Vacations, real or mini, offer chance to get away

I haven’t been on a real vacation since second grade, and by real I mean a vacation that is at least a week long and consists of going somewhere out of the ordinary. However, I have been on plenty of mini-vacations, including one last week in which my family and I went to Door County.
My last real vacation, in second grade, consisted of my parents, sister and me heading out West to South Dakota, Wyoming and Colorado. I recall spending two weeks out there, and it wasn’t a complete vacation for my father. He was on a work mission to repair a hydro dam on John Denver’s property in Colorado, but it served as the perfect excuse for our family to take our one and only vacation together.
Although I was relatively young, I still remember many of the details about the vacation. I can vividly recall the long drive to South Dakota, one in which my sister and I rode in the back of my dad’s topped truck, a big no-no in today’s world. We had a raised mattress and plenty of reading material, although I remember asking the infamous “Are we there, yet?” question enough times to drive my parents nuts.
The first night in South Dakota we visited the Corn Palace, a place that hasn’t changed at all since then, according to my father-in-law who was there a couple of years ago. I don’t remember being impressed by it, but I do remember begging my parents to buy me some arrowheads. I still have them, although I know now that they aren’t authentic.
We stayed in South Dakota for a couple of days, visiting the Badlands, Black Hills, Wall Drug, Mount Rushmore, Custer State Park and all of the state’s other hotspots. I wanted to look for rattlesnakes and dinosaur bones in the Badlands, gold in the Black Hills and buffalo in the Custer State Park. Unfortunately, I didn’t find any of these things, much to my disappointment and my mother’s relief.
Wyoming wasn’t as memorable, but I do recall enjoying a good breakfast in some restaurant on the foot of the Grand Teton Mountains, following our visit to Yellowstone Park. Yellowstone was a disappointment because I didn’t see any grizzly bears, but I did enjoy hearing plenty of stories of people getting eaten or mauled by them.
That may have been my last real vacation, which in some ways is kind of sad, but the amount of mini-vacations I’ve had has somewhat made up for that. I consider mini-vacations to be four days or less, and most have been to places within Wisconsin or states next to it. Fitting these specifications, the mini-vacations I’ve had since then have included numerous trips to Minnesota, Michigan and Illinois, as well as a quick trip a little farther away to New York City.
The number of mini-vacations in Wisconsin is too numerous to count. Our favorite places to go are Wisconsin Dells, Richland Center (where my wife’s grandparents have a home), Milwaukee, Madison, Minocqua and Door County.
Last week’s mini-vacation to Door County was the second time we’ve been there, and both times we have stayed in Egg Harbor, which is a perfect location to stay if you don’t like the craziness of Fish Creek just to the north.
We stayed at the Landmark Resort during last week’s trip. It’s a modest resort in which people own the mini-condos and allow the resort to rent them to others when they are not there, reducing the cost they would normally shell out for such a condo in Door County. It was a little weird staying in a stranger’s place, as I was expecting the owner to bust through the door at any given moment, but it was better than staying in a normal hotel room since we had an oven, refrigerator and a living room.
When we arrived on Thursday, we went for dinner at Shipwrecked, an overpriced restaurant in downtown Egg Harbor. The price we paid for roast beef sandwiches was as much as a meal at a good supper club around here. We ate there four years ago, the first time we were in Door County, and I believe I left with the same impression. I guess I didn’t learn my lesson from the first time.
The next day we hit all of the Door County shopping hotspots, such as the Door County Winery and Door County Coffee. We didn’t buy much, mainly because everything seems too expensive. My wife did get some flavored coffees that are really good, though. We wanted to go to Peninsula State Park because it was a nice day, but our son had a fever so we scrapped those plans.
We had dinner that night at the restaurant at the Landmark Resort. Overlooking the lake, the atmosphere was an ideal setting and the service was even better. Unfortunately, the food was not up to par, as one of my pieces of cod was undercooked and the other was overcooked, and my wife’s salmon was too chewy. But the prices were better than those at Shipwrecked, so I can’t complain too much.
Our son was feeling better the next day, so we were able to go to Peninsula State Park. The weather was misty and foggy, so the views of the lake from the bluffs and watchtower were pretty bland. It was still a nice experience and a place I’ll return to next time we are there.
We had lunch at P.C. Junction, mainly because we heard it was a railroad-themed diner and our son lives for railroads. It was really busy and we felt crowded at our table, which seemed on top of the neighboring tables. Once again, the food wasn’t that good and it was overpriced, and our server rushed to get us out of there.
I’m sure there are great places to eat in Door County, but in two trips there I haven’t found any. We gave up our search for such a place that evening, opting to eat in our hotel room.
We came home the next day, stopping at Door County Coffee again for some flavored coffee to drink on our way home. If coffee were a food, I would have found a great place to eat, since my caramel apple coffee was the best coffee I’ve ever had in my lifetime.
We’re already planning another mini-vacation in October. We will either go to St. Louis to visit my wife’s sister or to Appleton where we are guaranteed great food at the Melting Pot. My stomach, as well as the high price of gas, may have already determined our selection. I’m fine with letting food and gas lead the way.