Madeline Island 2022 - Got In a Lot of Great Stuff Today

Friday, July 29, 2022

Slept pretty deeply last night. Coffee on the porch with Dale. 

Worked a lot on genealogy stuff while Dale went to work. 

Susan and Bruce are having us over for dinner at their place tonight so we decided to pick up some wine at Lori's. Turns out they're closed for a few days due to some staffing issues which continues to be a problem in the post-lockdown world. Dale says it's too bad as Lori's has been better stocked than the Island Store this season. 

Anyway we went to the Island Store (which was pretty busy due to Lori's being closed) and picked up some wine. 

We also went to the candle store to pick up some gifts for Mom and Warren who are watching Sylvester back home. 

After dropping our purchases off at the car we went to the Beach Club for lunch. We both got fish sandwiches. Dale got grilled white fish for his and I got fried trout for mine. So delicious. Oh, and I got an old fashioned too. 

After lunch we stopped at Mission Hill Coffee to get some of Marie's most marvelous blueberry muffins. So delicious. 

After we got home we decided to take a walk on the Capser Trail. Dale's only been walking it for the past couple years although he's been aware of it for longer. This was my first time. We both found ourselves asking why we hadn't taken advantage of it sooner. 

To walk it is about a two mile round trip. 

It's one thing to be walking or driving "in" the woods on a wide highway but it's another to walk through on a narrow path and be completely surrounded by the forest. 

It was so incredibly beautiful. 

There's a turn-off on the trail where you can access a boardwalk that goes through a marsh.

Again, just beautiful.

This sign tells the story of the massive beaver dams that used to be there.

On the return trip to the car we ran into a couple of Islanders sitting on a bench and said hello. They asked if we had seen the little mini village of castles that someone is mysteriously building. We informed them we hadn't so they told us where the turn-off for it is in the path at the other end of the trail. We told them we'd be sure to look for it next time. 

Dinner tonight at Susan and Bruce's. Dale's been to their place before but it was the first time for me. It's beautiful and the view from their deck is incredible. 

Dale and Susan had a chance to catch up on some work related stuff. Susan and Bruce were very curious to know how my school year ended up. I told them how hard the extended year due to the strike was on teachers, families, and students. Their interest and concern were touching. 

Anyway, it had been a work day for Susan and she had worked until five when she threw together a whitefish and lettuce salad which was absolutely DIVINE. It was so delicious and what made it even more impressive is that we arrived at 6:00 and that she improvised and made up the recipe as she went along. 

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. 

Island 2017 - 3rd Trip Day 1: An Old Fashioned Happy Hour

Friday, July 21, 2017

Warren, Gary, and I made good time to Madeline arriving around 5 p.m. Just in time for happy hour. We walked over to the Beach Club. I had and Old Fashioned, Warren had a rum punch, and Dale and Gary had wine. It was nice to see an extra twinkle in Dale's eyes which suggests to me it's sinking in he'll be coming home in a couple days. 

Island 2017 - 3rd Trip Day 1: The Drive In Restaurant

Friday, July 21, 2017

Warren and Gary picked me up around noon to head up to Madeline. On the way, we stopped at The Drive In Restaurant in Grantsburg, Wisconsin for lunch. Yes, the name of the drive in restaurant is The Drive In Restaurant. The decor is 1950s and the food very good. I had a cheeseburger and fries. Warren and I each ordered a root beer float. My understanding is they make their root beer on site. It's pretty awesome. 

I've been driving by their giant root beer mug for years so it was fun to finally stop and check the place out. 

Island 2015 - Fall Trip: Packin' Up

Thursday, October 15, 2015

I've been looking forward to this road trip we're taking with Warren and Gary for a while now. The idea of it has gotten me through some tough weeks of work. I've never been to Madeline Island outside of June or July so I'm looking forward to seeing it in autumn. And no, there were not tons of drugs involved. Only some gin martinis.

Island 2015 - Warren's Dinner

Thursday, October 15, 2015

Warren made a great Mexican themed dinner. Quesadillas, casserole, and rice. Delicious.

Island 2015 - Fall Trip: Heading to the Ferry

Friday, October 16, 2015

After lunch we headed to the ferry.

Island Trip - Fall 2015: Bayfield

Friday, October 16, 2015

After arriving in Bayfield we headed to The Candy Shoppe so Warren could order some wine bread for Gary and him to  pick up on their way home tomorrow.

Island 2015 - Fall Trip: Summary

Sunday, October 18, 2015

Treehouse 2 had a little journal for guests to write in so I left a summary of our weekend.

Madeline Island 2015: Second Trip Day 3 - Last Day

Saturday, July 11, 2015

Coffee with Dale on the porch this morning. After he went to work Warren and I headed to Mission Hill for coffee. I had not one but 2 blueberry muffins. I got Warren on the 10:30 ferry. I headed to the Beach Club for old-fashioneds and lunch (fish sandwich). Walked over to Grandpa Tony's for a chocolate peanut butter swirl ice cream cone. Dale and I packed and had frozen pizza for dinner. Not exciting, yet a very restful day. 

Madeline Island 2015: Second Trip Day 2 - July 10th

Friday, July 10, 2015

Very fun day. Very, very, very, fun day. Warren and I headed over to Bayfield around 10:00 a.m. and managed to hit each and every fabulous store on the main drag. We started at Big Water Coffee Roasters and got some lattes. I stopped in Roxanne's and got a couple of Christmas tchotchkes. I told the owner I collect certain items and that I have enough of them now that they have to be pretty special for me to pick up any more. She said she was honored and wished me a Merry Christmas when I left the store. She's such a lovely proprietress.

Warren was dying to try some wine bread from the Candy Shoppe. We stopped in to see if he could pick one up but they told us they were out for the day. However, they said he was welcome to order one for tomorrow. He chose blueberry for a filling and said he'd pick it up tomorrow on his trip home.

We had talked about going to The Pub for dinner tonight but Warren decided he'd like to cook for us tonight. We stopped by Andy's IGA and he found some ribs he thought would be nice to grill. We figured we'd pick them up before hopping the ferry back to La Pointe. Next we set out to hunt for a rub for the ribs and found a nice one at Sweet Sailing.

Warren thought it might be fun to drive to Ashland and I was willing to indulge him in that. When we got to Washburn he referred to it as Ashland. I informed him of where we actually were but he still thought it would be fun to check out Ashland so we drove a bit further to see it. I hadn't been for a while and was pleasantly surprised at how charming the main drag is. We stopped in some shops including a bulk foods place and a co-op Warren really liked. We then had lunch at a place called Buddies that had a 50s malt shop vibe. The food was delicious. I had a BLT with more bacon on it than I've ever seen on a BLT. The waitress made sure we had plenty of ranch dressing for our fries. I guess that's a thing up here. 

We headed back to Washburn to check out a couple of thrift shops. On on the edge of town had a really cool relish tray that Warren ended up buying.

Back in Bayfield we picked up the groceries and then hopped the ferry to La Pointe. The dinner Warren made tonight was fabulous.

Madeline Island 2015: Second Trip Day 1 - July 9th

Thursday, July 9, 2015

Warren and I caravanned up here today. Dale's going to drive home with me on Sunday. Warren needs to leave Saturday. That's why we drove separately.

We stopped for a late lunch at the Riverstreet Family Restaurant in Spooner, WI. We then made a stope at The Dock Coffee which is just next door. We both got lattes but I got a big piece of Oreo crunch fudge. It was quite awesome. I let Warren have a bite. It was the least I could do.

We stopped again in Washburn at the IGA for appetizers for tonight.

We made it onto the Island by 7:30 p.m. Dale wasn't back from work yet so Warren and I headed over to the Beach Club for cocktails. I had a brandy old-fashioned and Warren had bourbon on the rocks.

Dale Joined us for a drink but then we headed home. Dale grilled brats - first time this summer we've had 'em.

Third Visit 2012 Day 3 - Gary and Warren Depart

Gary and Warren left this morning. As always, they were really great guests.

Third Visit 2012 Day 2 - Pizza from Grandpa Tony's

After a long, hot, yet very enjoyable day in Bayfield, we decided to eat in. Warren, Gary, and I went to Grandpa Tony's for pizza to bring home and timed it for when Dale got back from work. Yum - all I can say is yum.

Third Visit 2012 Day 2 - Tommy's

Gary and Warren were curious to see what Tommy's Burned Down Bar was all about so we hit happy hour after returning from Bayfield.  I don't think I've been since about 2005. The gin and tonics were great and the atmosphere, as always, was amusing.  Dale couldn't join us as he had to work.