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I’ve mentioned before that we try to make it up to Door County once a year, usually in early September, to celebrate our anniversary. Since we got married there, Door County holds a pretty special place in our hearts. Like attending the home opener Packer game with Kate and Tim, celebrating our anniversary in Door County has become an annual tradition we very much look forward to every year. We tend to hit up the same places every year, obviously because they’re tasty and/or beautiful and we love them. But we’re also making it a point to branch out a little bit every year and try something, or several somethings, new each time we go. I love comfort just as much as I love adventure, and Door County is a perfect place to enjoy both.

We I started the day off in the best way possible – with a relaxing upper body, back, neck, shoulder, and scalp massage at the Lavender Spa in Fish Creek. I booked a massage there on the day before our wedding and it was the most relaxing 30 minutes of my entire life. I’ve had other massages at other places before, but they’ve never been nearly as enjoyable or effective. Door County is the only place I’ll plunk down my hard-earned (or in this case, generously gifted, for my birthday) cash for a massage…because I can truly relax and enjoy it in Door County. Needless to say, it was pretty much the most perfect way to start our day! I’d highly recommend it for anyone and everyone…peaceful music, soft lighting, heated beds, plush blankets, calming lavender and mint scents, a gorgeous country atmosphere, and a great massage…unbeatable! While I massaged, Ted headed to Orchard Country winery for some fresh cheese curds…obviously, the man was suffering.

Post-massage, we hopped in the convertible and headed up to Sister Bay for some delicious brunch eats at Al Johnsons “Goats on the Roof.” We, of course, saw my beloved goats munching grass on the roof. I, of course, loaded up on my annual whip cream with a side of hot chocolate beverage masterpiece. Ted got our annual and their traditional Swedish crepes with fresh lingonberries, and I ordered my annual plate of Swedish meatballs but branched out this time and opted for homemade split pea soup instead of the Swedish crepes. All was delicious. Love those lingonberries. Love those goats!

Following brunch we took in a leisurely game of mini golf (and some fall leaves!) at Pirates Cove mini-golf. This is a really fun course. A few hole-in-ones made for a pretty great game of mini golf.

We stopped for fresh berry gelato at Jo Joe’s in Ephraim (where we took family and friends for a fun pizza & gelato luncheon the day after our wedding), saw a sweet car for sale in a pretty smashing color (Ted loves this car – the Triumph – it’s one of his dream cars), stopped by Ted’s telephone booth on the tip of the Door peninsula to say our yearly hello, dropped in to check out Uncle Tom’s Candy Store in Ellison Bay for the first time though we’ve passed the sign for it for three years now (an excellent place, btw! Absolutely delicious homemade-by-mamma treats…totally recommended!), sat on a small beachside pier for a while just enjoying the water, waves, beach and scenery, browsed a few of our favorite shops in Fish Creek to see what was new, I got a mammoth mega chocolate peanut butter cup at the fudge shop (it was epic. I only get one a year for a reason….but it’s so good!), and we went wine tasting and cherry tasting at the winery we got our wedding wines from. Of course, we made good use of our sky blue classic Oldsmobile Cutlass convertible and drove with the top down.

For dinner, though we adore The Cookery, Summertime and a slew of other local Door County eateries and we’re always anxious to hit them up every year, we decided to try Trio in Egg Harbor instead. Trio was the restaurant my cousin Tammy, who passed away earlier this year, tried when she and my Aunt Penny came up to Door County for our wedding two years ago. Tammy loved Trio. She said it had some of the best food she’d ever eaten. The last time we came to Chicago to visit with Tammy a few months before she died, she mentioned that if she could have one last meal, it would be at Trio. With a recommendation like that, how could we go elsewhere? After Tammy died, Ted and I vowed that the next time we visited Door County, we’d dine at Trio, in memory of Tammy and to celebrate her life at a place she loved. It also happened to be the dinner we treated ourselves to in celebration of our two year wedding anniversary. The verdict? Totally fantastic.

The food is European – mostly German, French and Italian – with a country twist. Gourmet comfort food, if you will. Our waitress was phenomenal (seriously one of the best we’ve ever had anywhere), the atmosphere was cozy and beautiful, and the food was divine. To keep the menu fresh, Trio changes up their menu with new gourmet offerings every five weeks. Already full of wine from our wine tasting we opted to skip the booze and instead split an appetizer of perfectly seasoned, thick fried calamari with lemon and marinara. Ted tried to duck confit on a bed of braised red cabbage and I ordered the cassoulet toulusain, a white bean cassoulet with duck, lamb, and garlic sausage. Both were savory and incredibly delicious. For dessert Ted had a mixed fresh-berry crisp and I had a key lime torte with homemade raspberry syrup. It was a wonderful way to celebrate both Tammy and our anniversary. Tammy’s got great taste!

After dinner we parked ourselves at Peninsula Players, one of Door County’s most renowned professional theatre companies (LORT B I think?) located in the woods of Peninsula State Park and right on the water, for a performance of Lombardi, a great and humorous play about the legendary Vince Lombardi when he was the coach of the Green Bay Packers during the 1960s. It was a truly great story told with lots of love and passion and humor by characters you don’t want to let go of at the end of the play. After the show we strolled through the woods surrounding the theatre and enjoyed the warm, flaming bonfire they’d lit by the bay before we drove back to Green Bay.

As always, an incredible day in the Door peninsula!