Fall Break: Heading to Door County

We are back from Fall Break and I'm not going to lie -- the washer has been running pretty much constantly since we walked in the door. If someone would like to come over and fold clothes for me, I wouldn't say no ..... 

[Facts: I started this post a week ago. The October cold continues to cycle through the house and last week was a bit of a dumpster fire. However, my laundry comment still stands.]

This year, we decided on an adventure to Door County, Wisconsin, complete with our travel buddies, the Pilchers. We rented a house on the Lake Michigan side of the peninsula, complete with a private sand beach and a basement game room. Nine out of ten adventurers had never been to Door County (and I went twenty plus year ago), so everyone was very excited. The only thing that made everyone wary was the six hour drive required to get there (and get home).

We hit the road Wednesday morning, ran into a major traffic jam just over the border - so followed the GPS' hint to save over an hour on backroads ... and used that detour to meet up with the Ps at a random park and ride in rural Wisconsin (how all good adventures - or horror movies - begin). We caravanned to Eau Claire for lunch and then drove another hour to Rib Mountain State Park. Rib Mountain was just over halfway and the perfect pitstop to get some energy out and stretch our legs. 

[According to the state park website, Rib Mountain is over a billion years old and is one of the oldest geologic formations on Earth. The more you know!]

We started our steep trek up the "mountain" in the rain (and therefore the mud), but were rewarded with a double rainbow at the top. Then we pressed our luck and got the kids to then climb the 60 foot observation tower. It was well-worth the climb as the views at the top were fantastic. Wisconsin's fall colors were showing off! 

We did a bit more hiking after that and discovered that either the park map is confusing or Mike can't read a map - because the "sliding rock" formation that we were hiking to proved quite elusive. There is dissention in the ranks as to whether or not we ever found it [we totally did not]. Honestly, we all wish we had more time to spend at the park as it was one of the trip highlights for all the Vs.

However, we were all anxious to get to the house, get settled, and check out the game room! So we hit the road again and finally made it to the house around 6:30pm. Mike and Quinn ran to the nearby gas station grocery store and picked up frozen pizzas and fruit and dinner was casual. Then off the kids headed to play air hockey, ping pong, pool, and shuffleboard in the basement. Bedtime was very late - a choice that came back to haunt us later in the trip.