For a full year now, the Apostle Islands has been one of my favorite places. I've visited this area of Wisconsin 3 times, and every time I fall more in love with it. The scenery is beautiful, the history is rich, the people are interesting and kind, and there is a sense of community I'm just drawn to. Also, island-time is REAL. And it's wonderful.

This is why the Apostle Islands makes a great vacation destination! And if you're from Wisconsin, you can do it in a long weekend. That's what I recently did with my sister, my mom, my daughter, and my nephew! I've been waiting to be able to take my daughter on a special mommy-daughter trip, and I also love celebrating my mom the week of her birthday each year, so we combined the two and headed north to visit the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore.

Part 1 | Bayfield, Wisconsin

We stayed at the Bayfield Inn's Silvernail Guesthouse. It was a cozy, quaint setup which was just fine, since we planned to get out and explore most of the time! We made sure to get some snuggles in :)

After a 4 hour drive, we were hungry so we grabbed a table at The Fat Radish. I had looked at their website and thought that maybe the food would take long to get to us, being a farm to table restaurant, but it came surprisingly fast and with incredible presentation! Get the Reuben or the Prosciutto Crudo...you won't be disappointed.

We walked the streets of Bayfield, roamed through the shops, and killed time before dinner. We saw Memorial Park, the harbor, Bodin's Fish Market, and stopped to play at the playground in between rain drops. We grabbed coffee at Big Water Coffee Roasters and met their roaster, Stormey, and her beautiful pup Bailey.

I'd been wanting to visit Freehands Farmhouse of Ashland and man, am I glad we did. This place is so unique and blissful; I've never been anywhere else like it to be honest. The menu is a verbal menu that changes daily, and they are a farm to table restaurant, bar, greenhouse and gift shop! There is also a photo studio on the property (what I wouldn't give!!). Calling all Wisconsin brides!! You want to hold your wedding here....I promise!

We talked and laughed, explored the property, and danced with each other. We had such a relaxing and fun-filled first day. Stay tuned for Part 2, our second day of adventure, which includes Madeline Island! You can subscribe below.