Door County Camping
I spent the past weekend camping with a group of six friends at Peninsula State Park in Door County. As I’ve mentioned previously, I grew up camping there with my family. Door County continues to be one of my very favorite places to spend a summer or fall weekend. The area offers the perfect balance of the great outdoors with great dining and shopping. What can I say, I need a little bit of both. 
I took the day off of work on Friday and made the drive with two of my friends. We took the scenic route along Lake Michigan, and enjoyed the great views from the port cities along the way. Upon arriving at the park, we set up camp and headed out on a bike ride to the beach. By the time we made it back to the site an hour our two later, our other friends had arrived and we enjoyed a delicious camp dinner—foil packets with potatoes, sausage, onions, peppers, and brussel spouts. After several rounds of competitive Banagrams by the light of our headlamps, we retired to our tents for the night. 
Saturday was filled with more adventures. I woke up early to get in a short run along the lake with one of my friends. We arrived back to camp just as our other friends were beginning to emerge from their tents. After a quick camp breakfast, we hopped in our cars to head to the Cana Island Lighthouse. There, we took a tour of the grounds and climbed the daunting spiral staircase all the way to top. The views of Lake Michigan were incredible. We pondered what life must have been like back in the day for the families of lighthouse keepers. It was fun to learn more about the trials and tribulations such families faced.
After our informative lighthouse visit, we drove the peninsula and took in a few shops and boutiques. We stopped for ice cream at Wilson’s and then headed back to camp for lunch. Back at the park, we ventured out on our bikes for another trip to the beach. After some nice time in the sun and requisite lake baths, we got ready for our night out in the big city. We had reservations for a fish boil at the White Gull Inn at 7pm. I’ve been to a few fish boils at the White Gull Inn over the years, but the experience never gets old. I love the whole production of cooking the Michigan white fish in a big cauldron of water, and the giant flame and boil over that erupt as the master boiler throws kerosene at the fire. We drank beers as we watched the show from the patio. Once the food was ready, we headed in for a buffet dinner of white fish, potatoes, bread, coleslaw, and fresh cherry pie. Afterward, I was so stuffed I could barely move. 
The next morning we did a group run together. It was great to further explore the roads and trails of the park. After breakfast and packing up camp, our time together sadly came to an end. We parted ways and headed home. But luckily, I’ll be back soon. I have a fall camping trip scheduled in Door County in early October. One thing’s for certain—I’ll never tire of long weekends in Door County.







To say that I am obsessed with 
Yesterday my parents and I took a roadtrip to Hilo, which is on the opposite (east) side of the island from Kona (and a 2.5 hour drive). The trip really put into perspective the wide range of ecosystems on the island of Hawaii. For example, Kona is mostly made up of dry and barren lava fields. In contrast, the Hilo area features luscious vegetation—including majestic rain forests and water falls that are the result of 130 inches of rain each year.

So this past weekend I entered a pie eating contest. What was I thinking? Seriously, I don’t know. When I was much younger, like probably ten, I entered a few pie eating contests during summer festivals in Rockford, the town where I grew up. Not only did I do well during the contests, I usually won. I could take down a whole pie in a matter of minutes. I was always the proud kid taking home the grand prize—I seem to remember baseball tickets and my pick of several CD’s from the local radio station. Clearly, I’ve been quite the eater (and competitor) my whole life.


Last weekend I traveled to 
And thankfully, that was sort of it for the weekend rain.






This past weekend I celebrated another birthday. Compared to last year’s surprise party, this year was relatively uneventful. Not that I’m complaining—I knew I needed to get in solid training miles, and beyond that, all I wanted to do was relax (and eat). So I spent the weekend with my friend Karen at my family’s cabin located on a small lake in Northern Wisconsin, inbetweeen the towns of Minocqua and Rhinelander.








