It Pays To Be Prepared.

One of the things that I find really fun about summer's in Door County is how so many people live their lives in total preparation for a moment of down time. With the plethora of opportunities to walk, run, bike, swim, boat, read, etc... and everything being fairly close, you can fit a lot into a day if you are ready to go.

Of course the dress code here helps too. Few are sloppy, and urban "costumes" are very rare. Things tend to be simple, crisp and clean, and versatile. My favorite summer outfit consists of quick-dry cargo shorts, a button down oxford cloth dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, sport sandals if its casual or leather sandals if its dressy, and my Aussie hat if I'll be on the water. I tend to wear some derivative of this all day, every day. The only thing it doesn't do well is travel into the evening as most get crisp enough to need some other layer.

So when I am out, I bring a polartec of some sort. But, if I am at home, I have something better. Evening fires are kind of a staple event and last week I finally committed to a plan for the east side of the main house. First in, as it is the most important, was a permanent fire pit. Over Memorial Day we fully tried it out with all the kids home, and a handful of other friends to round out the mix. We made burgers and brats on the grill, watched the sunset from "upstairs", and climbed back down to finish the evening with stories, glasses of Port, and people slowly heading home until just my family was left.