Hearts in Hawai'i
Our Trip to Door County (2023)--Day 1
5/20/2023
A Few Last Minute Details
I drove Kimo and Kona up to what would be their home for the next eight days on Friday morning. That accomplished and with most of the packing already done--I would be using the 29" bag too big to be carried on a plane while Patty would be using two smaller bags--we relaxed throughout the day. It was certainly strange not having one or two dogs following us around the house all day, but necessary because we wanted to focus on making sure everything we needed to wanted to bring was in the car by our Saturday morning departure. Patty and I have been making trips since our wedding 27 years ago and we've become quite adept at making lists and following those lists.
And We're Off!
We hit the road by 8 a.m. after checking and rechecking my list so many times—now it was time to get to our destination at the Newport Resort in Egg Harbor! The trip was a long one and we didn’t arrive until after 3:30 that afternoon.
Traffic was light throughout, even in Green Bay, especially so once we got to Door County. The seasonal rush to this county is still a week away. There were only a couple traffic slowdowns due to construction, most notably on U.S. 53 south of Superior which went on for about 10-15 miles and reduced the normal 65-70 speed limit to 55. Even in that stretch, there weren’t any slow idiots ahead of us slowing us down even more. Road conditions were nearly perfect.
Conditions remained outstanding when we hit Wisconsin 29 east out of Eau Claire, and stayed that way through the rest of this nearly 400 mile trip. Navigating I-41 and I-43 in Green Bay was a breeze thanks to Siri! We had divided highways the entire way until we got to Sturgeon Bay but the two lane road after that still featured very light traffic. All in all, this was a very pleasurable drive.
I had been a bit apprehensive about using my Corolla on what would be the longest drive we’d taken since 1996, but the mechanic at Jiffy Lube didn’t see any reason to use a rental car. This saved us over $650 including the Collision Damage Waiver! Besides the money savings, there was comfort in driving a car I knew quite well.
Restrooms at Kwik Trips are amazing! The one was stopped at in Abbotsford has six stalls; when I left the bathroom I told the cashiers ‘Man, you guys have the Xanadu of restrooms here!”. Not only this, but they had three showers where you could get cleaned up for just $8. Other places, the lady told me, charged around $20. I had no reason not to believe her on this point.
Lunch at Culvers in Wausau was a much needed nutrition and rest break for us. I was getting a bit tired by this point but was able to push on to our final destination after this.
Before getting to the Newport, we found Main Street Market just a few blocks away so Patty picked up some milk for me and ice cream for her.
Arriving at the Newport Resort, check-in was pretty much a breeze, except for one point—our credit card rejected! I have no idea why because our card subsequently worked at other places, but the problem was solved by pulling out my personal credit card.
The front desk dude was friendly but of little help when we asked him what boat cruises were available “Well, it’s all online” was all he could offer. There was supposed to be a concierge at this resort, but it’s possible they only worked on weekdays, and we didn’t see a spot where such a disk existed anyway.
With the check-in complete, we got a cart and hauled our belongings up to our room. This took two trips as we had brought a lot of stuff!
Our room was on the second (top) floor where all the Deluxe rooms are. Even numbered rooms appeared to be the one-bedroom suites and faced the parking lot. Odd numbered rooms were the two-bedroom suites and faced the backside pool area with what seemed like nicer views.
When you enter the room, the kitchen is just off to the left, the dining area past that and the living room takes up the majority of this open area. There is a door just to the right which leads to the bathroom with a shower/hot tub combination (didn’t get the chance to try the tub), counter and drawers, mirror and toilet. Linens were plentiful and you could exchange them for a fresh set by leaving them outside the room in a supplied laundry basket. Daily housekeeping is contactless due to COVID-19. So we’d have to make our own beds; not a big deal—in fact, not even a minor one. We actually prefer housekeeping not having access to our room each day. A second door connects the bedroom to the bathroom. In the living room, a door leads out onto a smallish balcony with a table and four chairs. We made no use of this throughout our stay.
The room was really nice! Two minor quibbles. First, lack of a DVD player and no Netflix or Youtube available on the TV. Second, there was a lack of closet space on which to hang shirts. There were plenty of hangers but certainly a lack of closet space in which to hang them.
The bathroom had plenty of counter space for toiletries. The kitchen was well appointed including a full-size refrigerator with an ice maker (not a dispenser), microwave, toaster, 10-cup coffee pot, and a stove--plenty of cups, glasses and plates. Free coffee was supplied for the asking. There was sufficient dresser drawer space, a nice sofa (didn’t recline), two chairs (also didn’t recline), a nice size dining room table with four chairs, a patio and a very comfortable bed. Overall, this room was great considering what we paid and it was on the top floor of a two-story resort. We were quite happy with our selection.
There was also a free coffee maker which made three different strengths of coffee near the registration desk.
Our living room at the Newport Resort
Dining area
Kitchen
After settling in, we drove over to the Pizza Bros across the street from the Main Street Market and had one of the best wood fired pizzas we’ve ever tasted. Service here is limited—you have to order at the counter, wait for your pizza and then pick up at the same counter. But the quality offsets these minor deficiencies in service.
PB Supreme Pizza at Pizza Bros
Leftovers brought back to the Resort would make an excellent lunch on Monday. We settled in and finished the evening off watching TV. This was a very good first day!
Previous: 5/19/2023--Our Trip to Door County (2023)--Prologue
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