Our first destination in Door County was Peninsula State Park, to see our friends, but as soon as we got to the park we had to stop to reminisce at a special spot. Years ago, I bought tickets to take Gary to see Judy Collins, whom he had loved since the 1960s. It was a Christmas concert. When we arrived we found out that they had oversold the concert, so would we mind sitting in the extra seats? Mind? The seats were right next to the stage, where he could bask in Judy's glory.
Afterwards, we drove through the park in the darkness. No one else was there. It was too late in the year for campers and too early for the snowmobilers. We found a parking place. With all the lights off, and no moon, we could only listen to the waves. The white crescents topped each wave and floated into the shore. They didn't seem to be connected to the water or indeed the planet. Neither were we for that brief time.
Now we were parked at the same roadside parking space this autumn day when we noticed two more white blots out in the bay. We whipped out binoculars to see two tundra swans, who should have been southward bound already.
We visited Jim and Mary, admired their camper, discussed the differences with ours, and said goodbye so they could get on with their own adventures.
We continued on to the Eagle Bluff Lighthouse. It's no longer operational, but volunteers keep a little museum going there.
I settled in to admire the view from the bluff.
Then Gary called out for me to take my photos so we could get out of there! A tour bus had just arrived. Dozens of senior citizens emerged and we left before our car was blocked.
At Ellison Bay, we ate at one of the more reasonably priced restaurants, the Viking. Gary asked for a cup of chili and I ordered the bowl. When the waitress plunked them down, we told her she had made a mistake, but no, she hadn't. The bowl of chili was the cup and the big cup was the bowl. The cup held much more chili than the bowl. Confusing, but we took her word for it.
On we went to Gill's Rock to look at the ferry to Washington Island, but it wasn't there, just cars waiting for their turn. Here we saw scaup and at one point along the way, dozens of coots who should be heading south by now.
At Northport State Park, we walked on the beach. Now we were on the less protected Lake Michigan side of the peninsula. The colorful leaves were still clinging to the trees on the Green Bay side, but here the colors were giving way to the green of the conifers.
We didn't last long, the wind was picking up with storm clouds in the distance.
With rain fall, there was only one more stop, for ice cream. Then it was time to say good-bye to Door County until the next time.
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