Monday, August 10, 2015

Door County in the Summertime



It's been a week since we got back from our family trip to Door County in northern Wisconsin, and I'm finally getting around to sharing some pictures with you guys. I actually brought my real camera and lenses with me on the trip, which very rarely happens anymore, but I ended up taking a whopping two photos with it and just used my phone for the rest. I used to make a conscious effort to record as much as possible on our travels, but more recently I've adopted the mindset that travels are meant to be enjoyed with as little responsibility as possible. And for me, that means not worrying so much about pulling out the camera (or even the phone) to capture everything in a perfectly curated way with ideal lighting and a perfect balance of subjects, and just living in the moment instead. And that, my friends, is the long explanation as to why the photos you see here are just bits and pieces of our adventure (and certainly nothing fancy).


Highlights of the trip for me included walking into town (we stayed in Sister Bay) everyday with Robbie and Essley, coffee from Drink Coffee (place has the best wallpaper ever), breakfast with my mom and stepdad at Al Johnson's (goats hanging out on grass roofs rule, as do Swedish pancakes), pool hang sessions with my stepdad's (massive) extended family at our hotel (we stayed here), taking Essley to our favorite local candy shop in Fish Creek and ice creamery in Sister Bay, date night with Robbie at Grasse's (their vegetarian nachos = wow) followed by watching the sun set over the bay, stumbling upon the coolest little breakfast burrito stand/hut/cabana called Good Eggs (we were lured in by the sound of Bob Dylan playing), and just driving around and exploring. It really is a beautiful area of the midwest, and I'm sure we'll be back.

We leave again in less than 48 hours for a week in Sonoma County, California. I can't wait. August is definitely the month of travel in the Baswell Williams house this year. Hopefully I'll take more photos this time. Or maybe I'll just skip the photos all together and instead focus completely on being present. Stay tuned.

Have any of you spent time in Door County? Where have you traveled this summer?

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17 comments:

  1. I'm the same way about taking pictures when we travel. For a while I was bringing my real camera with me (which isn't even a DSLR, just a fancy point-and-shoot with extra settings) but even that got to be a pain. I feel like iPhones take such good pictures now that it's fine. :-)

    Essley is such a big girl now, I can't believe it! Swimming!

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  2. Beautiful captures and it sounds like a great trip. I live in Milwaukee and have somehow never made it up to door county, I really need to make it a priority.

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  3. I spent a week in Wisconsin once as a teenager. To be honest I remember very little about it, as with most family trips we took when I was in high school, aside from a candy store in a town called Hayward. You make it sound wonderfully appealing, I must say!
    xox,
    Cee

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  4. It sounds like you had a perfect family vacation! That coffee shop looks so inviting :) Essley is wearing such cute yellow and pink sandals! The goat on the grass roof is the best!

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  5. We just came back from our week in DC - I have photos almost identical to the ones you took, LOL. We stay in Ephraim, right across from the public beach and down from the Good Egg, been staying in the same place since I was a kid, with the same 55 family members vacationing together for 40 years now. I took one look at the first photo as thought: oh! the park in Sister Bay! I loved it as a kid, and now my kids love and look forward to it too!

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  6. I think the pictures and synopsis are perfect and make me want to visit there! Thank you for sharing. =)

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  7. Cute photos! Essley swimming! When did she get so big? :)

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  8. THis looks wonderful!

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  9. Great pictures, M. Good job on just living the vacation, not curating it :) Your pictures turned out lovely anyway!

    We are about to go to Portland for the first time ever. Do you have any tips on where to eat or shop?

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    1. I haven't been to Portland in years so I don't have any specific recommendations, but there is SO much great stuff there. Have fun!

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  10. Your photo's are wonderful, they capture summer perfectly!

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  11. We are fortunate enough to have family in the dc area and can stay on the Bay in Brussels (south of Sturgeon Bay). We love the area and make day trips up - catching the wineries, apple orchards, and restaurants. Our favorite place to visit is in Bailey's Harbor - Gordon Lodge and Top Deck. It is our go-to for overnight date nights. The sunsets are prime and food is fantastic. We are heading up in October - fall colors really show dc at its best. Strongly recommend you make another trip up around that time of year.

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    1. The first time I visited Door, two years ago, was in October. It was beautiful! (But cold!)

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    2. It certainly can be. Have you gone up in winter? They have a lot of festivals around January - ice sculpting, sledding, skating, and fish boils (yes, they still do fish boils in winter). It is like exploring a whole new area compared to summers in dc.

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    3. I haven't gone up in winter, mainly because I am not a fan of winter here in Chicago, so I haven't felt the pull to go even further north. It sounds like there are a lot of fun winter activities though! I might have to put it on my list. :)

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