Ella At The Wheel: 2012.

 

 

Earlier this month, we packed up the car for a long road trip to Wisconsin. We made this trek two years ago. It is worth the look back at that 2010 road trip to see not only the changes in our girl, but the little friends she met back then. Wow!

 

 

 

 

Our arrival to Door County was timed perfectly to coincide with our talented friends The Birds of Chicago and JT and The Clouds' performance at Fish Stock. I don't know that I can fully explain how cool this place is. I believe we tried to convey this back in 2010, too. And even though our girl has a low tolerance for loud noises, her ability to soak up live music amazes us. Before it was over, we were in a sea of people on the dance floor - Ella on my hip bouncing up and down, eyes transfixed on the stage. She was in her own, happy little world. To heck with volume control!

 

 

 

 

Ella and our friends' kids had a blast exploring the grounds. Within moments of reuniting with this little guy, Ettan, I was a fool for him and he knew it. All three of us got pretty caught up in his sweet spirit. Funniest part was trying to convince Ella that Ettan was a boy. I mean, look at that pretty face! She caught on...eventually.

 

 

Eleanor marched to her own beat, often quietly, where Ella and Ettan couldn't stop talking to save their lives. But she is a doll and has grown from that barely-any-hair-infant we met two years ago.

 

 

Eleanor and Ettan's Mama, Ami.

 

The whole lot of us picked up stakes and hopped the ferry to Washington Island for the balance of our vacation.

 

The extended Lindsay family and friends stay here, there, everywhere on the Island. We all do our own thing, migrate to School House Beach, and eventually make our way to the Lindsay compound for evenings. I'll let the photos speak for themselves.

 

 

 

The Lindsay Porch. Ground Zero of lively discussions, music, laughter, reading.

 

Ella loved the porch, too. But there was a swing. Story over.

Much to our delight, the Island has a petting zoo. Every Island needs a peacock...

...and him, whatever him is. No fear, we pet neither of these and stuck to the goats and little pigs.

The trek back to Ella-land was a bit brutal. GPS tells you about a 10 hour drive and 14 hours later (with potty breaks, re-fueling the car and our bodies) you roll into your driveway tattered and torn. We are very happy we got to reconnect with this part of our world. It was a wonderful get-away for this little three-some.

~H