An Apostle Islands Adventure
Vacations are probably the best thing ever invented. Actually, vacations without kids are probably the best thing ever invented. Don’t get me wrong, taking Bean to Florida last December was incredible and surprisingly relaxing. But there’s something magical about having 4 solid days with no obligations. Zero. You can sit and, here’s an idea, read a book and relax out on a deck overlooking Lake Superior and Madeline Island without a pang of mommy guilt. You haven’t really vacationed until you’ve had a vacation with your husband and left the kids at home.
We started back up our tradition of vacationing in the Apostle Islands area of Wisconsin with our friends this year. We had gone for the first time in the fall of 2012 and again in 2013, but 2014 proved to be too busy a year for us to get the plans in place. So when our friends suggested that we go again this year we were so on board.
The first year we went, all 6 of us stayed in a TINY 2 bedroom cabin halfway between Washburn and Bayfield, Wisconsin. It worked for the first year, but we knew we wanted to upgrade. The next year we found a fantastic house off Connies Lane in Bayfield that fit all 7 of us very comfortably. It was like going from a trailer to a mansion. We loved it so much that there wasn’t a question about where we would stay again this year.
The views at this house are breathtaking. You can see Madeline Island across Lake Superior from the dock. I had fun being a rock nerd and found some agates and beach glass along the shores.
The first day was basically a travel day. After a 4 hour drive, all we wanted to do was relax and settle in to the good ol’ Connie’s Lane house. On our 2nd day, we decided to take the ferry (the only way to get to it, unless you’ve got your own boat) to Madeline Island. Despite coming up to the area 2 other times, this was our first time going to the island. Being on a boat that’s transporting approximately 15 cars and a bunch of people is a bit unnerving at first, I’ve never traveled across water like that before.
Our original plan was to rent bikes and ride out to the state park on the island with our friends, but those plans got dashed when we saw these neato mopeds that we could rent instead. When I realized how far 12 miles round trip actually is, while I was cruising along at 30 MPH, I was SO GLAD that we rented mopeds instead of bikes.
We braved climbing over a fence and crawling down a steep slope to get these views. The red of the sandstone rocks really made the water look extra blue. You can see Bayfield across the lake in the distance.
After taking in the sights of Big Bay State Park, it was time for the moped gang to ride again.Two of our friends decided to stick with their bikes that they brought over to the island. We made sure to honk at them as we cruised past them on the way back to the ferry 😉
Day 3 was filled with a 5 hour boat ride around the islands with a stop at Sand Island to explore the sea caves. Our friends were on the boat you can see across the lake in the photo above, we road on a separate boat with some nice strangers. You can see our captain Scott’s majestic ponytail in the reflection of my husband’s sunglasses. Both boat captains were super nice and laid back guys.
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Our first stop on the way to the Sea Caves was at Raspberry Island. “The nicest outhouses in all of the islands!”, as our boat captain told us. He wasn’t lying 😉 It was a welcome retreat from the long ride on the bouncy waters of Lake Superior. The last photo is a panoramic view from the top of the hill by the lighthouse. Beautiful doesn’t begin to describe it.
Because it was so bumpy and because we were kayaking, I didn’t take any photos of the Sea Caves 🙁 Didn’t want to risk ruining my good camera or my new phone. The last photo is of our stop at Manitou Island on the way back to Bayfield. Get this: the chick in the green pants talking to the group VOLUNTEERS to live on the island and give tours of the fishing camp. She VOLUNTEERS to live in the 2nd cabin to the left and be stranded on that island until someone on a boat comes to get her. Everyone who learned of this thought she was crazy, everyone.
The 4th and final day was spent packing up and making the 4 hour drive home. We stopped halfway on our way back home in Duluth, Minnesota for lunch (and to prolong the last of our vacation without obligations) before we picked up Bean.
Besides the first year, because everything was new to us, this was the most fun we’ve had on our Bayfield trips. We already started talking about making plans for 2016 🙂
Have you ever been to the Apostle Islands area? Where did you stay? What was your favorite part of your trip? Let’s talk about the beauty of Lake Superior in the comments below!
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