Well our long-delayed return to Door Co since June 2010 was finally here. We left after Sons of Norway cookie-baking and arrived in Sister Bay around six o'clock. We found the sun-lit fall colors spectacular, especially the bright red maples; even though the fall festival is still two weeks away. Bonnie was awed as we rounded every turn beyond Sturgeon Bay, taking one photo after another.
We decided to drive through the campground first and found it just the same as always, for us, very quiet with many campsites already closed for the winter season; in effect, nobody was home anymore, save Ron and Miriam McNealy (friends from Shepherd of the Bay Lutheran Church, who winter in Ocala FL). We had already made plans for Thursday dinner with them.
We checked into the Village View Motel in Sister Bay, a very nice, neat place on the hill. Then we headed across the street for a bite to eat at the Mission Grill. We have never eaten there in the past six years, but thought the time was right for us. We loved the place, a former catholic parish, for it's atmosphere, immedicately. The food was excellent. We choose the 3 course dinner which provided several options for each course. It was a very good choice.
On Thursday morning we drove north toward Ellison Bay and stopped at the Viking for breakfast, always a safe choice, save the owner/waitress who is generally a bit on the tough side. You never know when she will display a contentious side. From the Viking we drove north to NewPort State Park, one of our favorite places, where is quiet and there colors were equally brilliant. The early morning skies were beginning to cloud up as we walked around the beach area and light sprinkles eventually forced us back to our car. We then drove to pick up friend Vivian Optiz ( a former Tosa neighbor of Bonnie's). She is almost 89 years old and is now living with her son and his wife in a beautiful home on the Lake Michigan shore just a ways south of the old Wagon Trail resort. We enjoyed a tour of their home and then went off to lunch with Vivian as the winds began to develop along with rain. Vivian's daughter-in-law told us there were warnings of strong winds and rain for the evening.
We enjoyed lunch as another of our favorite cafes in Sister Bay; Solbjorg's, just across from Al Johnson's. After returning Vivian to her new home we headed for the Top of the Hill shops on the edge of Fish Creek. By this it was raining pretty good. I found a cafe coffee shop toward the back while Bonnie's went to check out some of the shops. While at the coffee shop later we talked with Sarah a volunteer Board Member for Door Shakespeare. She told us about the opening of a Shakespeare play that night at the Ephraim village hall; portions of every one of the bard's plays. Imagine that! We were intrigued but not sure about getting that in along with dinner with Ron and Miriam.
Dinner with the McNealys was very nice. We went to the Pasta Vino restaurant, which has relocated from the Country Walk shops southend of Sister Bay to the former Hillside Inn up the hill on 42 from Ellison Bay. They have much more space and their many customers have followed them. They have quite an expansive menu and portions are still amazing. They are doing well. After dinner we decided to return to Ron and Miriam's trailer at Aqualand for cup of coffee and during a lull in the rain and wind. But that proved to be temporary. While visiting the winds picked substantially and the lights began to flicker. It didn't take long for us to decide to leave and return to the Village View motel. Good thing we had umbrellas.
Since is was just about eight o'clock and yet stormy outside we decided to head for bed and some television viewing. Bonnie decided to pack most of our stuff in case we had to make a quick exit.
As the winds were accelerating, we heard a knock on the motel door. The hostess offered us a candle (in a glass bowl) and matches just in case the power went out . Ten minutes later it did, for good, until 430 in the morning. When we say dark we mean DARK. You couldn't see your hand in front of your face. No TV, no Internet. We couldn’t see across the street, so might as well go to sleep. Well that took a while since the winds were howling; our room was on the northwest corner and the noises were very real. Sometime time around nine or ten we must have fallen asleep. We had the blinds closed tightly, but the headlights of a rare car or truck that passed by brought brilliant flashes of dancing light across our walls and ceiling. One time when I went to see the source of this bright light it was from vehicle far down the main street of Sister Bay, nearly a mile away. It was dark, so dark my trip to the bathroom around midnight had me feeling my way with my hands. The last time I was in such a dark place was inside a mine on a tour at Bisbee AZ.
Again, at four, I got up again and noticed that the winds had now lessened somewhat...however, far from gone, but the sounds were different. (We learned later that the winds here were clocked at 69 MPH in Sister Bay). I laid down once again wondering when the morning light of dawn would appear, but knowing it was still a couple hours away...suddenly the room was filled with light. The power had been restored. I opened the blinds to let the street lignts and store lights shine in. The On Deck shop windows again showed all the beautiful clothing displays and styles. It was light! I instinctively called out to Bonnie, "LIGHT, the lights are on!" She rolled over and grumbled something unintelligible. Apparently she wasn't ready for the light, like I was.
Well, I returned to sleep, secure in the knowledge that all was okay again. About six in the morning I couldn't sleep any more; even checked the TV; no signal and surely no Internet. By this time Bonnie was stirring....finally! We shared some ideas about what we should do that morning. By this time the sky was actually lightening, a bit. With the winds still blowing strongly we decided to pack and get ready to leave. We didn't know what damage had been caused by the overnight winds. Was our car okay? Where there trees across roads in some places? It just seemed like the right thing to do. By six thirty we were ready to leave. The car was okay. We returned the key to the office and thanked them for the candle; it had come in handy for us.
We drove over to the Sister Bay marina and watched the waves of Green Bay crash against the breakwater piers and the strong winds drive the spray into the air. We then went to drive through Aqualand and found the campground roads covered with tree debris, then south toward Fish Creek, noticing that there wasn't any sign of electrical power along the way and into Fish Creek. Near Alexander's we checked out a large wedding tent that had been set up the day before. It was sagging badly. We wondered what the backup plan was for this about to be married couple. No power in Fish Creek or in Egg Harbor. We learned later that power was out for them into Friday evening.
Along 42 was saw many trees that had been uprooted; some leaning against overhead wire, ready to fall. The Peninsula Park entrance was blocked. Breakfast was finally found in Sturgeon Bay on Main Street. A light pole had crashed down at the corner.
Our cell phones flashed "no service" forever. They would be off until ten miles from Green Bay when the phone sprang to life and beckoned us with its beeps. It felt like we off life support, and back in the real world....the one we really like and enjoy.
Well, that is our latest Door County adventure. One that made some lasting impressions on us; fall’s fabulous colors and the mighty winds of the Great Lakes.
