We bid "Farewell!" to Kentucky following the Memorial Day weekend and headed northwards to our destination for the summer. As we've said in earlier blog entries, we have taken a workamping position in Baileys Harbor, Wisconsin. This small village is on the eastern side of the Door County Peninsula in east central Wisconsin, on the shores of Lake Michigan. We arrived after a couple of days on the road and settled in to our summer home. We have a nice level pad tucked away in a corner of the park. Behind us is a pasture where "happy cows" graze and contribute milk for Land O' Lakes dairy products.
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| The length of our daily commute... |
Upon arrival we met our boss, John Anderson, aka "Beans" (hence the unique campground name of Beantown). He had a list of projects he wanted to accomplish before the Fourth of July holiday. That is a contributing factor to why it has taken so long to post this entry! The campground occupancy is steady but not filled up until the Fourth. One of the first things that we did was get the pool opened and ready for swimmers.
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| "Before" shots of the pool |
As with any outdoor pool, over the winter dirt and debris collect in the bottom along with rain and snow melt. This all had to be cleaned out before the pool is filled. In addition, minor repairs were needed as a result of winters ravages. Some border tiles needed to be replaced and several spots needed to be re-grouted.
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| Cleaned up and ready for initial fill |
We had to work on the underwater lights a bit. Cleaned the lens and made sure that the seals were watertight. After getting most of the dirt and debris removed, we began to fill the pool. As it was filling, we installed the ladders and railings along with setting up the deck chairs. The pool water is heated so we made sure the heaters were in good working order and, once it was filled, we put the robot-vacuum to work. After roaming the bottom of the pool overnight, the pool was ready for swimmers! I had to make a quick fix on the gate latches and then put up the signs (rules, regulations, warnings, etc). It was time to open the gates and let the campers enjoy the pool.
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| Clean, pretty, and ready for action |
Meanwhile, we also cleaned and organized the community area inside the office building. Here, there is room for groups to gather, like RV rallies or family reunions. It's also a great place for campers to gather if it gets too dark or inclement outside.
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| Views of the Community Area |
One of the bigger projects involved painting the floor. A lot of it had been done when we arrived but one of our jobs was to finish it. Barb has spent a lot of time organizing and arranging things in the room and it really looks bright and inviting now. Brad also ran a propane gas line from the supply line to the kitchen. The campground owner recently acquired a new gas stove and we needed a supply of gas to get it working. A certified plumber has been scheduled to come out and make the appropriate connections now that the line is installed.
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| The Main Office |
When not cleaning and organizing, Barb can be found behind the desk in the Main Office getting arriving campers checked in and managing reservations for future stays.
We don't have to regularly mow the property, but we did spend time spraying the weeds in the mulch of the playground area. An ongoing job also includes killing weeds that are growing up in the campsite gravel pads. Barb also did some landscaping around the entry sign and planted some flowers that add some color (see picture at the top of this blog article).
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| View of some of the campsites as seen from the pool |
Brad has been involved in most of these activities and several more. There is some cosmetic sanding and painting of the showerhouse doors that is going on as time permits. Lots of projects have been crossed off the list, but several more remain. We are well ahead of schedule and anticipate having all of them (and then some) finished before the Fourth of July.
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| Shower House, Laundry Room, and Cabin Number 7 (all under the same roof) |
Its not all work and no play though. We received complementary tickets to the Peninsula Players Theater (
click here to link to their website) final dress rehearsal. This production, titled "The Actuary", is an original play and we were the first audience to see it performed. The theater has been the home to performances for 82 years in Door County. The theater is beautifully set in a garden setting on the shores of Lake Michigan. The sides of the auditorium can be raised or lowered depending on the weather. Thus you get an outdoor theater feeling but with a roof over your head!
Pictured above is the entrance to the theater. The sidewalls are slightly opened and the seating is just inside.
Another view of the theater, only from a ways down the walkway through some of the garden.
A little further down the trail sits the Beer Garden where a bonfire awaited lighting and you could sit on the shoreline and watch the sunset.
You can't tell much from here, but the dots on the water is a flock of male ducks who (just moments before) were sitting on the beach. They took to the waves as we approached. This is the small town of Fish Creek on the west side of the Peninsula.
Here on the Peninsula there are farms all around. Particularly fruit orchards, grape fields (supplying the Door County Winery among others), and dairy farms. Along with the raw materials, there are dozens of markets. Above gives you just one example of the quantity and variety of fruit jams, jellies, and preserves.
Along with food items, there are a myriad of small craft beer breweries. Just down the street from our campground is the Door County Brewery which produces several varieties of local brews. Above shows just a hint of the variety of selection available!
No trip to the Peninsula is complete without a stop at Al Johnson's Swedish Restaurant and Butik. We chronicled a trip to this restaurant last year when we passed through Egg Harbor. As you can see above, the roof of the restaurant is made of sod and several goats make their home there during the day (keeping things neat and trim). The meals for the humans are Scandinavian in nature and REALLY good! Click on the link and check out their website. You can even monitor the "Goat Cam" and see how they're doing.
Click here to go to Al Johnson's.
