And the loop continues…
Before arriving in Door County, while still in the upper peninsula of Michigan, we stopped at Fayette Historic State Park, recommended by several locals we spoke to. It was a great history lesson. Fayette, in the late 1800’s was the site of a productive iron-smelting operation for over 24 years. The State of Michigan has gone to great lengths to create a living museum with many restored buildings to learn what life was like during the late 19th century. We enjoyed hiking along the trails, exploring the buildings, and Murphy enjoyed many swims.
Next, we headed south to Wisconsin, our first stops in Wisconsin’s Door County. I did not realize Door County was famous for their cherries and they are so good! We have had cherry pie, cherry crisp, cherry pastries, and my all-time favorite – Apple Cherry Cider. The apples and the cherries used in the cider are farmed in Door County, and yes, we did “bottle” some up to take with us (albeit in cans).
Our first stop along the Door County peninsula was at a more remote location – Washington Island. Here we anchored and dinghied to shore, enjoyed walking and biking around the island, having yummy burgers, visiting a lavender farm, and sampled the first of many apple cherry ciders. I thought the New York ciders were good. Sorry, New York, Door County has you beat!
Next, we stopped at Sister Bay. By the way, we are traversing down the “inside” (western side) of the peninsula, along the bay of Green Bay, rather than along the eastern shore which borders Lake Michigan. Sister Bay was a cute community, a bit touristy, with lots of condos, inns, etc. for vacationers and seasonal residents. We did find one of our “best on the loop” in Sister Bay and that was ice cream at Analog, an ice cream/coffee shop. Analog boasts how they use the best Wisconsin cream and in no way is their ice cream low fat. High fat = creamy, scrumptious goodness. We also enjoyed Swedish pancakes with Swedish lingonberries for breakfast at a Swedish restaurant which has goats grazing on their rooftop grass. Seriously, goats on the rooftops. I’m not sure why they have goats on their rooftops, perhaps a marketing gimmick, but it worked as there was a line from the time their doors opened at 7 a.m. till their closing after lunch. Obviously, the quality of their food is a big factor and it was yummy.
Further down the peninsula we stopped for two nights (one extra due to weather) at Nicolet Bay anchorage at the Peninsula State Park. We arrived on a Friday about 10:30 a.m. and there were only 3 other boats in the anchorage with a few kids swimming at the beach. By 1 p.m. it was crazy! There were at least 25 boats in the anchorage, stand-up paddlers, kayakers, aqua bikers, the beach and all picnic areas were packed, and the boat ramp was a non-stop stream of day boaters launching their boats. It was a gorgeous day weatherwise, in the mid 80’s. Oh, and all of those boats in the Anchorage? Most had their guests swimming off the back of the boats with various floaties. Dave tried to swim in, what to Floridians, is very cold water. He made it to his upper chest – no dunking his head. Too cold! As we stayed an extra day, we rode our bikes along the parks numerous bike trails and ended up riding to Fish Creek, another great town along the route.
Our last stop this week was at Egg Harbor, arriving on my birthday. So far, Egg Harbor is my favorite stop in Door County. Maybe it was because Jon and DeeDee of War Eagle joined us at this stop for my birthday (thanks guys!). We enjoyed beer and apple cherry cider at a local pub, then a delicious dinner at Riverside, and listened to an evening concert in the park. Or, was it because Egg Harbor has almost everything a looper could want at a stop – all within ½ to ¾ of a mile? There was the requisite grocery and hardware stores, breweries, wine tasting, several bakeries including artisanal bread and cheese, an ice cream shop, many restaurants to choose from including BBQ, Mexican, fine/casual dining, pubs and cafes, and a coffeehouse for my morning Chai tea to enjoy all of the bakery goodies with. Oh, and a dog park for Murphy. Egg Harbor really did check off all of the boxes (I even did our laundry at the marina). And, I added another “best of the loop” – Mexican food. Who would have thought we had the best Mexican food so far in Wisconsin? But we did. We enjoyed a sampling of their guacamole, queso, and salsa before whitefish tacos and a shredded beef burrito. Yep, hands down – the best Mexican food we have had so far on the loop (and the Margaritas were great too!).
Speaking of my birthday, Dave did great in the birthday present department, getting just what I asked for. What girl doesn’t want a Rockna anchor and a Cobbert for her birthday? For those of you not familiar with Cobberts, once we entered the Great Lakes, each morning, we found spider webs and the leftover carnage from the spiders’ nighttime feeding. The Cobbert is a round brush which whisks away the cobwebs (sometimes releasing the spider’s captives to fly away free). Since receiving my gift (I actually got my gifts several weeks before my birthday), each morning I go around the boat and whisk away the cobwebs, spiders, and all. I then dunk the Cobbert in the lake water and bye bye spiders. I love my Cobbert (and the anchor is great too!).
We are headed to Sturgeon Bay and then out to the eastern shore of Wisconsin to enjoy more great stops as we make our way south.
Thanks for joining along on our adventure. Till next update…
Brenda, with Captain Dave & the Marvelous Murphy