Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Green Bay and De Pere, Wisconsin

Our 86-mile drive from Bailey’s Harbor to De Pere was fairly uneventful except for two things. We couldn’t check in until 2:00 pm, so we waited until around 11:00 am to depart. After a bit of a struggle to get the bedroom slide in and finally succeeding (hurrah!), we pulled out of our tight site in the Beantown Campground.

The first event was when I decided to pull into a county park so we could eat lunch. But the turn into the parking lot was a little tighter than the motorhome could handle, so we had to unhitch the car and back up a few feet for me to make the turn. I also carried a small bit of a tree the rest of the way in the door awning, but it came out easily.

The second was a big surprise upon arriving at the Apple Creek Family Campground in De Pere. If we hadn’t been following another motorhome that stopped at the entrance to wait for the road to be cleared, we might have missed the turn. The sign was destroyed by a tornado that blew through last night, and several dozen trees were also blown apart.

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We’re so glad we didn’t get here yesterday. The only reason we weren’t is because the repair shop (for our bedroom slide) couldn’t get us in until Thursday, so we decided to spend the extra day in Bailey’s Harbor with full hookups, knowing we would just have power and water here. Sometimes things happen for a reason.

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The water and power were off in the whole campground, but the weather was clear and about 80 degrees with a nice breeze. After getting the motorhome parked and set up, we drove the car to the repair shop in Green Bay to be sure we could find it early tomorrow. Then we returned and opened up the windows and turned on the Fantastic Vents and just relaxed for a while.

Oh yes, it was “small world” time again when we checked into the campground. The couple in the motorhome we followed in were our neighbors in Bailey’s Harbor!

Later, we went to dinner at a place I found through Yelp.com called The Prime Quarter Steak House. It’s unique in that you grill your own steak (or their chef will grill it for you for an extra $2). Don chose to grill ours. (I took these pics with my smartphone so they’re not very clear.)

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We knew that our steaks would be cooked to perfection! An unlimited salad bar, baked potato and Texas-style toast are included for $21.95/person, with your choice of various steak or fish selections.

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Everything tasted wonderful! And Wednesday is their House Wine Day so I had a nice glass of Cabernet Sauvignon for $3.00.

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When we returned to the campground, the power was back on. But the water was still off because debris from a tree broke a stand pipe. But we have plenty of fresh water on board. Early to bed tonight so we can hit the road about 7:15 am.

8 comments:

  1. WOW! That storm did a lot of damage there. I'm wondering about that tent sitting smack dab in the middle of the wreckage. Surely there's a story there to tell.

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  2. Sounds like you guys lucked out on the tornado. I hate them since I lived in Central Illinois for years and they were a common occurance there. I'm glad we weren't just ahead of you getting there by a day.

    Have fun out there.

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  3. Wow - you were sure lucky to miss that tornado.

    Going to a restaurant and grilling your own steak? That's a bit different - it looked like Don did a perfect job though.

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  4. Yum Yum~The steak dinner looks delicious! As for the close-call tornado--we ran into that one year while visiting Don in DC area. We were supposed to leave their house and move to a park up in the mountains, but decided to stay with Jodi through the hurricane in case she needed help as Don was away on a trip. When we got to the campground after he got back, we were shocked at the hurricane/tornado damage in the park. Some times being late is for a god-given reason! Don't sweat the delays--may be the best thing that ever happened, smile. Glad you are okay!!

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  5. I love the Prime Quarter - there are 5-6 that I've been 2 when I traveled 2 WI on bussines: Milw Madison 2 name a few. Luckley, only saw aftermath 2 Tornadoes in all my visits.
    Glad ur safe

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  6. Your story gave me cold chills reading it. I'm so glad you weren't there yesterday.

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  7. You commented that things happen for a reason. We expand that to include the reason -- our angels are watching over us. Ours have been with us since before we were married 53 years ago, and we have felt their pull or push many times.

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  8. Oh my goodness, that's a lot of damage. I, too, wonder about that tent. Looks like it was a near miss. I've never heard of that steak place but I think it sounds like fun.

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