The GrandView Motel Ellison Bay

... monarch butterflies (who flutter here every year from Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula), various snakes, and were even visited by a playful pair of weasels by the campfire.



Next morning we hired some kayaks from a bunch of young enthusiasts at Rowleys Bay and went up the Mink River estuary for some bird spotting: hawks and a grey heron were sighted.



Afterwards we took a stroll along the wave beaten dolomite promontory of Cave Point ...

Today was the big day of car swapping, and again the travelgods were with us! We originally tried to have a rental car for all the US part of the trip, but due to insurance restrictions the longest they rent cars is 56 days for unlimited mileage. So we had to split the trip in two, dropping off the Miami car in Chicago and picking another one up and taking it to Miami. The sun had come out, and ...

... every word and chord by heart from having it drummed into you 20,000 times. Well, what do you know, the cab driver speaks not a word of English, but he knows every word to that song. He has no damn idea who Glenn Frey or Don Henley is or what any of the words mean, but he sure likes the song "Ooh, comin' right behind you, swear I'm gonna find you, one of ...

Finally made it home. I have traveled home from Bucharest before. Each time I swear never again. let me explain it to you. First of all, all the connecting flights to Europe's hub airports, be it Frankfurt, heathrow, Paris or Amsterdam leave at the crack of dawn...allowing you to catch mid-day connecting flights anywhere in the world. Classic hub and spoke airline system. So STEP 1: Wake at 3:30 in the morning after 1 or 2 hours of sleep (because ...

... the least, but I wasn't going home without saying I took a plunge. It was indeed chilly, but not as cold as I expected. Given the opportunity, I would have taken a good long swim, but it wasn't in the cards. After nap two, it was off to downtown S.B. again for coffee and perusing the shops on Jefferson St. In and out of one after another with Collin in his stroller until it was time for his usual early dinner. But ...

When I said dinner and drinks served on a train, it isn't what you think. When I say "served on a train", I mean a train brought them to our table, not that we were actually served while sitting on a train :-p PC Junction is a great kid-friendly family restaurant in Peninsula Center with a train theme... even though there is not even a set of tracks to be found anywhere ON the peninsula (Door County ...

... night very unhappy. Not horrible though, we've been handling it pretty well taking turns so everyone is still getting sleep. Should be a fun day today, but we're really looking forward to dinner tonight at PC Junction (Peninsula Center)!! Choo-Choo!!! Dinner and drinks served on a train!!

... all the quaint touristy shops are... ice cream, fudge, t-shirts, knickknacks, etc. etc. Had a good but quick dinner at Sonny's pizza; another nice spot on Madison Ave, around the corner from Mom's place. All in all, a good day for everyone. Hope the rest are as easy going.

Finally! We're where we're supposed to be unwinding for the next 4 days; not really possible in 4 days but it will be nice to try. We are in beautiful Sturgeon Bay in Door County Wisconsin (Google it because I don't have time to give you the entire run down). We're staying at the wonderful Bay Shore Inn (again, Google it if you want more details). I ...

... of radar... The only answer is to check the weather in the morning and if it looks bad, to skip work and go early to catch an earlier flight to Detroit and wait there all day for my connection to Dusseldorf. Detroit weather looks clear. I should have thought about this when I booked...I only have an 85 min layover ...