under the magnolia tree

We went up north last weekend.  Our first weekend back since the fall.  We couldn't make the 5pm ferry so we decided to spend the night in Door County and catch the first ferry over the next morning.  We checked into a hotel, went out to dinner, and came back to the hotel for a swim.  It was a mini vacation for us all!

Wild Tomato Pizza - Fish Creek

I would like to say being back on the island was fabulous but it was just really dreary and really quite cold.  That might have been okay if we just weren't so sick of rainy cold days already.  We stopped in the Danish Mill for lunch.  Like last year, the kids colored pictures for their free cookie.  As always, lunch was great.

Fog, fog, fog.  (I was really pretty crabby about this)  Here the kids are making eagle nests and pretending they are eagles.

A new sand beach was put in next to Sailor's Pub, across from Red Barn Park.  We stopped for a minute to play in the sand.

We went to Findlay's Holiday Inn for breakfast.  I was pleasantly surprised by super yummy, homemade cooking.  We'll be back!

The sun came out for a bit inland.  The island was in full spring mode!

The island thrift store.  My favorite Saturday morning stop.

The Island Dairy's new endeavor...lavender fields!

10,000 lavender plants were planted.  Can't wait to see how they grow! 

We found a tree frog.  Magnolia was quick to pick it up which surprised us and George was a little unsure.  Fun to see them get in touch with nature...we've been in the city for a long time now!

This was our purchase of the day from the thrift store.   A purple bike with a banana seat for $8?!  Fun, fun, fun.

This is my other favorite Saturday morning stop...the Island Exchange a.k.a. the dump.  If something can possibly be reused for someone else then it is put in this pile.  We have found some useful things in here.  I look forward to sifting through it every Saturday to see what can be freecycled.

Better yet, looking through this pile of metal.  Also, cool stuff has been found here.  Always happy to save something from the landfills.

This is our burn pile this year.  I was getting anxious looking it at and imagining burning down the entire island when it comes time to burn this.  I'm making George promise he'll do it in the dead of winter!

Cold and foggy day was perfect for a little campfire to roast hot dogs and s'mores.

Quite a few things were turned over in the winter, this makeshift dock somehow remained completely in tact.

Finding sticks for the weenie roast.

We headed over to Fiddler's Green for dinner one night.

Super funky, super fun place to sit and have a beer.

The next morning we packed our bags, cleaned the house and headed back to the mainland.
Of course, we landed at Al Johnson's off the fairy for a mile high hot cocoa and swedish pancakes.

Looking forward to being back much of July for some real summer fun!