showing him my favorite place

this past weekend we ventured far up north to my favorite place in the entire world: upper door county, wisconsin. to give some context, my family has traveled up to the peninsula for the past twenty years. typically we go in the summer, but we have traveled there in the spring and fall as well. my parents were introduced to door county because my father used to have work conferences at a resort there once a year, and even once the conference moved my family continued to make the four-hour trek up north.

i'll try to explain door county's charm to the best of my ability. there's two sides to door county, because it's a peninsula. one side borders green bay, and the other side borders lake michigan. basically, along both sides of the shore, there are these separated, small village communities along the highway. because they are small towns and because the tourism economy is very strong during the summer, these towns have become hotspots for independently owned small businesses and restaurants. there are tons of boutiques, art galleries, and the occasional tourist-kitschy shop here and there. we stay in a hotel in egg harbor, and we mainly keep to the bay side of the peninsula. egg harbor, fish creek, and ephraim are our favorite towns.

we also usually take the car ferry up to washington island, because there is a beautiful lavender farm there called fragrant isle. i would definitely recommend checking it out, especially if you go in june or july. they always have a festival on the farm at the end of july, when blooms are best. it's amazing to see fields of purple surrounding you.

if you're in egg harbor, definitely catch a sunset at the harbor. there's also a new restaurant called serendipity that i thought was pretty good. there's also a great clothing store there called blacksmith. i can always find at least one thing i have to have. there aren't a lot of beaches on the bay side of the peninsula because most of that property is harbor. egg harbor has a good beach, and you can rent sup boards and kayaks for pretty cheap. you can also walk down the water and give yourself a tour of the historic alpine hotel.

moving on up to fish creek, there are tons of options on the one stretch of five blocks. fish creek is my favorite town. it has the most character, the most going on, and is the most scenic in my opinion. you should definitely catch at least one meal at the white gull inn, at the far side of town. the brunch is famous because they make cherry stuffed french toast, but we had dinner there for the fist time this weekend and i have to say it did not disappoint. the duck was delicious and the bread was probably top five breads i've ever had. just down the street, if you need an excellent cup of coffee, is craic coffee. they brew colectivo but they also sell local beer and a decent selection of wine. the cookery is another favorite restaurant. we usually go there for brunch, but the restaurant is beautiful and the food is reliably amazing every time. in fish creek there's tons of harbor space and shops to wander in and out of. some of my favorite shops are spruce, golden sister, tr pottery (right next to the cookery) and mr helsinki's food market. if you're looking for some sweet outdoorsy gear (ironically or seriously) on deck is definitely the place to shop.

we always have such fun wandering from one shop to the next, down one side of the street and back up the other. fish creek is also below egg harbor, so it is surrounded on one side by a beautiful cliff face. outside of downtown fish creek, but still in the town, is a historical supper club called the greenwood. supper clubs are a wisconsin tradition, and the greenwood has been around quite a long time. grab a drink at the bar while you wait for your table, and if you're thinking you want the prime rib you had better arrive when the doors open at five. i had the old bay seasoned salmon, and it was one of the best fillets of salmon i've ever had. that with garlic mashed potatoes and i was happy. end your meal with a pink squirrel like we did - it was delicious, but i won't spoil the surprise by telling you what it is!

last, there's ephraim. wilson's is usually an obligatory stop for either ice cream or some chicken fingers and a burger. it's classic 50s diner style has not changed since it first opened. they also make their own root beer - it's delicious. there are more residential homes and not as much shopping in ephraim, but by wilson's there are a few places to wander in and out of. we go there mainly for one thing: a stiletto catamaran cruise. the two hour boat ride is always my favorite activity of the trip.

there are two more places in a different town called ellison bay that deserve to be mentioned. the first is island orchard cider mill. when we went they were doing a free tasting, and the cider is incredible. not to mention, the shop and tasting room is small but absolutely lovely. there is a little bar where you can order drinks by the glass, and there is a great view into the brewery. the owner of the mill also owns the orchards, so he has complete control over everything he produces and you can tell immediately how high quality everything is. the second place is door county ice cream factory. they make their ice cream in house, unlike wilson's. they also have great historical photos of what the peninsula used to be like.

if you do get up to door county, you could venture to the lake side of the peninsula and drive just outside of bailey's harbor to check out cana island lighthouse. the peninsula is obviously packed with lighthouses. i love cana because it's pretty easy to get to and the view is outstanding. we also had an adventure getting there. cana is on an island, technically, but it's not super far from the mainland. when lake levels are low, there's a dirt path you can easily walk across. however, lake levels are really high right now. so we trekked through about knee deep water to get across. there are tons of zebra mussel shells on the ground, so shoes are highly encouraged. there is a tractor trailer that takes people back and forth, but we didn't know that upon our first crossing. cana island also has a little museum dedicated to the history of lighthouse keeping. there is another lighthouse on rock island, which you get to by ferry from washington island. going to rock island takes all day so we didn't go this trip, but i have been before and i would definitely recommend it.

to me, door county represents everything i love most about wisconsin. you can be by the water, hike through peninsula state park's lush forest, eat amazing quality food, experience small towns with great charm, enjoy the creativity of local businesses, and be in a place that is much less crowded. people are so incredibly friendly. door county is just good and pure. it's such a haven from life, and an incredible place to recharge while still feeling connected to a place that feels like home. because i spent so much of my life in wisconsin, it made me and still makes me feel so grateful to be a midwesterner.