Port Washington, Wisconsin

 August 26, 2021  Port Washington, Wisconsin

Nice little town with an actual downtown!  There are quite a few pre-Civil war buildings, making for interesting walks through town.  Dominating the skyline over the town is a beautiful steeple on the top of a very heavily wooded hill – from the bottom, where the downtown and the marina are, you can only see the steeple.  On our evening walk, we did find a very long staircase that leads to the church, but we were not in the mood to climb it!  Also on the top of that hill is a lighthouse that was built in 1860. 

As we were securing the boat after arriving, a man standing there was interested in where we are from, where we left from, etc.  He is originally from Grand Rapids, so was happy to talk to some Michiganders.  He recommended a restaurant, fairly new, called The Steerage.  He said it’s the best food in town.  Well, we went there and had a lovely dinner, cocktails, appetizer, and dessert for $61 – quite a bargain these days.  And, the food was delicious.  The owner came around and actually was our waiter. 

The next morning, I took advantage of the cooler weather and went on a walk.  Climbed a pretty long hill looking at some nice homes with porches, then realized I was on the level with the beautiful church and lighthouse.  So, I walked over and got some nice pictures!

Next stop, McKinley Marina in Milwaukee, where the fuel prices are the cheapest around!  Looking forward to 3 days in this large city exploring and seeing interesting things!

Sheyboygan, Wisconsin

 August 25, 2001   Sheboygan, WI

Loved our time in Sheboygan!  The marina was top notch – nicest facilities we’ve seen.  Huge restrooms and showers, swimming pool and hot tub.  Marina was in a park, with lots of opportunities to walk.  Right in that park was the very interesting recovered wreck from a 100 year old boat!  Gave us non-divers a chance to see the remains, walk through and see the structure. 

My favorite walk was through an older neighborhood with some really lovely homes, many with large front porches.  Dan and I rode our bikes around the first night, exploring the area around the Sheboygan River.  We found only one restaurant open, a barbeque and pizza place that was really hoppng.  Enjoyed some beverages and a dinner.

A local couple, who are Loopers but not on their boat right now (lucky us!} are not technically Harbor Hosts, but certainly functioned in that capacity.  Rich drove us all over town, showing us the various areas and relating some history and local color.  He drove us to the grocery store for a much needed provisioning.  The next morning, we were scheduled for a Kohler factory tour that started at 8:00.  Rich volunteered to pick us up at 7:30 and drive us there and back – what a hero!  That evening, he and Sue met us at our boat for some before dinner drinks.  That afternoon, some other Loopers arrived, and they joined us for the drinks.  They were three brothers, who bought a boat together and are doing the Loop.  Lots of fun conversation.  Amazingly, Rich and Sue were desperate to find a marina or dock space near Ft. Myers at Christmas time.  One of the brothers has a home with an 80 foot dock in Cape Coral, very near Ft. Myers.  Their dock will be unused at that time, so Rich and Sue, plus their traveling buddy boat can stay there!  What a fortuitous meeting!  After drinks, Rich, Sue, Dan, and I went out for a Mexican dinner.

Next stop Port Washington.

Manitowoc, Wisconsin

Kewaunee, Wisconsin

Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, last stop on the Door Peninsula

 August 12, 2021 Sturgeon Bay

All the towns we have visited so far in Wisconsin have been on Green Bay.  To get to the town of Sturgeon Bay, we had to leave Green Bay, enter Sturgeon Bay, go under two bridges.  The marina we picked is the same astounding price as all the other Wisconsin marinas so far.  This is a small marina that has very recently been bought by Bay Marine.  It is fairly small, but the dock is fine, the bathrooms and laundry are fine.  Very quiet here – no dock employees on site, but we have met some of the boat owners and everyone is friendly. 

We were excited that the Antique Boat Show was being held while we are here – just a few blocks away at the Maritime Museum.    What fun to see some beautiful old boats.  One event that spanned the two days was a contest, where participants are given 3 sheets of plywood and some marine sealant.  They are to build their boat on site.  They are timed.  On Sunday, each boat is launched with 2 people, with the goal to (1) stay afloat!, and (2) to paddle around two buoys.  So fun.  Some boats never made it away from the dock.  Some made it a little ways, then either broke apart or filled with water.  The Coast Guard had a boat entry, and the two Coasties came out wearing dinosaur costumes.  They finished the course.  An interesting entrant had built their “boat”, which was actually a box, in one hour.  They got lots of points for such a speedy construction.  But, their speed in completing the course was very slow.  These two women had actually won the contest in other years, as ungainly and ugly as their ‘boat’ was!  The winner, a carpenter and his wife, built a canoe with nice lines.  It took them 2.5 hours to build it, but their speed around the course was very fast. 

Some of these people compete every year.  The canoe won first place this year.

Sturgeon Bay has an active downtown, with a number of good restaurants.  We enjoyed putzing through some of the shops, had a couple of meals.  We had the best pizza in a while at Sonny’s, which is right by one of the bridges across the Bay.

Leaving Sturgeon Bay, the city, via Sturgeon Bay.  Years ago, a canal was dredged that connects Sturgeon Bay into Lake Michigan.  It makes a great shortcut from Green Bay into the big Lake. 

Next stop is Kewaunee, a small town on Lake Michigan.

 

 

Egg Harbor, Wisconsin

 

August 10, 2021  Egg Harbor    

Another charming harbor and town on the Door Peninsula.  Again, the harbor was down at the bottom of a steep hill.  The town has a lovely harborside park that covers the hillside.  There are cool scultures, benches (situated to enjoy the sunset), beautiful gardens.  One night we were there, there was live music in the park that we could hear from our boat.  I took a walk and found a nice nature trail that took me down the road to the public beach.  Again, a steep hill down to the water, with beautiful sculptures, gardens, and benches down the hill.  The beach was nice, and several families were enjoying the warm water and lovely day.  On my walk back into town, I went directly east and connected with a different road that went into town.  On that road was a woman’s gallery with interesting jewelry, a lovely church (St. John the Baptist Catholic), an old filling station (now a shop, but restored to its former self with gas pumps), a distillery, a brewery.  A couple we had met on Washington Island, Joy and Mike Wissing, were there for one night.  We also met another looper guy briefly, since he left the next morning.

Fish Creek, Wisconsin...on down the Door Peninsula

 

Fish Creek, August 10 thru 11

After only a two hour cruise, we arrived in Fish Creek.  Another charming little town – flowers everywhere, lovely homes, nice beaches with families playing.

One “requirement” in Fish Creek is to attend a ‘fish boil’ at Peletiers Restaurant.  So, we did!  Didn’t sound appetizing to us, ‘boiling fish’??  But, first, it was quite a show!  A large crowd, about 50 people, all gathered around a huge pot boiling on a fire.  The cook shoveled in some salt, and last, some corn.  At a prescribed time (?) he threw some kerosene on the fire and WHOOSH, the fire went really big, then came down again.  Everyone went to his/her table to be served.  Second point, the meal was delicious!  Fish, probably white fish or cod, potatoes, corn, a small sweet onion, plus bread.  It was surprisingly very very good!  Maybe it just means that you can put lots of salt and butter on most anything, and it tastes good!