Stage 8: Goose Island to Sister Bay, WI

Sleeping along the Mississippi was quite peaceful (after the family turned down their singalong) and we woke up to a calm, bright day.

The Mississippi in the morning

 Our goal for the day was to reach Sister Bay, Wisconsin, a charming small town (turned summer vacation destination) at the end of a peninsula that juts out into Lake Michigan. Driving through Wisconsin, we took in more cornfields, more barn and silo combos, and an increasing number of Packers bumper stickers.

We did indeed pass through Green Bay and spoiled ourselves with a stop at A&W for a small lunch and a root beer float. We had successfully avoided fast food for most of the trip, so we figured we owed ourselves a small indulgence in this truly American pleasure.

After Green Bay, we made our way out onto the peninsula, which boasted vineyards, cheese tasting rooms (WI=America's Dairyland), a delightfully cool temperature and pride in the Scandinavian heritage of the place. We were on our way to visit Cliff and Jo Darken, MJ's grandparents. We had a great time talking with them, not only because MJ and I had pretty much only been chatting with one another for a week, but also because of the great stories they told about their own childhoods, raising their children, and living life in Sister Bay for a few decades.

They took us out to a great dinner at Joe Jo's pizza, which even the NY pizza-snob James thought was delicious. MJ, the dessert-snob, loved their chocolate gelato. The Darkens gave us a sense of small town life, greeting many of their friends at the restaurant, and even the cordial owner, who chatted with us at length.

After dinner we returned to their place for more laughs and good times: looking at family photos, marveling at Cliff's fantastic and accurate pencil-drawn portraits, and enjoying the warm company.

When we checked in at our campground at Peninsula State Park we were astounded by a few things: 1) the immense size of the park (we were campsite #548!) 2) the quality of the trails and sights and 3) the astonishing amount of Packers paraphernalia (camping chairs, flags flying from RVs, table cloths, you name it). In addition to being major Packers fans, the people of Wisconsin are also majorly active. We saw tons of folks out running, biking, and paddling. We could definitely see ourselves visiting this place again!