25th Anniversary - Alpaca instead of Silver???

Tuesday the 17th of October was our 25th wedding anniversary. We decided that we would take a trip up to Door County since that was where we had spent our honeymoon 25 years ago.

We left Friday morning before our anniversary and on the way up I knit a couple of bowknot scarves in Red Heart varigated. I have never met a varigated yarn that I haven't liked and I'm doing alot of charity knitting instead of knitting Christmas gifts this year. For some reason I really enjoy making this pattern and find myself going back to it when looking for a quick take along project so it is the perfect match for one skein of varigated. There is just enough to the pattern to keep it interesting. Pattern can be found at Katherine Burgess- Bow-knot Scarf

On the way my dear husband took me to a yarn shop I had been wanting to go to in Sturgeon Bay, Apple Hollow, http://www.applehollow.com, where I picked up a couple of Cottage Creations patterns and a ball of Noro Kochoran (50% Wool20% Silk30% Angora) in a brown and grey colorway with some subtle blues and reds. After we got to our hotel dear husband helped me wind it into a ball and I started a scarf from it. Used the Cottage Creations pattern called A VERY BASIC BUT GOOD LOOKING SCARF. It is a variation of the basic dishcloth we all know and love to knit. Another great project for the car.

I was about 3/4 done when I realized all the color sections were approximately the same size except the 1st tan section that was a bout 3 times the size. So I frogged to dear husband's depair and started partway down the tan section. I will use that little ball of tan if needed at the other end.

We stayed at the Hilltop Inn in Fish Creek. I would highly recommend it. They call the rooms suites but they are 2 story and more like a condo than a motel.

I digress......

I'm not really excited by the standard motel room. Probably because many moons ago when I was a student at Marquette University in Milwaukee I lived in a dorm that had been a Holiday Inn the year before. It was the late 1979 and shag carpeting was all the rage. Ours was Christmas green mixed with royal blue. Not pretty. After living in a hotel a whole school year, most hotels still remind me of the run down hotel turned dorm where the hotel restarant became our dining hall, complete with mice running through as we ate.

The Hilltop suite has a living room with fireplace, full kitchen with dishwasher, and a half bath down and a full bath with 2 person whirlpool tub and 2 bedrooms. Very nice. http://www.hilltopinndc.com/pages/hilltopaccom.html It is nicely located too. We had never stayed there before, but there was a Fall Festival going on in nearby Sister Bay and I had called several places. We were very lucky with this choice.

We had lunch at my favorite breakfast/lunch spot, The Cookery, in Fish Creek and dinner at the English Inn, another of my favorites. Saturday we drove around the area and to the tip of the penisula and enjoyed the fall colors. We stopped at a few shops including our favorite The Blue Dolphin House. We were looking more than buying but picked up a few small things.

Sunday dear husband had a surprise for me. We had an appointment SOMEWHERE between 12 and 1PM. I had no idea where we were going. Well imagine my surprise when we pulled up to an Alpaca Farm near Two Rivers. The shop is open by appointment only but has some neat woven and knit items as well as alpaca yarn. It was a really neat surprise. I got some alpaca slippers and a scarf as well as 2 balls of alpaca yarn. The guys who own the farm were very nice and it was fun to see the alpacas in person. Their website is http://www.londondairyalpacas.com/alpaca.html

Aren't they cute. There was a baby alpaca that was being well protected by its mother.