a space heater (just like the one at home that we didn't pack) at Target.  What a difference warmth makes in one's attitude! Suddenly I was having fun again.

Lake Michigan at sunset

Doggies had plenty of walks at the campsite and every time we stopped somewhere. I think their favorite place was Peninsula State Park.  Maybe I'm projecting, but how could they not love the moss-covered rocks and regal pine trees? 

Staff met his father, Keith, for a bike ride around the park, while I did a little shopping in town. A trip to Door County just isn't complete without a stop at the Confectionary store in downtown Fish Creek. That giant bathtub of saltwater taffy in the middle of the store reminds me of my dad. He loved that place, especially the taffy.

Later Staff found a great spot for a few hours of kite surfing in a windy bay, much to the delight of cyclists and other passers-by. He loves to entertain with tricks or just show people the beauty of the sport.  I think it's part of meditation for him, as well.

Stafford kite surfing in Ephraim

Now about eating. My favorite spot, hands down, is The Cookery. Staff called it "The Crookery," only because we had poor service at one of our meals. This time he actually gave a tip to reflect the inadequate service, to which I begged him to leave an extra dollar. But that was my issue. Even if the service, as Stafford says, "sucks donkey kong," I can't leave less than a 15% tip. Not because I'm so nice. It's because, and I'm ashamed to say it -  I don't want the waitress to be mad at me.  This is why he did not leave the extra dollar.

We spent the next two nights toasty and warm with space heater #2 (#1 being at home in the basement).  I love curling up on the tiny couch in the trailer with a good book while everyone else sleeps.  The only sounds are the heater and Cloud snoring.

On our last night, the sky was completely clear and bright with stars. While walking Yuki, I passed a group of guys saying "Wow!  Did you see that?"  Had I looked up just a second before I would have seen my second shooting star. Oh, well. The stars were spectacularly close and looked like you could reach up and touch them.  The milky way was also visible, a white smear across the black sky.

We kept doggies with us the entire time on this trip. No need to cage them up in the trailer, as they were pretty content in the van and the temp outside was "chilly," their favorite.  The sammies hope to have more adventures next summer in their new RV trailer.

Princess Yuki in her favorite spot