Door County Chronicles

My trip to Door County was quite an experience. Driving out from Green Bay, I saw cows right out of central casting munching contentedly in verdant pastures. Views of the bay were so lovely at times that it was hard to stay on the road. The resort sat up on a high bluff above the bay and my room had bay views in three directions. I could watch the sun set without leaving the room. I could also chose to sit on my balcony or on the deck on the swimming pool adjacent to my room.

The humor in psychotherapy course was a hoot as expected. The group meshed well and the ice was quickly broken with some improv warm up exercises such as "bunny, bunny, bunny" and "Kitty wants a corner". We played a lot of games and by the end of the day we knew one another's names and were comfortable with each another. In the evening a group of us went to see "Belgians in Heaven" at an amphitheatre set in a grove of hemlock trees deep inside Peninsula State Park. The musical was written by our course leaders who also had parts in the show. One originated the role of Mildred the chicken.

It was a fun evening which ended abruptly when I got a call from my better half informing me that our son was in the hospital with a blood clot in his lung. I called son who was mostly in pain but otherwise okay. He was griping a lot about the hospital's non-smoking policy. He had to wait until he received his doctor's order to smoke. That did come about much to his relief. Anyway I was in a big muddle not knowing whether to stay put or to run to my son's bedside. I decided to wait until morning and hopefully with more tests things would be clearer. Well, as day two progressed it seemed that there was less and less likelihood of a blood clot. Second and third opinions of the CT scan plus more studies did not support the original diagnosis. Finally another CT scan was done with a bigger better machine and to our great relief, no blood clot. The flank pain was attributed to pleurisy. Three days of antibiotics have since taken care of that.

In the midst of this I came down with a cold and strained one of my quads doing a silly walk during one of my improv exercises. The old bod screamed rest and recover. I headed up the coast to a spa and had a massage. The dear massage therapist worked wonders on my painful thigh. Later I took full advantage of the pool near my room. I couldn't remember the last time I'd been swimming and it felt wonderful.

My energy level was low throughout the week so I didn't much shoppping or eating out. I did take a sail out on Green Bay one afternoon which was delightful even with very little wind. I also explored Fish Creek, Ephraim and Sister Bay..towns on the road north out of Egg Harbor along the bay side of the peninsula. Zoning regulations have prevented chain stores and restaurants from invading the north part of Door County. Imagine going a week without seeing any golden arches, Starbucks or WalMart. Their absence gives the area an old fashioned quality and each community has it's own unique restaurants and stores. It is a wonderful vacation spot and I do hope to have the opportunity to go again... this time with my hubby and in better health. And I vow from henceforth to moderate my silly walk. But I did get introduced to cheese curds. I was told that the ones which squeak were best. I am happy to report that the curds I sampled did indeed squeak. Local cherries and raspberries were in season and I can vouch for the excellence of both local treats. Life is good!