Autumn Reflections
Like many, I get a little reflective in autumn. I find myself looking back on all of the things I expected to do or go or finish over the course of another summer not without some disappointment. We'll be driving up the peninsula and one of us will say, "Oh! We didn't get there this summer!"
As Fall Colors seem to be peaking, the summer tourist season will end and the peninsula will breathe a collective sigh of relief. Though the tourists make this wonderful place possible, with the theater and music, restaurants and shops, places will be boarding up now for the long winter ahead.
I'll admit that walking into Starboard Brewing Company on a Friday evening and knowing every person at the bar is a pretty nice feeling. After 30 years in Chicago and Suburbs, having a local is a good feeling. The atmosphere of "Cheers" transplanted in Door County. For awhile we even had a postman. While we knew a few of the bartenders at our Downers Grove brewery, now closed, we never knew the brewer and rarely knew anyone else at the bar. A few would be familiar and we'd nod, but the anonymity of the suburbs left names unspoken.
We hit most of the theater we wanted to see at TAP and Northern Sky. We got to a few of the food trucks. Music at Peach Barn and Cherry Hut entertained a number of weekends. Beignets at Big Easy were messy, but delicious. How can that much powdered sugar ever be wrong?
Two mid-week road trips through Wisconsin added some spots to revisit in future summers and I'm still thinking about the meal we had with friends at Ishnala Supper Club in Lake Delton near Baraboo and the Dells. Being retired makes mid-week travel ideal. Fewer crowds and a much chiller mood.
The score card definitely moves to the Win column when I look back on London, the transatlantic crossing on the Queen Mary 2, and the 250th Independence Day in New York City. Adding those to any summer would be a win.
Maybe it is just nostalgia. Maybe it is just that lingering sense with the "back to school" vibe that summer is over and winter awaits. I have a retiree photography class this afternoon. I'll be at Starboard on Friday night after music at the Cherry Hut in the afternoon. Maybe there is still a chance to pack a little more summer into this fall. Time to get to it.
