Door County

We arrived at Pat and Dave's house on Saturday evening and left again Monday morning with them heading for Door County, WI.  Doug and I went to Door County almost 48 years ago on our honeymoon.  I have been back a couple of times in the last few years but Doug had never been back until this trip.  Neither of us remembers much about it from our honeymoon, though I don't think it has changed a lot.

The drive through Wisconsin is beautiful, rolling hills and dairy farms.  I spotted several beautiful barn quilts, though it's so hard to get pictures.

It's only about a 4-hour drive to get to Door County from Pat's house.  Our first stop was in Fish Creek at Bayside Tavern for lunch.

I had a delicious fish sandwich and a cup of Cincinnati chili.

I didn't know what Cincinnati chili was but decided to give it a try.  It's really more like spaghetti and was quite spicy.  I shared it with everyone.

Door County is a narrow peninsula with Green Bay on the west side and Lake Michigan on the east side.  We were on the west side of Door County most of the time.

After lunch we took a short walk along the shore of Green Bay.  You can see Ephraim in the background.  That's the town where we were staying.

We made a stop at the cutest ice cream place!  Wilson's...it's a Door County MUST!

I had the coconut joy which is a lot like an Almond Joy candy bar.  I've had it before and it's delicious!  Thanks to Sherry for recommending it!

We were a bit early to check into the hotel so we took a drive to see Camp Zion.  It's a church camp sponsored by Christ Community Church in Zion.  Doug remembers going to camp there when he was a boy but doesn't remember too much about it, just the stairs going down to the Bay.

It's a beautiful camp overlooking Green Bay.

We ran into one of Doug's old friends, Bill Suttie, who he hadn't seen in over 50 years!  Bill and his wife were volunteering at the camp.  There were no campers there on our visit but Bill and Jan were doing some yard work.  You can see Jan working in the background.

We drove the famous curvy road because it's such a pretty drive.

We checked into our hotel, the High Point Inn.  Pat and I had stayed there several years ago.  We stayed in a two-bedroom suite which was perfect.

It had a lovely front porch with wicker furniture.  Pat and I enjoyed the swing.

We had dinner in Sister Bay at J.J.'s.  It has a regular menu on one side of the restaurant and Mexican menu on the other side.

Delicious margaritas and tacos.

It must have been a tiring day!

But fun!

Happy Birthday Emma Taylor!

Can't believe this sweetheart was 15 yesterday!  She wasn't feeling well so no big celebration, but we did go over and see her and take her present.

She got money, which is what she asked for, but I also got her this atomizer that she had seen at Hobby Lobby last week.  She and I had lunch one day and a trip to Hobby Lobby.  We went up and down every aisle in the whole store and she picked out a few things she liked.  I bought her a couple of things but decided to get this atomizer as a "happy" for her birthday.  She loved it!

She picked out the 15 crown and the Styrofoam head at Hobby Lobby and I bought those for her.  She named the head Jeffrey.  Weird!

 

Heather has this cute chalkboard hanging in her kitchen and changes it when it's appropriate!  Emma Taylor wanted this cake with one of her favorite K-Pop favorites.  K-Pop for Korean pop group.  Don't ask!

Look what she got this morning!  She can officially drive!

Doug and I went to the dermatologist in Columbus for a follow-up check today.  All was well.  We had lunch and took some back roads through the country on our way home.  As luck would have it, I spotted a couple of barn quilts!  There seem to be a lot in that area and one of these days I'm actually going to get a barn quilt trail map and follow it around there!

The first one I spotted was at this abandoned house.  The old truck caught Doug's eye.  It's sill a watermelon stand during watermelon season.

Cherokee Melons, Caledonia, MS.  Looks like it's been a while since that truck ran!

The quilt is beautiful though.  It looks like it was just hung.

Then we passed the flag and barn quilt on this building.

The small town of Caledonia is very proud of being involved in the barn quilt trail.

I love finding the quilts.  Half the fun is unexpectedly finding them!

Surgery Went Well!

My cataract surgery went fine, no problems.  I went back for a checkup yesterday and the doctor said all looked good.  My vision was pretty blurry the first day but has been fine thereafter.  I have to put drops in my eye for several weeks.  That's a nuisance but they don't hurt or anything.  I have my other eye done July 17th.  Looking forward to getting that one done and hopefully I'll just need reading glasses after that.

I remember a time when my dad had cataract surgery they kept him in the hospital for a couple of days.  Things have improved so much since then.

I will post about our trip to Illinois and Door County a little later.  I've been quite sleepy since the surgery, napping a lot.  Today is the first day I've gotten out of the house.  I took Emma Taylor shopping and to lunch.  We had a fun day, spent a lot of time in Hobby Lobby, and she picked out some interesting stuff to buy.  I love spending time with her!

Father's Day

We had a wonderful time in Illinois for Nostalgia Days and also a side trip to Door County, WI.  I'll post pictures of those things later.  We got home about 5:30 last night.  Heather and Randy were having a Father's Day fish fry for both fathers and Ben so we quickly changed clothes and spent the evening at their house.

Randy fried some good catfish and hushpuppies!  We enjoyed our evening and the celebration.  Glad we got home in time!

I took a few pictures of the dads.  Doug and the kids.

Doug and his grands!

Ben and Cameron.

Randy and the kids.

Bill and the grands.  Bill is Randy's stepfather.  His biological father passed away several years ago.

A great Father's Day was had by all!

I am having cataract surgery tomorrow morning.  I know this is a simple operation but prayers would be greatly appreciated!  I'll let you know how it goes.

On the Road Again!

Doug and I are leaving tomorrow morning heading to Illinois.  We are staying with my sister Pat.  Monday morning Pat and Dave and Doug and I will be leaving for Door County in Wisconsin.  We'll be there for two nights.  Looking forward to some cooler temps and looks like it will be quite a bit cooler!

We'll be returning on Wednesday, then Nostalgia Days on Saturday.  So it's going to be a busy week.  Returning next Sunday.

I got those day lilies planted--21 in all!

It pained me to have to cut off the beautiful flowers and buds on these day lilies!  Doug asked me when they would bloom.  Gotta wait until next year!  Cameron has instructions on watering them while we're gone.

Cameron spent a couple of days with us this week.  We went fishing both days.  He sure does love it.  I sit under a shade tree and watch him.  We stopped at the bait shop and bought some night crawlers.  They sure are nasty looking!!  I asked if Cameron needed a fishing license and was told that at his age it wasn't necessary but I shouldn't even touch the rod because it's a $650 fine if they catch you without a license.  DON'T WORRY...I won't be touching anything, especially those night crawlers!  Yuck!

It's small but it counts!

Kissing the fish before he throws it back.  The fish got a little bigger!

As long as he had fun!

Catch you when we return!

Yard day!

Today was working-in-the-yard day.  By 3:00 I was wiped out!

I planted the hydrangea and a few other plants.  Doug and I went to a "day lily farm" and I bought a bunch of them.  What was I thinking?  Now I have to plant them!

I have several more bags of these.  Next spring and summer I will appreciate this.  At least I hope I will!

Time to make dinner and then rest!

June Bloomers!

We had a nice weekend, nothing real exciting, but we did have a cookout here to celebrate our friend Tom's birthday.  Tom has had a lot of health problems lately and was widowed over three years ago so we try to help him celebrate, or at least acknowledge his birthday.

His brother Jim from Illinois was here along with Danny and Marie, Paula and Harold and Betty.  We had a great time.  

Otherwise not much is going on.  I'm enjoying the day lilies that always bloom in June.

I just wish their blooms lasted longer than a day!

My Rose of Sharon has one lonely bloom on it, though the bush is covered in buds.

My hydrangea also has one lonely bloom on it.

I'm just happy that it has one bloom!  The deer ate my hydrangeas back to the stems a couple of years ago.  I almost took them up.  Last year they had green leaves but no blooms.  Glad I gave it another chance.  I have one more that is small.  The deer killed about three other ones.  Pesky deer!!

I also have a lace-cap hydrangea.

Not too many blooms on this bush either as I cut it way back last year.  It had gotten huge.

I bought this hydrangea at Walmart today.  It was only $9.50, originally $19.00.

They had a bunch, probably expecting to sell them all for Mother's Day.  I think I'll plant this one closer to the house and maybe the deer won't both it as much.  It's worth a try!