Category Archives: THE MIDWEST

(written in July 2020)

D. has a family call right now so I am sitting solo at a picnic table in the park overlooking the water in Sister Bay at 8 p.m. I wasn’t going to miss our last sunset, which turns out to be the major evening activity in Door County (and I don’t think it’s just a Covid-19 thing).

We had another spectacular day of weather, low 70s, sunshine, blue sky so we set off again on our bikes, this time driving them over to Bailey’s Harbor where we set off on County Road D from the parking lot of the Ridges Sanctuary. We had an easy flat ride on a largely un-trafficked road lined with trees and a smattering of cabins. We ended up taking an even prettier, narrower “rustic road” (a Door County designation that infers “beauty”) through the woods and along a bay to a clearing where we were met by a John Deere tractor rumbling through three feet of Lake Michigan water between the shore and Cana Island. The tractor was our unusual ride to the island, sitting in a wooden carriage pulled by the farm vehicle. That was a first. The island is tiny and home to an old lighthouse and former living quarters for the lighthouse keeper. Lovely spot even if we couldn’t climb the tower due to the coronavirus.

We drove south to whitefish dunes state park but left when we discovered it cost $38 to park our car and enter. The adjacent caves county park is free but it located high on bluffs, with daredevil kids jumping from them. Fun to watch (reminded us of similar scenes along Lake Superior north of Duluth) but not my thing, now or ever ,so we happily returned to our now-favorite beach, Pebble Beach in Little Sister Bay. Hated to leave that perfect blue green water and even fell asleep atop the beach’s hot flat stones.

Little Sister bay and Baileys Harbor, maybe Ephraim, are my picks for places to stay next summer with our kids. (The Inn at Little Sister Bay looks promising.) Here’s hoping. Loved this much-needed get away. Hoping next time we won’t all be wearing masks and social distancing. Or worrying about sickness and death and the economic gloom and racial justice and a crazy disaster of a president.

(This was written during a trip in July 2020.)

So glad we ditched our car and brought our bikes to Washington Island. There’s not much to see as far as attractions (a lavender farm, a fiber craft center, Schoolhouse Beach, a large white-pebbled beach) but the appeal is the isolated island feel, perfectly captured on a bike whizzing along largely flat empty well-paved roads with sun streaming through the forest and occasional glimpses of the shimmering blue lake. We took the Island Crossing ferry driven by a weather-worn guy named Charlie who also makes some mean smoked whitefish, which I bought at his smokehouse next to the ferry. This ferry is passenger only, bikes travel free, so preferable to the other ferry which takes cars and charges for bikes. It was an easy and pleasant 30-minute ride, during which we learned about far more terrifying ship passages that ended as shipwrecks. (This once-hazardous passageway was dubbed Devil’s Door — hence the name Door County.) Unfortunately several places to eat were closed on the Island because it was a Wednesday (so no Jackson Harbor Soup) and there’s a pandemic (so limited offerings at Island Cafe and Bakery.) We found decent sandwiches at the lavender farm and lavender flavored chocolate-covered caramels.

Couldn’t resist taking a photo of the restaurant sign below on Washington Island to share with the two young lawyers in our family…apparently lawyers is also a type of fish.

At night we explored Egg Harbor and didn’t find much there beyond the pretty Harbor Park so we returned to livelier (but still quiet) Fish Creek, where we enjoyed the vivid remnants of the sunset there at a park near the famous and lovely White Gull Inn.

Apparently lawyers is a type of fish

(July 2020) We did a triathlon of sorts at Peninsula State Park, a huge chunk of gorgeous land jutting out into the blue waters of Green Bay. First we hiked the two-mile Eagle Trail, which was difficult as advertised in terms of having a lot of tree roots, rocks and mud to navigate but also stunning, with bits through the forest hugging the bay with giant rugged stone bluffs.

Then we rode bikes on the Sunset Trail about 9 miles which also took us through forest and along the coast. We skipped the beach since it was too crowded for a visit during a pandemic but we did have a picnic from a social distance and then found hidden Pebble Beach which may be our favorite place to swim yet here. It’s hidden in Little Sister Bay at the bottom of a curving road down from Highway 42 through the woods. It seemed a local hangout for very attractive young people. We sat on the area’s signature large white flat stones and swam in water that was shockingly green near the shore and then deep blue. So maybe this is why Green Bay is named Green Bay?

We finally got around to having ice cream at the famous Wilson’s in Ephraim, a cheerful red and white building from the early 1900’s. The mini tin roof sundae was excellent, eaten while sitting on a park bench across the street overlooking the harbor.

On the way back to our airbnb, we stopped at what looked like and was indeed a former migrant workers housing north of Sister Bay, a worn wooden very long version of a shotgun shack, tastefully transformed into an earthy farmers market called Door County Wildwood Market, which had good fruit and veg and beautifully dried flowers and pickled vegetables.

At night we went to a traditional Door County fish boil which turned out to be a lot of fun.  Who knew that boiled whitefish, red-skinned potatoes and ordinary onions could taste so good but they did. Very fresh and simple, served with melted butter and a shaker of mixed spice. We had a primo seat on the front porch of the Old Post Office Cafe in Ephraim so we watched yet another spectacular sunset. Last stop was Fish Creek which turned out to be a lovely town. We have been visiting these places at night because we don’t have anything else to do and we don’t want to go during the day when there are more people. It’s a coronavirus thing.

(From July 2020…a special hello to one of my favorite readers: Hi Aunt Shelby! x0x)

Spectacular weather. We took a 10 mile round trip bike ride west and north of our Airbnb along lovely shaded Beach Road, lined with trees and driveways cut into the woods that lead down to huge homes with water views. Easy peddling onto Porcupine Road and then Ellison Bay Bluff, where we watched the sunset last night. This time the water looked completely different. dark blue water with crashing waves. We chanced upon a lovely old farm on Beach Road near highway 42 that turned out to be a gathering place for the local folks, with communal gardens, (pick your own free) and old dark wood barns and buildings and a contemporary gathering spot with a big demonstration kitchen.

In Ellison Bay, we stopped at Ellison Bay Pottery where I bought a rustic covered baking dish in Door County colors (blue, green, tan) and we peeked in at the folk arts school, The Clearing, across the street, which was intriguing. We also stopped at  Turtle Ridge, an upmarket gallery/clothing shop with lots of cool handmade tooled leather goods. (I got a smock of sorts for $45, marked down from $179.)We also got some excellent cherry apple cider at Island orchard cider …no tastings, due to Covid. I like Ellison Bay a lot, more arty, laidback, rustic with good crafts and the amazing Wickman House restaurant.

Onto Europe Bay, a nice sandy beach, with more rocks than our nearby Sandy Bay beach and more people, plus biting flies. But beautiful. Europe Lake (not the same as Europe Bay) didn’t have a beach so we moved on, stopping in Gills Rock at Charlie’s Smokehouse for whitefish. We cooked in tonight…excellent brats from Waseda Farms, cherry pie from the famous Bea’s Ho-made. (Yes, that’s the name!)

(July 2020) I can’t believe this was one day. We did so much. It was raining so we took lovely county road F to Baileys Harbor for a very small farmers market at the town hall and excellent coffee and chèvre with honey and toasted nuts on a thick slice of sour dough at Bearded Heart. Almost everyone is wearing masks now (which is a relief) after a County mask order.

The rain was in and out most of the morning, adding drama to the bucolic waterfront and farm scenery. We stopped at my dream organic farm, Waseda Farms, to pick raspberries in the drizzle, taking refuge on the porch of a late 1800s school house during a downpour that made the gardens, full of flowers, fruit and vegetables, even lusher.

On to cherry land along Highway 42 from Egg harbor to Fish creek to Ephraim. We stopped at several varieties of cherry store from strange old-fashioned with grandma behind an old cash register (hyline) to sleekly commercial (laughenbach). We came home with raspberries, blueberries (from Michigan!) sweet cherries, brats, goat chèvre, and leftover bbq brisket and ribs from the lovely Wickham house in Ellison Bay. The main house is closed due to Covid but diners and takeout customers enjoyed the lovely gardens-side dining. Every one is improvising due to the pandemic with good results. Wickham house was serving only bbq and it was excellent.

After splurging on a caphrina in the garden we found an amazing empty spot overlooking a surreally calm bay to eat out takeout on a bench, driving deep in the woods until a clearing by the water, at Garrett Bay boat landing. On the way back to Sister Bay we hit a scenic overlook at the end of another clearing in the woods just in time for a spectacular sunset at Ellison bay bluff. We got to Sister Bay just before Door County Creamery closed for some goat milk gelato and then wandered the almost free of tourists main drag. I almost forgot to mention our 5 mile bike ride down Waters end road to Sand Bay, a small beach with soft sand, where we swam in Lake Michigan which was gentler and warmer than I remembered from childhood trips up north in Michigan. Glorious.