Last time we stayed in Sturgeon Bay along the water at the Westwoord Shores Waterfront Resort.  It was a lovely resort and we really enjoyed it there.  We did want to mix it up a little bit, though, for going in December.  This time, we’re going to try out the Scandinavian Lodge in Sister Bay, which is further north on the penninsula.  One of the reasons I wanted to try out Sister Bay this time was because I was reading up on one of the skating rinks in the area, so I though it’d be fun to get back on the ice for a little bit while we’re there.

We’re anticipating there being at least some snow by the first week of December in Door County (which is actually only 4 weeks away if you can believe it).  Not entirely sure what that means in terms of being mobile and driving around as much as we did in September, but it will fun to see.  I’m a big fan of winter and snow, while Cindy prefers more of the sun and sand (which I admit, I’m quite fond of, too).  Yet, just in our initial experience with all the greenery and open areas throughout the county in the middle of September as the leaves just started to change, we have visions of a true winter wonderland for this trip.  We can’t wait.

I posted photos and details from our first trip over at my photography site and am really looking forward to getting some great photos of winter to add to the list.  Also, I’m hoping for at least one starry night like we had on our last trip.  Besides a blizzard, some nice, cold, dry air in the winter can mean no clouds, and from the looks of things, I’ll only be dealing with a half-moon that week. 

But winter nights plus no clouds usually equals cold (see, winter nights + no clouds = cold), so I’ll need to prepare for that aspect of it, too.  I was outside last February in Chicago taking photos of the lunar eclipse with my Canon and my telephoto lens, and it was a frosty 4 degrees below zero!!!  Luckily, I was near the door of our parking garage and was able to sneak out for a few shots, battle the wind chill for a few seconds, and then jump back inside to warm up.  That doesn’t work for 15-30 second exposures for shooting the stars, however.  I get cold just thinking about it.

As for plans once we’re there, we haven’t really made any as of yet.  We’ll probably talk more about before the Thanksgiving holiday and read up on the anticipated weather as it gets closer.  Barring a full out snowstorm, all odds are good that we’ll have another good time no matter what.  It could be worse, we could be working instead. :)