Door County, Wisconsin

Although we had a blast in Petoskey, MI, this year we decided to try out the opposite side of upper Lake Michigan and spend the 4th in Door County, WI. Before we left the girls were taking selfies with 4th filters, they were so excited. You can even see our luggage in the background.

Deciding on a place to stay was a bit tricky and I remember I resorted to using a spreadsheet to narrow it down. Door County is filled with beautiful hotels and resorts but they aren't national brands- they are very specific to the location. Even though our resort wasn't in the downtown area, I think it was perfect for us. Just look at the view!

I could definitely get used to waking up to this every day. So beautiful!

We unpacked the food and headed to the pool right away.

We decided to cannonball into the pool at the same time- the whole family. That simple little thing somehow united us as a family and I think we are going to do that on every vacation with a pool.

Sydney and Brigitta loved eating out on the balcony. They looked so bougie out there.

Sydney also loved using the wine glasses. Again, a little thing but it made such a difference to her.

The resort is actually a bunch of condos that are individually owned. The owners release them for use which is how they can be booked. There were 3 separate bedrooms which gave Brent and I some privacy. The bedrooms were also upstairs so if someone wanted to go to bed early (ie Sydney- it's always Sydney), everyone else could stay up and not worry about being too loud. It was perfect.

The girls spent the 4th swimming and then Brent and I made a huge lunch with fresh squeezed lemonade, burgers, hot dogs and corn on the cob. There was a full-sized kitchen so we could bring our own food and that was right up Brent's alley. He actually packed food for the entire trip. The only time we ate out was to grab some ice cream.

It was also the only time it poured rain. Brent was starting to not feel so good. You can kind of tell by the tense smile in the picture above. That feeling got worse and worse until he was in a pretty bad state. Our neighbors who by organic from local farms had gifted us tons of cauliflower and Brent made cauliflower rice out of it and just gone to town. The resulting gas had him doubled up in pain and it wasn't until the next morning he was finally comfortable again. While he rested, we played games and the family version of Cards Against Humanity was a favorite. Sydney pulled this combination and the way she brightly said, "Uranus" not getting the double entendre, was hysterical.

It wasn't hard to get some beautiful beach pics. The beach wasn't all that big which was fine, it was private so there weren't a lot of people.

Even so, I would still count Foster Beach as our favorite. The narrow strip of sand was just ok. Furthermore, we discovered an issue with the fish. Alewife are actually native to the Pacific Ocean but have made their way upstream so there are many in the Great Lakes. Consequently, Alewife is the train stop we used when we lived in Boston. Anyway, their bodies are not adapted to... something about the Great Lakes- I think it's how warm the water can get or something? Well when they get into the shallow water, they die. The beach had little dead fish on it and now and again the girls would discover a dead fish in the water. They were just tiny but there's no mistaking the smell of rotting fish. It wasn't a huge deal, but it wasn't our favorite beach because of it.

Dead fish and Brent's gas aside, we had a lot of fun and really enjoyed being together as a family. We didn't have to battle large crowds and we still enjoyed some fireworks over the water while the Boston Pops played on the tv. Door County is much closer than Petoskey so the drive was more manageable. 

The girls will definitely miss those balcony views!