Madeline 2021 - First Trip: Muffins, Cigars, and More! (Monday)

Monday, June 28, 2021

I slept like a rock last night and woke up very slowly. Mondays are so much more tolerable when you don’t have to work. 

After Dale left for work and I finished breakfast I took a nice walk into town.

The morning was glorious with blue skies and fluffy clouds although we’re supposed to get a little rain by late morning. 

I picked up a muffin at Mission Hill Coffee but saved it for after I got home. Heavenly as always. 

Rain moved in around 11 a.m. so I read for a while and had lunch. I was hoping to do a cigar early afternoon so the rain was a drag. However, around 1:20 it subsided and the sun came out. I jumped at the chance to light up. 

Sadly, only part of the sky, the part visible from the window, was clear and there was a rain cloud right above me and it started to sprinkle. I couldn’t go inside so instead I grabbed Dale’s umbrella. Thankfully the rain didn’t turn to anything more than a sprinkle and it quit about 20 minutes later. 

Above is my view from under the umbrella I'm holding in the photo previous to this one. The storm was literally right over my head. 

After my cigar I thought I’d grab an Old Fashioned at the Beach Club. When I got there I found it to be closed having forgotten that they’re not open on Monday and Tuesday due to post pandemic issues. The Pub has limited hours as does Grandpa Tony’s and the Farm Table. Cafe Seiche isn’t even open except for take out on the weekend. My understand is that it’s mostly due to post pandemic staffing problems. 

Anyway, after my unsuccessful Beach Club run I noticed Grandpa Tony’s was open so I thought an ice cream cone could work instead of a cocktail. However, as I approached I realized the line was to the door and decided I didn’t want ice cream that badly. 

The candle shop was open so I got a couple of lilac scented ones. 

Dale and I took a nice walk when he got home from work. But when we got home he had to go back to work. One of the things we talked about on our walk is what a drag it is that he has to work so much up here. 

In other news, I saw these sleeping ducks when down by the lake earlier today. Very cute.

Madeline 2021 - First Trip: Walks, Cocktails, and More! (Friday)

Friday, June 25, 2021

Totally lazy day. Didn’t sleep well last night. So nice to wake up to Dale being around. Did lots reading today but also lots of walking. 

Got hungry around noon so I headed to Island Grocery to see if they had a sandwich but they didn’t so I stopped by Grandpa Tony’s and ordered a BLT to go. It was delicious. 

Lots more reading and walking this afternoon. I took a nap around 4 p.m. due to not sleeping well at all last night. 

Dale got home from work around 5 p.m. and we went to the Pub for dinner. Lots of the restaurants on the Island are open limited hours and seem to be trying to get their sea legs back after the pandemic. I ordered a brandy Old Fashioned but they made it with bourbon. I didn’t make waves due to them being short staffed and somewhat frazzled. 

We took a nice walk after dinner. The house pictured above has been in the remodeling stage since at least 2014. I usually refer to it as the red house since that’s what it used to look like (see picture below from 2014).

Otherwise not an exciting day but restful none-the-less. Also, it’s great having Dale around. We’d been separated for 3 weeks. 

Madeline Island June 2019 - Day 5: And Another Full Day

Saturday, June 29, 2019

Long lazy morning. Coffee on the porch with Dale. Emma slept in late but woke up shortly before Dale left for work. 

Emma is training for a marathon. She took a 6 mile training run today. I headed into town on foot. 

In town I picked up a couple of blueberry muffins from Marie at Mission Hill Coffee. Delicious as always. I ate both of them in one sitting and then walked back to the cabin to sit on the porch. Emma returned from her run after a bit and said the heat really got to her. I could only imagine. I thought it was pretty scorching in the direct sunlight on my outing and I was only walking!

Dale and I took Emma out to eat at the Beach Club tonight. I had a couple of Old Fashioneds of course. They couldn't drink because they had to work a dinner concert over on the mainland. 

When they left after dinner for the the ferry I headed over to Grandpa Tony's for some ice cream and walked home with it. 

Once back I sat on the porch, read, and watched the beautiful sunset. When Dale and Emma returned we sat for a bit on the porch and watched the fireflies.

Madeline Island June 2019 - Day 3: A Full Day

Thursday, June 27, 2019

Coffee on the porch with Dale and then some general putzing around after he left for work

Went in to town around 11:30. My first stop was a blueberry muffin from Marie at Mission Hill Coffee.

Second stop was a Bloody Mary at the Beach Club. I noticed the guy adjacent to me at the bar salting his beer. I've never seen that done before. When the man left I asked the bartender about it who said that, yes, people do indeed salt their beer. The woman next to me said she had never heard of this either. I asked the bartender why folks might do this. He said he wasn't sure but that he noticed it tends to happen more often when people drink light beer. I googled it and told the bartender that the top answer had to do with killing the taste of bad beer. Other answers included keeping it from bubbling too much and also the replenishing of salt by people drinking beer in pubs after hard manual labor. Hmmm. Now we know.

After the Beach Club I was off to Grandpa Tony's for a Hawaiian pizza. 

Next stop was Madeline Island Candles where I picked up a couple of vanilla candles and a pumpkin one for fall. Finally, before heading home, a stop at the Island Store for more broccoli. Dale and I ate it tonight with chili left over from last night. 

Watched round 2 of the Democratic debates on Dale's iPad after dinner was all cleaned up. Kamala and Pete were awesome. 

Madeline Island June 2019 - Day 2: Around Town

Wednesday, June 26, 2019

Not sure who made this moose but he's pretty cool.

Grandpa Tony's. I always dream of seeing a bear up here but never do. This will be the closest I get this year.

Tom's Burned Down

Cool car.

More moose.

Rubber ducky, you're the one...

Island 2018 - Second Trip Fourth Day: Grandpa Tony's

Wednesday, July 11, 2018

Went to Grandpa Tony's for lunch. I got the BLT. I love the bread they use which is made on site.

Sat inside as opposed to the rooftop. Nice view of the lake which looked pretty despite the lack of sun.

Island 2017 - 3rd Trip 2nd Day: Bayfield

Saturday, July 22, 2017

Warren made a delicious dinner last night of steaks on the grill, cole slaw, potatoes, corn on the cob, and more.

This morning we headed over to Mission Hill to get blueberry muffins and coffee. 

Roxanne's in Bayfield

At around 10:30 a.m. we took the ferry over to Bayfield to clomp around. We did some shopping and also stopped at The Candy Shoppe to pick up the blueberry wine bread that Warren and Gary ordered yesterday.

Maggie's

Lunch at Maggie's where I, of course, started out with and Old Fashioned. 

Old Fashioned

Once back on Madeline we all took naps.  After that Gary headed over to the concert with Dale while Warren and I ordered pizza from Grandpa Tony's and picked it up (I had one more Old Fashioned at the Beach Club and Warren had a rum punch while we waited for the pizza). When Dale and Gary returned we ate the pizza while watching The Crown. Blueberry wine bread for dessert.