Sat, 7/31/10

Wagon Trail RV Resort, Ellison Bay, WI: Rained during the night. Still cloudy when we woke up. Enjoyed a fire for a while. Then the clouds disappeared revealing a beautiful blue sky. Changed from sweats and a sweatshirt to shorts and a crop top. Our evening at the theater was great last night. The cast was superb and the music wonderful—music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. The most recognizable number was “Send in the Clowns”. Our dinner at the Mission Grill was okay. It was more fine-dine than we thought and pretty pricey. We’ve had better food in some of the little cafes. Went for a long walk in the afternoon. Stopped at the bakery again. Was threatening for a while, but cleared off nicely.

Historic fishing shacks in Ellison Bay

Goldendoodle on the pier at Ellison Bay

Fri, 7/30/10

Wagon Trail RV Resort, Ellison Bay, WI: Another beautiful morning, but we didn’t do much of anything. I did maintenance stuff—nails and toes. Mike spent most of the afternoon up at the lounge on the computer. I sat outside reading some. We plan on having dinner at the Mission Grill and then head to the Peninsula Players Theater to see “A Little Night Music”.

Sailboat off of Sister Bay

Thu, 7/29/10

Wagon Trail RV Resort, Ellison Bay, WI: Beautiful this morning with a deep blue cloudless sky. I suggested we either take the bikes over to Newport and bike some of the trails there, or go back to the little park in the grove of cedars in this sandy cove with the pristine beach. We decided on the latter. So after setting up a pot roast in the crock pot, we packed up our stuff, donned our bathing suits and headed out. Got set up and headed to the water. This time we brought our snorkel gear. The water seemed much colder than a couple of days ago. It was very cold. But I was determined and continued out. Mike said no way and quit when he got above his knees. Waded out to about my waist and finally went in the rest of the way. After getting used to the water temps it felt pretty good. A couple of little girls followed me out—they were probably 8 and 11. After messing around with them for a while I told them I was heading out further and that they should probably not follow me. So they headed back and I continued out. I was out quite a ways and realized I was not too far from the drop-off. Would have liked to snorkel over that but at this point I realized I was all by myself out there. After about an hour I headed back in. Had some lunch and then sat in the sun drying off and warming up. Came back around 3:30 and the pot roast smelled so good. I was starving. We ate around 5:30 and watched a few episodes of “Band of Brothers”, based on the Steven Ambrose book of the same name. Probably upper 70s today.

Eagle in the tree at Eagle Bluff

Wed, 7/28/10

Wagon Trail RV Resort, Ellison Bay, WI: Had a thunderstorm last night and it rained hard for a while. But this morning dawned bright, sunny, and warm. Went over to the lounge early to get on the computer. After lunch we headed out and played miniature golf again. Drove around after that exploring a little. Tried to find a house we had looked at the last time we were here, but couldn’t find it. Came back and had left-overs for dinner. Watched three more episodes of The Sopranos. Mid-80s today.

Our friends, Ro and Ed, who came to visit for a couple of days

Tue, 7/27/10

Wagon Trail RV Resort, Ellison Bay, WI: Went over to the Viking Grill for breakfast this morning. Nice and sunny in the morning. After breakfast we headed in to Sister Bay to pick up a few groceries. Got that done and headed back and put everything away. By then it had started clouding up. Walked the trail/road over to the Swedish bakery and bought some pastries and then walked back. Mike went over to the lounge to do some computer stuff and I hung out at our site. Probably mid-80s today.

Eco Dock--Ellison Bay

The Wisconsin DNR has said "...no more permanent docks on the lake". So this guy designed and built this "eco dock". The floating dock (along with various toys) rolls out of this "boat house" on rails down into the water with the push of a button. Rolls back in when he's done. It's been patented. He's probably a bizillionaire now.

Mon, 7/26/10

Wagon Trail Resort, Ellison Bay, WI: Another great morning. So, we donned our bathing suits, packed a lunch and put some drinks in the cooler, grabbed our chairs and headed over to the pretty little Liberty Grove Town Park and the pristine beach there. This area is on the “quiet side” of the peninsula and is not very crowded. We picked out a picnic table off by itself and set up our chairs and unloaded all our stuff. There was very little wind and hardly anyone in the water so I headed to the water with Mike close behind. Took a while to get acclimated to the cool water temps, but it felt wonderful. The water is crystal clear and it’s sandy all the way to where it drops off. I swam out quite a ways and it was only up to my neck. Wished I’d had my snorkel and mask. Swam around for a while and then we reluctantly got out of the water. Had some lunch and then relaxed and enjoyed the sun. Glad we went in when we did because the wind picked up and the waves picked up. Was much better swimming when we were in. When we go back we’re taking our snorkels and masks. When we got back to our park we got talking to our neighbors—a couple of women from Texas who are also here for the summer. They’re both 20-year Army veterans—nurses who served in both Vietnam and Korea. That means they must be in their upper 70s or low 80s. Bet they’ve seen some stuff. Mike made tortilla soup for dinner. Low 80s today.

Beach at Liberty Grove Town Park

Sun, 7/25/10

Wagon Trail Resort, Ellison Bay, WI: A beautiful, pristine morning. We sat around outside in the morning reading and enjoying the sun and the warmth. Called the Sister Bay marina and got a reservation on one of their boat cruises. Called at 12:00 and they had a 1:00 cruise, so I made reservations for that and then scrambled to change clothes, eat something, and get there on time. We just made it and off we went. The boat was a 43 ft. cabin cruiser and the captain was an older woman. She was assisted by one mate who handled the lines and answered questions. We cruised out to the Sister Islands and then down to Ellison Bay and hugged the shoreline on the way back. Saw lots of caves in this rugged lake shore and also the largest house in Wisconsin—40,000 sq. ft. You can only see the chimneys from the water—it’s surrounded by deep woods. The only way to really see it is by air. The woman that owns the place is very reclusive and likes her privacy. Came back to the marina and checked into a sail we could go on. We’ll do that another day. Walked around Sister Bay for a while. Stopped at a little café and I had a root beer float and Mike had a soda. Back home and relaxed outside for a while and had a couple of cocktails. After a light dinner we watched a movie. Mid-80s today.

Someone built an office on their property that cantilevers out over the lake