When we lived in Milwaukee 4 years ago Jared was working 80 hours a week with very little time off. As a result there were a lot of Wisconsin must do's that went undone. Door County was one of those. Jared had Friday off so we decided a long weekend camping in Door County before school starts would fit the bill. After researching our Door County camping options we soon learned that the campsites in this area are booked way in advance. After scouring the internet I was able to find one campsite for Thursday night and a different campsite for Friday night while Saturday remained booked. We decided to take 'em and see if we could extend our stay once we got there since they have a handful of walk in only sites. Although it was an inconvenience to have to move sites it was definitely worth it. We weren't able to obtain a site for Saturday so we headed down to Green Bay and checked into a hotel there...not all bad! (I could definitely get used to ending our camping trips in a hotel!) We stayed at Peninsula State Park and were surrounded by water. It was the perfect opportunity to put our new kayaks to good use. After reviewing our days activities on Friday evening we decided the theme for our camping trip should be: Paddle, Hike, Paddle, Bike, Paddle, Beach, Paddle, Sleep...Repeat.
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| Morning shenanigans |
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| Good morning sunshine! |
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| Why does everything always taste so good when you're camping? Is it the extra minerals from the added dirt? |
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| Double fisting the sausage |
We headed out in the kayaks first thing Friday morning to an island out in the middle of the bay. There we hiked around the island, skipped rocks, had a picnic lunch and did a little rock climbing.
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| Paddling out to Horseshoe Island |
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| Nap time in the kayak. We lulled him right to sleep. |
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| Letting the boys do all the work |
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| Picnic and hike around Horseshoe Island |
After we got back from our morning of kayaking, hiking and picnicing it was time to move camp. A little bit annoying but worth it to be able to spend another night in such a beautiful area.
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| Moving camp. The boys were so excited to sit in the back on top of all of the pillows and sleeping bags. Jared and I laughed that this would probably be the most remembered moment from the camping trip. |
After moving camp Jared and Carter started up the fire and stayed back to cook our hobo dinners while the rest of us biked down to check out the beach. We ended up doing a 5 mile loop around the tip of the peninsula.
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| Jared and Carter kayaking right up to the banks of our campsite |
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| The perfect combination of graham, chocolate, marshmallow, ash and dirt. DELICIOUSNESS! |
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| That oozing marshmallow makes me want to start a fire in the backyard and make s'mores. Right. Now. |
After dinner we hopped in the kayaks and paddled over to the beach for some fun in the sand and water. Carter and Gage thought they were HILARIOUS when they paddled away from me, leaving me stranded, while I helped Dax and Cam get in Jared's kayak.
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Ditched!
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| Mud bath! |
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| Waiting for the bats to come out. |
We grabbed our bikes and fishing gear Saturday morning and headed out on the 12 mile bike path around the park and stopped at the fishing pier along the way to do some fishing.
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| Stopping to see the lighthouse |
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| Nap time in the bike trailer. |
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| Snack time! |
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| Torturing their baby brother with worms. |
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| Worms aren't so bad when your brothers aren't putting them in your hair and dangling them in your face. |
It was a slow fishing day but we didn't go home without a catch. Camden's bobbin fell off his line and his hook and worm were sitting on the bottom of the lake when he caught this little fellar.
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| Catch of the day. |
I am always in awe that my boys are tough enough and willing to bike so far. Love them! Unfortunately Walmart bikes don't always hold up to the abuse we put them through and Gage's pedal snapped off while going up a hill. We were glad he wasn't hurt but unfortunately his bike wasn't going to make it the rest of the way back to camp.
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| Waiting with his broken bike for his ride back to camp. |
Since we didn't have a campsite for Saturday night we headed into Fish Creek to window shop and partake in the Saturday night fish boil. Followed by a drive in movie before driving down to Green Bay.
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| Dinner with pyromaniacs. |
We spent the weekend in such a beautiful part of the country enjoying so many of our favorite outdoor activities but more than anything I loved just being able to spend time with all my rowdies. The dog piles, wrestling, laughter and games in the tent. Dirty little camping faces...and hands and feet and arms and legs and toes. Jumping on the rocks as the sun went down, building rock towers, kayak races, skipping rocks, sitting around the campfire, stopping to watch a spider spin its web, squeezing all 6 of us in the front seats of the van for a drive-in movie because we're loaded down with all of our camping gear. I wish I could freeze time. These are the things I never want to forget when my boys are all grown up.
