Monday - July 6

 We were up early (well, Mark is always up early), but by 7, we were out walking - not a cloud in the sky and in the upper 70s today.    We left the dock in Sturgeon Bay at 8:10 and got thru the 2 bridges (went thru the Michigan Street bridge that has to open at 8:30).    We cruised 23.2 miles and now at the Municipal Marina in Menominee, Michigan.    Got fuel, a pump out, then to our slip (so much grass and other debris in the water).    Had lunch, hosed down Catrina and Mark got his bike off the boat to ride to a nearby marina for a power cord but no luck.

I went for a walk - the town is right by the marina, but sadly, so many empty buildings.   I did enjoy "Trends and Traditions" - a very nice gift store, but otherwise, Menominee's downtown is struggling.

I stopped at their very upscale boater's lounge which Ed had told us about - WOW....beautiful and huge.   We really liked Quarter Deck's lounge in Sturgeon Bay but this is over-the-top!

The weather sounds better tomorrow rather than Wednesday so we're planning to head to Frankfort, MI. We're on central time (even though we're in Michigan) till tomorrow and then back to the eastern time zone.

Our nephew Steve picked us up and away we went to his home.    Steve and Lori live in Marinette, WI (across the Menominee River which separates Michigan and Wisconsin).   So good to see Steve and Lori and their neat older home + dogs - Dexter and Betsy.    Stteve made old fashions and we had a nice visit.    Then to The Landing which is near the marina.    Had a great meal and then back to Catrina and gave them the tour.   We sat on Catrina's bridge - such a beautiful evening. We love these one-on-one visits with nieces/nephews.   Said our good byes and hope we'll be together at the family Christmas (along with 100+ others)!   😂

Lori and Steve

So sad to hear this morning that our dear, long-time friend, Paul passed away.    We have so many happy memories of Paul and Margie (she passed away in 2015).    They have 5 girls and just a great family.    Even after Margie passed, Paul sent me a birthday card every year - he was one special guy and sure lived a good long life till 90.

Sunday - July 5

 Nice sunny day an we were off to an early start with Ed and Fran picking us up at 6:35 and off to Luxemburg, WI (16 miles Southwest).    Today was the annual "Dairy Breakfast" held on the 1st Sunday in July at a different dairy farm each year in Door County.    Ed and Fran have been going to this for many years and they will serve 4-5,000 people.    What a huge event which takes a lot of people to put together (FFA and 4-H groups + alumni and many parents.)   They serve breakfast from 6-11:30.

This year the event was held at the Lazy J Dairy Farm and along with a hearty breakfast (all-you-can-eat pancakes, scrambled eggs w/ham and cheese curds, they have a petting zoo, many tractors (oldies and current), they had Door County ice cream (nothing like eating ice cream at 8 AM on a Sunday morning), many trinkets for the kiddies, recipes, and tours of the barns seeing the milking set-up and the cows (various breeds).  They had several wagons pulled by tractors to shuttle folks from the big parking lot (field) to the tents.   It was a beautiful morning to be on the farm and we thoroughly enjoyed it all.  

They dropped us back at the marina, we changed clothes and onto 10:00 Mass at St. Joseph's - beautiful Mass with Father Matthew (young priest), great choir ((patriotic tunes), and best of all, this large church was packed!!!

St. Joseph's

We ran a few errands + picked up some iced coffees at 5J Coffee (5th and Jefferson).   What a funky place - we could go inside the house or order outside - the yard was full of wicker, metal, and every kind of furniture + picnic tables, etc.    Never saw anything like it.    The bathroom had a tub full of fake bubbles and flamingos, and so much other stuff!   On home for naps and just chilled this Sunday afternoon till we left for WalMart and then to Ed and Fran's.  

  We sat outside on their deck (beautiful private woodsy backyard) and later had salad, pizza and Door County cherry pie a la mode!   YUMMY!!!

More visiting and then good bye hugs and Ed took us back to the marina.    What a fun 5 days this has been with these dear long-time friends!    We sure thank them for their hospitality and showing us a very good time!

Ed and Fran

Tomorrow we are moving onto Menominee, Michigan for 2 days.

Saturday - July 4

 HAPPY  250th   BIRTHDAY  

 AMERICA 

Mark went to Lawlss (strange spelling) for coffees.   It's in an old bank building.   Doing our part to support the coffee shops in Door County. 😀  Had a light breakfast with our coffee and then went for a nice long walk thru the Purves Lagoon - lovely homes (some on the water).   It is a very nice 4th and we are blessed with 75 degrees compared to the heat in so much of the country!

Listened to patriotic music and just a relaxing day on Catrina + 1 more walk.

We met Fran and Ed at the Yacht Club for their BBQ picnic - brats, burgers, hot dogs and all the fixins' - Very good and a fun time!

Happy 4th from Door County

Ed, Fran, Pat, Mark

We all came back to Catrina and sat on the bridge - beautiful evening.   Our neighbor came over with an assortment of mini cheesecakes.   Nice treat. Sturgeon Bay had very good fireworks - it's been a really fun day/evening celebrating our nation's birthday!

Some sweet memories from earlier holidays...

Maeve - 2018

Blair - 2021

 

Friday - July 3

 We were up and at 'em and off at 8:30.    Heading to Sister Bay for some Christmas shopping.  We had spent 4 days here but Tannenbaum is up a hill and would've had to walk on 42 (the main, busy road thru Door County).  We were so lucky to get an on-street parking spot as lots of people and traffic.    We tried Happy Coffee but what a zoo waiting to order or waiting for their coffees.    So we walked up the street to Analog Coffee.   Just a short wait and took our coffee and pastries back to the car and drove a little over 1 mile to Tannenbaum.    Sat in the parking lot and enjoyed our breakfast and 15 minutes later, the store opened and in I went.   Again, so thankful for Ed and Fran letting us use their Highlander.

This place is sooo beautiful (in an old church) with many, many themed trees - hadn't been here in many years but oh-so-neat.    Not as big as Bronner's in Frankenmuth, MI (over 96,000 sq. ft) but still a great selection.   One hour and 10 minutes later I had my ornaments all individually personalized and boxed up.   Mark had been sitting in the car under a shade tree with his I-pad - he's such a dear, patient guy!!!

We drove thru Ephraim, Fish Creek, Egg Harbor - all the neat little towns of Door County.   When we got back to Sturgeon Bay, we picked up a few things at WalMart - Mark warned me it would be a crazy place and that it was with all the families stocking up on groceries and stuff before heading to their vacation destination.

Had lunch at West Side Commons - very good sandwiches and some elonte (street corn)! Back to Catrina around 2ish and took a nap!

We went to Ed and Fran's home at 4 and Mark helped Fran with a printer issue.   Then we all went to Kitty O'Reilly's Irish Pub - sat outside in the pretty beer garden and had drinks till our table was ready.    Enjoyed our dinners but it was noisy so came back to Catrina and sat on the bridge to continue our visiting.

Ed and Fran

Thursday - July 2

Today was so much fun....Mark and I started the day going to "Kick" for coffees and light breakfast.   Later I had an appointment at Aurora Health for lab work (requested by Dr. Freeman) for my thyroid.  

Mark dropped me off downtown to meet Fran for some girl fun.    We helped the Sturgeon Bay economy at Wilkins and Olander....and what are the odds that on our first visit to Sturgeon Bay (October 22, 2008), Fran and I were shopping and I bought a jeans jacket.    And today, (18 years later) I bought a jeans jacket!    Crazy!   We also enjoyed The Brickyard Alley - several cute shops on 3rd Avenue,

Then we were off to TJ Maxx for more shopping in their cute Mustang convertible,   Enroute to Fish Creek, we stopped for a cherry pie and then cherry donuts (our lunch) - oh my.....delish!

Hart to Hart was a really nice shop in Fish Creek, but no purchases and on home.    Drove past so many HUGE homes on the water!    It was a beautiful day!

Mark had a good day staying put on Catrina with some occasional walks, naps, etc.

We walked to the yacht club where we met Fran and Ed to watch the "Beer Can" races.   Actually the guys watched and Fran and I stayed indoors with the AC.   I guess beer can relates to the celebrating of the winning racers with beer after the races.   Later we all enjoyed the Pasta Buffet which was excellent!    And then Fran's phone gave an alert that rain was imminent, so Mark and I hightailed it back to Catrina.    Rain didn't amount to squat!    But with yesterday morning's storm and early this morning, we've had an inch!

 

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