Gene's Witches and some of their Friends

It's just three weeks away!

His Madness and I visited our friends Laura and Gene yesterday and Gene was kind enough to let me take photos of the incredible witches and creatures that he creates for Halloween. I think he has really outdone himself this year!

Doesn't this guy look familiar?

Since they are all handmade they all have their own personalities.

This incredible tree belonged to Laura's mom.

I think one of Kibitz's buddies is inspecting the bag of skulls!

It seems like the Kitchen Witch (I'm calling her that because she is on display in the kitchen) is deep in thought. I wonder what's on her mind? Maybe turning Trump into a toad?

A lovely Madam Moon resides over a unique corner of the living room.

Love the crazy black cat, too!

This witch has managed to grow a pumpkin on a stalk. She must have an orange thumb.

A mirror full of skeletons - it's Halloween everywhere you look.

This lady is definitely ready to ride.

Thanks for stopping by, see you tomorrow!

Another Road Trip

Today we are on the road yet again to take care of business.

There's nothing like two cliches in one sentence. 

We have been traversing the state on I-94.

Driving down country roads, enjoying the autumnal colors.

Or looking for the dump.

Check out that pumpkin field in the distance, it's huge!

Meanwhile, back at home, Ivy is busy decorating,

Kibitz has come to realize that this isn't just a skull pillow but actually represents a ghost pumpkin carved in the likeness of a skull, probably Jack Skellington's.  Like that matters.  

And Burt is doing nothing, as usual.

Very soon I will have some fabulous Halloween decorations to share!

Is all of your Halloween decorating finished? Thanks for shopping by!

Road Trip - Washington Island

This is the final episode of our adventures on Washington Island and the Door Peninsula.

It was a fun trip and I hope to return again!

Washington Island is roughly five miles wide and six miles long so it didn't take too long to see the sights, although there were a lot of them. This was the view from our room at the Sunset Inn. It's a lovely place run by very nice people and it felt more like being at camp than in a hotel.  

The Jackson Harbor Maritime Museum looked a whole lot like my grandpa's shed.   

A restored Fisherman's Cottage is also part of the museum. Guess it paid pretty well if this was the wife's sewing machine. I need to find one of these (and I don't even like to sew)!

Lunch at the Le Petit Bistro at The Fragrant Isle Lavender Farm and Shop was considered briefly. Somehow, a burger and fries seemed more appealing than lavender-flavored croissants.  

Another unusual attraction is School House Beach, named after a log school house that overlooked the bay. Can you imagine how hard it much have been for those students to concentrate on their lessons? I'd be staring out of those windows instead and wouldn't have learned a thing, ha! 

It's on the Green Bay side, can't you tell?

The beach is actually made up of these smooth limestone rocks. They are a little hard to walk on but then again there's no sand to work it's way into your bathing suit! It's one of only five beaches like it on the entire planet!

We didn't escape indulging in the favorite island tradition, downing a shot of Angostura Bitters.

More bitters are consumed on Washington Island than anywhere else in the world. I wonder why?

Laura and Gene went first, then HM and I followed - this was definitely one of those "I'll try anything once" moments! It seems that Angostura Bitters were classified as a medicine during Prohibition even though the alcohol content is nearly 45%. The owner took advantage of the loophole in the law and managed to stay open all during Prohibition. That made Nelsen's Hall the longest, continually running tavern in the state and provided a unique indulgence for us gullible tourists.

We had a great time on Washington Island and came very close to meeting all 708 of the friendly locals! For such a small place we had a surprising number of unique experiences -  and we didn't even get to all of them! It wasn't particularly Halloweeny but shots of bitters are pretty scary!

Thanks for joining us on our adventure!

Road Trip - The Stavkirke on Washington Island

Eeek!!! Can it be the second week of October already?

In a constant drizzle, we lined up for the ferry that would take us to Washington Island via the treacherous Death's Door! Look at all those stickers on that car in front of us! Anyway, it was a smooth ride and only took about half an hour. 

So where did we go after checking into our hotel and having a few drinks? A church of course, this reproduction Stavkirke or Church of Staves, was built to reflect the immigrant influence on the island. It was constructed by hand, as a community effort and finished in 1995. Although it looks like something you might find in Middle Earth, it's actually based on one in Norway that dates from 1150 A.D. This one is owned and managed by the Trinity Lutheran Church across the road and is actually used for weddings and baptisms.   

The haunting exterior has an ominous presence. 

Until you open the door and the inside is automatically flooded with light, ha!

Honestly, it works just like opening a refrigerator door.

Doesn't this look like a door on a ship?

"Stav" is the norse word for the posts that make up the vertical structure in post and lintel construction. During medieval times, to prepare pine trees for use in building material, the trees were stripped of their branches and left to stand. The tree resins would bleed out through the branch cuts which caused the heartwood to become highly resinous. This made the wood more resistant to rot and decay and it is the reason there are so many of these structures still around hundreds of years later. Do you see the ship in this photo amongst all the stavs? It's a replica of a Mackinaw Boat. They were famous for their speed and used for fishing on Lake Michigan in the 1800's.

HM taking a pinhole photo through the front door.

The landscaping and bell tower were completed in 1999. It's towards the end of the growing season but these plants really go well with the surrounding woodland and medieval look of the stavkirke.   

If this looks familiar to you, it may be because you have seen a similar structure at Disney World in Orlando. The Norway pavilion in Epcot is also based on the same design. Maybe Elsa and Anna will stop by for a visit someday?  It was a fun place to explore but we had to get back to the hotel and warm up, between the rain and the chilly temps we were absolutely Frozen! 

Thanks for visiting!

Road Trip - The Door Peninsula

Last month HM and I, along with our friends, Laura and Gene, spent a couple of days exploring that funny part of our state that sticks up into Lake Michigan like a pinky finger at a tea party. It's officially refered to as the Door Peninsula because there's a strait between the very end of the peninsula and a group of small islands that the early French explorers labeled the Porte des Morts, the Door of Death. Now, it's just called Death's Door and the peninsula itself is referred to as Door County. It sounded so much more silly in French, too bad they changed it!     

It's easy enough to assume the name came from the many shipwrecks that have occurred in the strait. There are kayak tours you can take to see them! Then recently I read that the French explorers, who made the maps and therefore got to label everything, were actually referencing a massive loss of life suffered by the Ho Chunk and Potawatomi tribes. Whether it was caused by conflict, disease or natural disaster will probably remain a mystery.

Apart from all the death references there are lots of pretty place to hike, unless it's raining!

It is a long way down from the top of the bluff.

Postponing the hike, we headed for some brunch at Al Johnson's Swedish Restaurant and Butik. They actually have two Goat Cams where you can watch them grazing on the sod roof. They retire for the winter in mid October but take a look at aljohnsons.com during the day, they might still be around. 

So I had to order the pancakes with Door County cherries and sky high whipped cream with a side of Swedish meatballs. Hey, it's no stranger than Chicken and Waffles! 

I guess the probability of them falling off the roof is pretty slim.

The weather continued to be rotten so we opted for shopping instead of hiking and discovered this Christmas shop. The coleus seemed happy about the rain.

Inside were endless rooms of Christmas decorations but there was one small corner that was spooky.

HM found a hat . . .

. . . and I am still regretting not bringing everything on this shelf home with me!

I guess we will just have to go back soon.

Thanks for stopping by!