Knock, Knock, Knockin'........

.........On Wisconsin's Door

We have spent the last week and a half in the Cape Cod of the mid-West, Door County, WI.   Not quite heaven's door, but a pretty darn nice place, nonetheless.   

We started out in Sturgeon Bay, a bustling small city stradling the bay of the same name at the foot of the Door Penisula.  By foot, we explored a bustling downtown, an excellent maritime museum, and busy waterfront.  (Our last-minute purchase of a Mega Millions ticket failed to produce desired results, so we will just continue our trip.  Darnit.)  Sturgeon Bay has a long history in shipbuilding in both peace time and war. Today its yards construct and service many of the largest (up to 1,000 ft LOA) Great Lakes ore freighters. 

On a tip from a fellow Looper, Kathleen contacted Door2Door, an on-demand ride service from the Door County public transit authority for a proviosning trip.  This has got to be a THE screaming deal of the Great Loop.  For $4 round trip (senior rate, no tipping allowed) they picked her up in the van, took her to the grocery store, and broght her back with a whole big cart-full of goodies 90 minutes later.   Yeah, BABY!

From Sturgeon Bay, we ventured up the west side if the peninsula to the village of Ephraim.    Nestled in a gorgeous bay, Ephriam was founded in 1853 by Morovian Christians and is today a popular tourist destination in Door County.  This despite the fact that it was "dry" until just a few years ago and has  somewhat militantly anti-development attitude,  (One long term resident Gold Looper we met told us it can take a generation to get building permit.)   What it does have is Wilson's Ice Cream Parlor, source of frozen delights since 1906.  Yeah, BABY, again!

Our next stop was Sister Bay, just 6 miles north.  And what a difference 6 miles can make.   At Sister Bay we found a great marina,  a Piggly Wiggly, an Ace Hardware, numerous boutiques and eateries, and a secret dog beach.  Add to that a restaurant with goats on the roof (Yes, really!) and one starts to wonder what else one could even ask for.   (Any why do they have goats on the roof, you may ask?   Well, how else do you expect them to mow the grass they planted up there, silly? Sheesh!) 

We thoroughly enjoyed Sister Bay, including meeting Loopers Rob and Anita (and sea-Airedale Tilly) on Pub Trawler and former NHL standout Kevin Grant on his 70 ft Hatteras, Hat Trick.  Our dock was open to foot traffic and its always fun to watch people do a double-take upon seeing Irish Lass's Spokane homeport and then muttering something about "the Panama Canal".......... 😄.

From Sister Bay, we again turned south for our next stop, Fish Bay,  a village within the township of Gibralter, WI.    After negotiating a narrow and crowded entrance, we found ourselves in a great marina a stone's throw from an equally great town.  Fellow Loopers Pub Trawler and Picnic Boat were moored nearby.  Lots of shops and restaurants just block away.  And a very cool and diverse little market and a wonderful wine/olive oil/vinegar shop.   On Sunday, we joined Jane from Picnic Boat for worship at Fish Creek Community Church and discovered it was baptism Sunday.  and no wimpy hottub baptisms for these folks.  No-sire-Bob!    The pastor led the congreation down to a lakeside park and waded into the Lake up to his waist while the elders lead the baptismal candidates to him in turn for a full dunking,  God is great. All the time.  THIS is a town we could live in. 

On Monday (8/8) we ran south back to Center Pointe marina at Sturgeon Bay for a quick overnight, a few groceries, and a a few gallons of "insurance" fuel (@ $5.60/gal!) to make sure we could safely reach cheaper sources further south.  

Tuesday morning we headed back out into the big Lake thru the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal and turned southward.  A 30 mile cruise in a following sea took us to the small harbor at Kewanee, WI.  Our berth proved to be on a seawall side-tie half a mile from the main marina.  We had dockside power and water and beach access for fur-Admiral Maggie and we made it work for one night.  Once a bustling port for cross-lake railroad car ferries, Kewanee now makes do on some minor tourism and a couple of small tableware manufacturing facilities. Its downtown is so empty the the locals are disuded to seeing anyone there and don't even slow down for it, as we discovered in a couple of crosswalk encounters. 

On Wednesday,  wth visions of bratwurst dancing in our heads, we left early for the 52 mile run to Sheboygan in light NE winds and rolling swell on the port stern quarter.  Little did we know what was in store......

Thanks for following.  Be sure to track us on NEBO!

Wade and Kathleen Griffith (and fur-Admiral Maggie!)