Wednesday, May 6, 2015

My first trip to Door County

Wisconsinites love talking about Door County. It's a popular vacation spot known for beautiful scenery, an abundance of cherries, and an infamous Swedish restaurant with goats on its roof.

In honor of my 28th birthday on April 13th, Melissa and I decided to have our first Door County experience. Being there in the off season meant that some businesses were closed and the goats weren't on the roof yet (bummer!), but it also meant no traffic and an amazing deal on a room at the Edgewater Resort in Ephraim, which had this amazing view (as always, please click the photos for a larger view):


We spent Saturday exploring Peninsula State Park, which offered up some great photo ops:





And after a day of exploration, Sunday was all about horses (avid blog readers will note that I love barnyard animals). 

We made an appointment for a trail ride with Kurtz Corral.

Super cute barn!
Melissa is an experienced rider, while I'm a total rookie (unless the ponies at my 5th birthday party count). Because of our different experience levels, Melissa rode a vibrant young horse and I rode an apathetic, middle-aged horse.

Melissa's horse, Shadow.

My horse, Goldilocks.
Climbing on top of Goldilocks was a challenge, but I made it!

Goldilocks was very patient.
Ready to go!
We hit the trail with our guide, Kayla.

Goldilocks preferred to stay at the back of the group.
I really wanted video documentation of the event. We got a short video in before Goldilocks staged a small protest.


We got back on track and had a great trail ride, despite getting whacked in the face with a few branches (ah, nature). We made it back to the barn and gave our horses lots of treats.

Goldilocks LOVED her treats.
The horses were great, but my favorite part of Door County was the gorgeous sunset:

Perfection!
We will definitely return to see the goats, as well as all the businesses that don't open until May. Until next time, Door County!