Corbin 2010

We left Door County, Wisconsin on June 26 after a pleasant week’s stay in our great wooded RV site at Tranquil Timbers Resort and the weather was just perfect. We took two days getting from Door County to Corbin, KY, stopping overnight (26 June) at the KOA in Remington, IN. Just twenty or so miles from where we stopped, we saw a state of the art 3,000 head dairy farm that offered tours to us city slickers. Just off I-65, it was an easy stop to make and provided quite interesting. We even got to see a new born calf and another being fed a specially screened colostrum (they hold off letting it feed on its mother's until after it's been screened for disease. You get to tour the "barns" via bus (so as not to commicate disease to the herd) and get to see their sand beds, their fans and misting system so as to ensure a "happy and stress free cow"...yep, they said that. We also got to see this elaborate milking system that keeps track of each cows production and knows whether or not she should get three spins around the milking machine or just one. And of course, we had to partake of the on site restaurant and ice cream parlor...yes, a very good stop indeed!
Well, ya'll, we are sorry to say our trip is just about over and we will be heading home on Friday the 9th of July. We just finished the family Donnahoo annual 4th of July get-together here in Corbin, KY (birthplace of Kentucky Fried Chicken) and as usual, it was a huge success. Terri, Debra's sister from Chicago had planned and fixed all the main meals and they were just outstanding. For an additional treat there was homemade fresh South Carolina peach ice cream that brought big smiles to everyone’s face!! The really hot weather held off until after the outing on the pontoon and ski boats on the lake just outside of Daniel Boone National Park. Most were pretty sunburned at the end of the day and had some sore legs from all the tries to stand on the skis and/or wake board. We have already made arrangements for one more annual get together here.
So friends, we hope you have enjoyed some of our special visits across this wonderful and beautiful country of ours and shared that experience through our words and pictures. I know we have enjoyed sharing them with you and simply can't wait for our next trip (I guarantee you...already in the planning stages)!

Door County, WI 19-26 Jun 2010

We departed our little KOA paradise in the Badlands the following morning, 18 June headed for Door County, WI, one of the top 10 vacation destinations in the country, "believe it or not". This would be a two day drive for us with the first stop was in Sioux Falls, SD where all we did was drive to a Middle Eastern “green” restaurant, Sanaa's Gourmet Mediterranean Restaurant. It was a treat as it was something new for us rather than our usual Indian cuisine. Sanaa is from Syria and it was quite a treat to see a restaurant, where you go straight to the buffet, sit down and eat with Sanaa herself offering Turkish coffee without one piece of paper being written on to indicate what you've eaten. It's a set price (extra if you want dessert and you KNOW we did! :-)) It's all on the honor system! After you've finished eating, you go back to the buffet and pay up. Neither of us could recall such an experience anywhere else in the States but in South Dakota and it felt oh soo good to know you could trust people like that! Anyway, another long day of driving on the 19th for our second stop in Oakdale, WI. Only interesting stop between Sioux Falls and Oakdale was the Spam Museum but alas, no stopping for us there...maybe next time :-). We left Door County, Wisconsin on June 26 after a pleasant week’s stay in our great wooded RV site at Tranquil Timbers Resort and the weather was just perfect. We made our home base in Sturgeon Bay, a historic waterfront community that dates back to 1835 and is nestled between the waters of Green Bay and Lake Michigan. When you look at these waters they go as far as you can see and looks more like an ocean than a lake! There was even a Sunset Beach on the peninsula! We toured most of the area especially following the lighthouse trail. The prevalence of lighthouses on the Door Peninsula is directly related to its geography and the use of the Lake Michigan and Green Bay shipping lanes. The passage through and around the “DOOR” was often treacherous due to weather, shoals, reefs and fog, so a number of these lighthouses were build around the peninsula to aid navigation into harbor, through the dangerous straits (i.e. Oceans Door), and away from the shoals. Most of them were manned by families living in the quarters below but are now run via electronics. Sturgeon Bay is home to one of the most well known yacht builders for global cliental as well as shipbuilding of large commercial vessels. There are many historic B&Bs and inns and larger full service resorts along the shorelines. Door County is 70 miles long with about 300 miles of shoreline with plenty of green space to include 10 historic lighthouses, 5 state parks and more than 30 beachside parks. So many outdoor activities to partake of such as hiking, biking, fishing, rock climbing, parasailing, kite boarding, and water skiing. Kayaking is very big here and with over 200 ship wrecks in the area, scuba diving is also quite popular. This is home to lots of professional artists of all types and you can see the fruits of all their labors in the many galleries, studios, on stage and in the local concert halls throughout the county. Of note is the shop Scrimshanders, displaying the unique art of scrimshaw which is kept alive by Gary Kiracofe who expands on the history through his exclusive, one-of-a-kind collectibles and heirlooms. The work he did was amazing and we saw lots of pieces that we would have liked to have for the home. There are five local wineries which have a wide variety of award winning wines, and of course the great Wisconsin cheese shops and cherries which are grown there. Their big thing they are also known for is their Door County Fish Boils which is a local culinary tradition with Scandinavian roots that dates back to the county’s lumbering and fishing heydays and mixes locally caught Lake Michigan whitefish steaks, onions, and potatoes in a large kettle. It is cooked outdoors over an open wood fire and is highlighted by a picturesque “boil over” which sends flames soaring into the air with the oil from the fish being boiled over and signals that the dinner is ready. The dessert is usually cherry pie made from their local grown cherries. Needless to say, being the fish lovers we aren't, we opted out of this culinary delight. There are more than 3,000 acres of cherry and apple orchards in Door County, which adds to the county's beauty. The majority of the inland parts of the county are made up of farm land and dairy farms. Of course, we sampled some of the local food and especially liked one of the historic inns in the village called the Inn at Cedar Crossing. They did all their dessert and bread baking from scratch using only natural ingredients. Yum, yum!! There are local culinary schools and every year there is a three week culinary tour of Door County during the month of September which is a celebration of farm and food. There is a strong blend of both Moravian spiritual values and Norwegian and Scandinavian heritage that dates back to 1853 here and no kidding, you can kinda feel the uniqueness and quaintness of it all. Where else would you see a thatch roof with real life goats grazing on it?! They even have a fully operational Drive Inn theater there! Toy Story 3 and the Prince of Persia was playing but alas, we figured it would be well past our bedtime and too far to drive back to our home base to experience this blast from our past. After our treks, we decided we liked the eastern part of the county best as it was less crowded and harkens back to a simpler time. As previously mentioned, Door County was touted as “One of the Top Ten Vacation Destinations in North America” by Money Magazine. We decided it was due to the fact that it was the main get-away for folks from Chicago and Milwaukee to escape the city life. There are lots of beautiful homes and cottages tucked away in the woods along the shorelines that you cannot see unless you are touring the shores via boat or just happen to come upon some of them as we did. We are glad we got to stop by here but glad we didn’t make a special long trip from home to visit…we decided we preferred the New England coast much more.