So on the last post we had made it to Oshkosh at the end of May.    It took awhile to settle back in, and as we get older we are more confused about which pots and utensils are in which dwelling, and certainly which drawer or cabinet.    But we figured it out.   The cable company said we only needed a smart TV for the bedroom but neglected to say it could not be a Fire TV.  Because Spectrum and Amazon don’t get along and it took a new TV to fix that issue.  But now TV and Internet working well and Chris is happy.    It didn’t take too long to decide that we have owned this mattress in Oshkosh for too long,   and even though we are here for a somewhat short period it is not worth it on a bad mattress.   So new mattress to be delivered this week.   Other than that no issues to speak of.   The apartment maintenance team replaced a shower valve and a temperature control in the refrigerator, so that was easy for me!   

The good part of being back is catching up with old friends.   An afternoon at a winery, eating at favorite places,   Friday nights at our favorite pub.   Mark continues to let me brew with him, so we did an easy recipe Saison that turned out great.   We had some issues getting the yeast we wanted but worked that out and it turned out to style and we have had good reviews from all we shared it with.  I just finished a 2.5 gallon keg in Door County!   And we have plans for our next beer, to try and replicate one we did last year.   We also caught up with Jeff and Becky at Lion’s Tail and their Vienna Lager may be my favorite.

Then it was time to hit the road again, to the Detroit area to see MJ and John for her birthday and 4^th of July weekend.   As per usual we took the northern route through the UP and the big Mac; and this time stayed a night in Gaylord Michigan.  The ‘Alpine City’ of Michigan is a nice spot, and we actually made it a stop their both going and coming home.  We had a nice night out for MJ’s birthday, relaxed, and played some darts.   Brought out the old dart board that was moved to their house.

We arrived back in Oshkosh to have about a week to unpack and get ready for our usual Door County trip.  We had some quality time with friends before leaving and lots of packing.  When we headed north there was NO room left in the vehicle.  Mark brought me a keg of beer I forgot about, that took the very last (note to self-take less next year).  But we arrived with no problem (other than figuring out which sensors had to be turned off to back up with a bike rack on the back of the car).  MJ and Denise made it up to Door later in the day and we started our adventure. 

This was part foodie trip as everyone had places they wanted to make it back to while adding a few new restaurants.  The first week we included Christmas in July with our camping friends and our annual Spaghetti dinner in the park.   Both traditions go back many years.   We also had a grill out with friends Jeff and Donna and Jeff and Becky and Becky’s parents.   Surprising we could fit in meals at the Bayside Tavern, Mezzanine, One Barrel brewing, Stone Hedge golf (new owner and revamped bar), Hugel Haus, Northern Grill, The White Gull, Al Johnsons Bier Garden, Coyote Roadhouse, Parador,  Bad Moravian, and I am sure I missed one.   Oh and ice cream drinks at the English Inn.  There was a mixture of drinks involved, but we did get a fair amount of golf in for exercise.  I was lucky enough to have a few rounds with old friends and our group had a lot of rounds at Stone Hedge.  Jason, Denise’s fiancé, joined us near the end of the first week.    We had a number of nights of Sheepshead along the way which was a blast from the past.  Chris and I both grew up learning the game and playing with family and friends.  Jason has had culinary training and was interested in trying the restaurants.  He also took a golf lesson with Denise and we had a number of rounds together.  Included in our short term plans will be attending their wedding.

Also in August we will be at Milwaukee Irishfest.  Then shortly after Irishfest we are heading to Canada to visit more friends.  Then another visit with MJ and John our way back to Oshkosh.    By then we will already be in September and starting to think of the end of summer and a trip back to Florida!

Brew time

brothers Ebel  -Appleton

John dart form

Stone Hedge fairway

old friends Peninsula golf day

Stone Hedge ‘swing’ golf

Fish Creek double rainbow

cart buddies

Fish Creek sail

The Orchards golf, Pres and Jim

White Gull breakfast

Hatch distillery cocktail hour

Bad Morovian

Parador Tapas dinner