This Town...Don't Cha Know Der Hey?

The boys were curious. They wanted to know what was so exciting about Wisconsin that would impel me to take a vacation twice a year to visit this Midwestern locale. It's not the sub zero weather. I can tell you that. It's the peace that comes from being in a place where the people are nice and the pace is easy. Orange County is home to 3 million people and truly gives new meaning to the term rat race. The speed at which we live our lives can be overwhelming and the stress builds quietly in its sinister way.Despite the vastness of the Pacific Ocean, it's still crowded as all get out, and I get tired of the up and down check me out looks from snooty, snotty girls and rude guys. Eventually, I get a hankering for a sea of green, waving grass and forests so thick, animals can dart in and get lost from predators in seconds. So it's off to Wisconsin we go.Last Friday the boys and I flew out to Green Bay. Jeep's dad Kip took us to Lambeau Field for a tour of the stadium and Hall of Fame. It's truly a small town that's made it on the map for being just that - a small town. They are home to the only NFL team to be owned by the fans. Every week the players meet local kids to ride the kids' bikes to the practice fields, while the kiddos ride on the back holding onto the helmets.  Apparently some develop lifetime friendships. This is so far and gone from Kobe Bryant who flies his helicopter to his Newport Beach home, just cuz he can.Then we drive up a couple hours through green meadows dotted with red barns, silos and cows to Door County - a Midwestern Cape Cod. I just love the names of the towns here: Egg Harbor, Fish Creek and Sister Bay. Wild Turkeys run across the road in the maple and beech forests. Kip took the boys fishing: Kobe caught a yellow perch, Jeff caught himself a bass. My dad would have loved the fact that we made them kiss the fish. They also had to fillet and eat what they caught. Well, at least take a bite. We've taken a walk along Eagle Trail, gone putt putt golfing (we call it miniature golfing), eaten an icecream at the famous Wilson's Old Fashion Ice Cream Shoppe and cheese curds from a local dairy, and we took them to their first drive-in where the mosquitoes ate the California flesh alive!So now it's time to take them to the airport. I'll stay another week. I've signed up for yoga. We'll take some bikes rides along the meadows filled with purple vetch, corn fields and cherry orchards. Sigh. I'm feeling the shoulders drop a little more each day.