Summertime, Summertime

Recently I took one of my annual summer driving trips north to visit my dear aunt, attend the opening of the yearly Miniature Show at the Paint Box Gallery, and hang out with my husband's sister and her husband.  I took an extra day and spent the night in Two Rivers so I could see sunrise over Lake Michigan, and thanks to a tremendous thunder storm was also treated to a rainbow out over the water.

These are just a few of the photos I took in an effort to bring home some of the beauty I saw during my rambles.

I do love summer in Wisconsin.

 

This was taken just before the storm hit the Manitowoc and Two Rivers area.  I wanted to see the old fishing village, but they were closing just as I arrived.  I was luckier with a lovely private garden, West of the Lake, which was rich in peonies, irises, and other perennial garden plants.

Every year I try to see something I've never seen before, so I took a short side trip to Mishicot, thinking to tour the schoolhouse historical museum, which turned out to be only open two days a week, and not the day I was there.  I also had my heart set on an antique shop/art gallery, but that was also closed when I rolled in town, and wouldn't open until a time I needed to be on the road.  The small town did have a covered bridge, closed to vehicular traffic, but open to bicycles and foot traffic, so the trip wasn't a total wash out.

I adore antique and resale shops, and couldn't resist the classic shape and delicious texture on this 1950s metal lawn chair in Kewaunee.

I've been visiting Algoma since I was a child, and find myself always drawn to the marina area where the fishing boats come and go all the time, though the old commercial fishing boats are mostly painted up and posed for the tourists to photograph.  The red lighthouse is a landmark I revisit every time I go through.

It had been decades since I visited Washington Island, back when my husband and I were first married.  And then we took over our bicycles and toured what I remember as mostly gravel roads.  This time I took the convertible, and covered lots more ground with much less physical effort.  I also visited Nelsens and joined the Bitters Club, something I had wanted to do for ages. This scene was shot at School House Beach, a lovely place with white stones instead of sand.

Luckily for me, I don't have any real schedules to adhere to, so I drive the most scenic routes I can.  This scene was taken at a wayside not far from Fond du Lac, and that's Lake Winnebago in the background.

The trip was fine, so fine I decided I'm returning later in the month for a workshop at The Clearing, in Ellison Bay, another place I have never been before.  I've been feeling guilty that the only art I've been doing is my weekly drive to  Whitewater for figure drawing, but I am hoping that the upcoming one day workshop on intuitive collage will get me going again.