Every two years.
From 2018 to now, we head up to Door County, Wisconsin, for our annual family summer vacation. With no better idea this year, we made our way back in July.
Some familiar sites, some brand new. Just in time for cherry season. And beautiful weather along Lake Michigan and Green Bay. Lucky us.
Greens and blues, reds and browns. Maritime cities and rural countryside. Beach days and quick day trips.
Along the way: memories.
A continuation of my Door County, Wisconsin, series from this year’s summer holiday. This time, a few scenes from around the cabin in Idlewild.
And to finish up, a few random scenes. I always see something worth holding on to (besides cheese and cider) when we head north.
Until next time.
Kicking off a series of photos from our summer vacation spot: Door County, Wisconsin.
Yes, we’d been there in 2018 and 2020. We love the area so much that we went back this year for our family holiday.
Different cabin (the big one), different month (August instead of June/July), and different crowd (we brought the in-laws), but other than that, it was as spectacular as it always is.
I take a memory card’s worth of photos wherever we go. Above is a series of windows I saw along the way. Here are some natural spots:
More to come next week.
As with any vacation, getting back home feels like you never left. Even with a week and a modest agenda, time flies on holiday.
But we certainly made the best of it. One or two things per day, venturing out and about this peninsula, we felt like we went on enough adventures while still managing three kiddos.
For my photographic eyes, it was plenty. Those red cherries, that blue Great Lake, those violet lavender blossoms, the golden sunsets, and – just like Michigan – plenty of green everywhere we went.
Two out of the three kids would probably never remember this family vacation. For me, it was memorable enough to consider creating a photo book of our summer trip – a reminder of where we went and what we saw. And perhaps a reminder for if and when we consider this place again.
Thanks, Door County. We’re heading back home now.
(Check out part one, “Hello, Wisconsin,” and part two, “On Wisconsin.”)
Taking photos is how I get to know a place. With any new home, or job, or vacation destination, my camera becomes a sixth sense – another way to feel the vibes of a location.
To our family, this little corner of Door County, Wisconsin was completely new, yet spiritually familiar. We knew this lake, we knew these trees, we understood this climate. What was different was the little touches of Scandinavian culture (Lutheran Churches everywhere!), and the supper clubs, and fish boils – those little touches of Wisconsin that made us feel we were really somewhere new.
This cabin, too, reminded me so much of my grandparents’ farm house. The slanted room, the crawl spaces, the outdated furniture – it was like stepping back into my own past.
Here on the other side of the Niagara Escarpment, we felt with our eyes and tasted with our sight.
(View part one, “Hello, Wisconsin,” and part three, “Goodbye, Door County.”)
We pretty much ended up here by accident.
I knew I wanted to go to Wisconsin, that upper midwest state on the other side of Lake Michigan. My dad stayed at the Wisconsin Dells, in a rustic cabin, and I figured we could do some fun family things while trying to avoid too much of the touristy parts.
But we love Lake Michigan. What if we could spend a whole week in one spot, by the big lake, and keep it quiet?
I did a bit of research, and found Door County – the little peninsula that sticks out into Lake Michigan, north of Green Bay. In essence, it’s a more westerly version of northern Michigan: cherry orchards, lakeside towns, fishing charters, and a bit of that stepping-back-in-time feeling when you visit our Upper Peninsula.
And boy did we step back in time. The cabin we found, near Sturgeon Bay, barely had cell coverage. It was barely updated since the early 1970s. It was perfect.
We had a little beach down by the lake, we could cook a random meal right there at the cabin, and it served as a launching point for plenty of fun family activities.
The light wasn’t bad, either.
(Check out part two, “On Wisconsin,” and part three, “Goodbye, Door County.”)
