Not-So City Mouse: Jordan and Kayleen's Trip of Love

I'm breaking my one post/month routine to write about a trip that Jordan and I took to Door County this month. We hadn't really gone on a real vacation with just the two of use since our honeymoon in 2012 so I guess this was a mini-second honeymoon of sorts. We were there for four days while my mom stayed home with Noah. I think they both enjoyed the extra grandma time, snuggles, and treats!

Back in April when we were talking about where to go on our trip, we thought about flying somewhere we'd never been but airline prices are so high that it would have taken up most of our trip budget just to get there. Plus, we knew that it would only be for a few days and didn't want such a short amount of time to explore a big city. We also talked about driving up into northern MN and Canada but that would have meant many hours in the car and we had plenty of that in our earlier trip to Nebraska this summer. So we settled on Door County because it's close to home and Jordan had never been there, and I hadn't gone in 15+ years. Plus, everyone in WI talks about how great it is so we had to check it out too!

My good friend and colleague, Carrie, suggested we stay in Fish Creek which is about halfway up the peninsula on the western side, so that's what we did. She was a huge help in planning our trip- Jordan calls her our Door County Siri now. :) The goal of this trip was simply to relax, spend time together, and have fun, and we did lots of all that! Check out my millions of photos...

Day 1

My mom arrived on Tuesday night and on Wednesday morning we packed, sent Noah to daycare, and we were off! I wasn't sure how Noah would feel about us being away but he had no problems and was happy to keep his routine at home with grandma. The drive was only 3 1/2 hours- just enough time for good conversation and catching up. When we got there, we checked into our hotel and then spent the afternoon exploring the town. Fish Creek is adorable, on the water, and has lots of little shops and restaurants- much like all the towns in Door County! We had some lunch, walked around doing some shopping, and saw a fish boil! My favorite part is the giant flames- isn't that true for everyone?

Then we walked down to Sunset Beach and enjoyed the sunset. Even though it was cloudy, the weather was perfect. After that we had dinner at an awesome pizza place (did you know the Parkers like pizza?) near our hotel called Wild Tomato.

If you don't know what a fish boil is, here is how wikipedia describes it...

"The fish is typically caught by local fishermen, cut into small chunks and cooked in boiling water with red potatoes. Some boilers add onions as well. Salt is the only seasoning used, and used only to raise the specific gravity of the water. Up to one pound of salt per two gallons of water is used.

The cooking of the fish is an elaborate presentation. Restaurants typically ask that patrons arrive a half-hour early to witness the boiling. The fish and potatoes are prepared in a cast-iron kettle. When the water comes to a boil, the potatoes, kept in a wire basket, are lowered in.

The fish are then placed in another wire basket and lowered in. After 9–10 minutes, when the fish are cooked, the oils rise to the top of the pot. The boiler then tosses a small amount of kerosene on the flames and the increase in flames causes a boilover. The fish oils spill over the side of the pot and the fish is done"

Vacation starts now! Jordan doesn't look nearly excited enough.

Hanging out at the beach, enjoying the water.

The first of MANY pics of us just hanging out, enjoying the scenery and weather.

I loved seeing all the artisan shops, especially all the pottery. This glaze was jus gorgeous!

Garden inspiration. Ummm.. maybe someday.

Of course you need to check out a fish boil when you're in Door County...

This was intense!

C'mon dude. You're in the shot!

Walking by the harbor, checking out giant boats.

Vacation!

Sorry I ruined the pic, Jordan.

I love the poses of the three dudes on the right. One of them came over and told us some jokes to pass the time while waiting for sunset. He was a character.

I just loved the texture of these trees.

I also love the photo quality on my phone!

I thought the roots were cool too

More cool, twisty roots

Us, at the water. You'll notice this is a theme on the trip.

Feet by the rocks... this is another theme on this trip.

Cloudy sunset, but it was still perfect.

Hanging out on the ledge.

Dinnertime! Jordan is excited.

Hibiscus liqueur and lemonade. My new fave.

And a little post-dinner treat!

Day 2

The next day, we had a very leisurely morning. It was heavenly to be able to wake up without an alarm clock, with no obligations, plans, or to-do lists. I woke up first and read for an hour, drinking coffee and enjoying the light rain, while Jordan slept in. It was bliss. Then we went out for a nice breakfast at the Cookery, then headed north to the top of the peninsula. We decided to park by the ferry that takes cars over to Washington Island and just walk on the beach for awhile. The wind was insane which made for some entertaining pictures. Then we got back in the car and went to Bailey's Harbor to check out the Door County Brewing Co, stopping at some shops along the way.

I'm not a huge fan of beer, but I do like it, and I love Jordan, so I was happy to see him so excited to build his flight of beers. We sampled them all and split a cheese tray for an afternoon snack. The pub was so lively with people and games, it was a really fun place to be. We also walked to the harbor to check out the boats.

By that point, it was late afternoon and we were both ready for a nap so we headed back to the hotel to hang out until dinner. It was raining on and off all day and in the evening, there was a huge crack of lightning and BOOM of thunder that shook the whole building. I found out the next day from a local that the lightning had actually hit a ship that was docked (no one was on it, thankfully) and it was destroyed. Yikes! It also knocked out the cable and internet in the whole town.

Without any electronic distractions, Jordan and I checked out Scrabble from the front desk and he clobbered me. I think I need to start practicing my word lists again! We also decided to arm wrestle because that's what you do on vacation right?! Jordan completely defeated me using our right arms, but I held my own for about 30 seconds before he beat me again using our left arms. I'm pretty sure my left arm is considerably stronger since having Noah because that's the side I always hold him on.

My happy place.

At the beach with Washington Island in the background. I was worried about him slipping on the rocks and Jordan told me that he was as "sure-footed as a goat." Alright. I guess he's right because he didn't slip.

Yeah, it was a little windy.

Getting there...

OMG I have too much hair.

Ah, there we are!

Let's try it with the wind blowing toward us. That helps.

This is my beach pose. I could have stayed here all day.

Jordan, hunting for rocks. I think he found a few.

Team Beaver forever.

Yep, this is pure romance here.

Again, I just liked these textures.

The waves were so peaceful.

And cold. It was not a day for swimming.

Jordan's rock collection.

We didn't buy this. But we did laugh.

Door County Brewing Co.

The flight of beer that Jordan carefully created.

Now this is a happy Jordan!

I told Jordan I would try the stout that he picked out, but experience told me I would hate it so I wasn't super enthused. To my surprise and delight, I actually enjoyed it. And Jordan captured my range of facial expressions during the experience. I like how you can see the "Hey! This isn't gross!" expression in the fourth panel on my face.

Our delicious afternoon snack- cheese, crackers, and cherry jam!

Hanging out by the rocks at the dock.

Jordan looks a little surprised...

The lovely view.

More boats. We saw a lot of boats on this trip.

Checking out the scenery... or spying on people? Both?

Time to chill out with TV and internet.

Love this stuff.

After dinner, we shared a warm apple crisp...

Let's see how this tastes...

OMG this is delicious.

OMG that is a lot of sugar!

Scrabble. I lost miserably!

Day 3

On our third day, we decided to just hang out around Fish Creek again and soak up the last hours of our trip. We walked down the street to get some breakfast, stopping at some shops again and walking around the harbor. We explored the docks more and Jordan noticed that there were little crab claws littering the ground. One the guys on a boat said that the birds break them open to eat the meat inside. It eeked me out but I still wanted to hold one. We also walked by a custard stand near our hotel that had a nice seating area outside where there were lots of ducks waiting for snacks.

After an afternoon nap, we decided to spend some time in Peninsula state park. I wish we had more time so we could have rented bikes, it was such a lovely park with lots of trails and a lighthouse to explore.

We ate and drank very well on this trip- lots of drinks, desserts, and cheers to us!

Outside out hotel, another overcast day

Hanging out at the coffee shop

Eek! A crab claw!

I'm fascinated and disgusted.

Check out these ducks!

I love them all.

Hey, here's us again. By water. Again.

I want to say this to Noah sometimes...

Checking out the lighthouse!

Us... by water...again!

I love selfies when Jordan's not looking...

Such a pretty drive

My dessert has glitter on it! GLITTER!

Cheers to us!

Yeah, we didn't go hungry on this trip...

Day 4

On our last day, we slept in again (glorious!) and enjoyed our hotel shower one last time. This shower was amazing- it was huge and had a rainshower feature which we both loved. I think we need one in our next house! We walked down to the post office to mail some postcards and Jordan got breakfast at the coffee shop. I wanted to sit by the beach one last time, it was such a beautiful morning! I didn't mind the clouds and rain of the previous two days, but it was nice to get some vitamin D as we were leaving. We packed up the car and checked out, stopping at a couple more shops to pick up a pie to take home. I was sad that our trip was over, but I was very excited to see our little guy again!

Noah and my mom had a great time together, and Jordan and I had a great time, and I'm so thankful we got have this little break from our routine.