(July 2020) We did a triathlon of sorts at Peninsula State Park, a huge chunk of gorgeous land jutting out into the blue waters of Green Bay. First we hiked the two-mile Eagle Trail, which was difficult as advertised in terms of having a lot of tree roots, rocks and mud to navigate but also stunning, with bits through the forest hugging the bay with giant rugged stone bluffs.
Then we rode bikes on the Sunset Trail about 9 miles which also took us through forest and along the coast. We skipped the beach since it was too crowded for a visit during a pandemic but we did have a picnic from a social distance and then found hidden Pebble Beach which may be our favorite place to swim yet here. It’s hidden in Little Sister Bay at the bottom of a curving road down from Highway 42 through the woods. It seemed a local hangout for very attractive young people. We sat on the area’s signature large white flat stones and swam in water that was shockingly green near the shore and then deep blue. So maybe this is why Green Bay is named Green Bay?
We finally got around to having ice cream at the famous Wilson’s in Ephraim, a cheerful red and white building from the early 1900’s. The mini tin roof sundae was excellent, eaten while sitting on a park bench across the street overlooking the harbor.
On the way back to our airbnb, we stopped at what looked like and was indeed a former migrant workers housing north of Sister Bay, a worn wooden very long version of a shotgun shack, tastefully transformed into an earthy farmers market called Door County Wildwood Market, which had good fruit and veg and beautifully dried flowers and pickled vegetables.
At night we went to a traditional Door County fish boil which turned out to be a lot of fun. Who knew that boiled whitefish, red-skinned potatoes and ordinary onions could taste so good but they did. Very fresh and simple, served with melted butter and a shaker of mixed spice. We had a primo seat on the front porch of the Old Post Office Cafe in Ephraim so we watched yet another spectacular sunset. Last stop was Fish Creek which turned out to be a lovely town. We have been visiting these places at night because we don’t have anything else to do and we don’t want to go during the day when there are more people. It’s a coronavirus thing.
Late post:
We rode back to St. Paul along the east side of the river thru dinkytown (the u of Minnesota college town) and the stadium, stopping briefly for some light rain to pass. The kids brought back delicious arepas from Minneapolis for an afternoon snack (we had a delicious brunch earlier at Rose Patisserie in St. Paul.. great quiche). we went to a nearby bar for drinks and then for a delicious dinner at Bar La Grassa in the Minneapolis warehouse district and stopped by the fabulous “bank” bar, an Art Deco masterwork that used to be the farmers and merchants bank (now a hotel) downtown. Couldn’t ask for a better bday with my family!
On Sunday, after a mom’s day brunch at Noah’s apartment on Edmunds Street we drove to Minnehaha Falls, which was full of water, and lined with visitors. onto Lake Harriet for a stroll past the Scandinavian looking pavilion, with lots of visitors too strolling, cycling and skateboarding. Also spotted an old trolley that I am not sure goes where. early Cambodian dinner (green curry, scallion pancakes, omelette), at Cheng Heng in Noah’s neighborhood.
Shockingly bad performance by the Kansas Jayhawks (our in-house favorite) at Iowa State University’s cavernous Hilton Auditorium in Ames – the Jayhawks lost by 17 points. But it was fun to go to a game at Hilton for the first time. We sat high in the nosebleed section so the noise from the increasingly joyful ISU near-capacity crowd was slightly less deafening and we had a good vantage point to see all the flashing lights, arm- waving fan cheers, perky pom-poming cheerleaders and the amusing half-time show with little kids doing somersaults while spinning basketballs.
TakeBetsywithyou 