This is the third post of a travel series of our anniversary getaway to Door County Wisconsin. To start at the beginning, go HERE.
On day one in Door County, after spending some time at Cave Point and Peninsula State Park, we got back in the car and drove to our next stop Sister Bay. There are so many cute little towns in Door County you can't possibly spend a lot of time in all of them, so you have to pick and choose. However, we did drive through them all.
Like all the towns in Door County, Sister Bay has a beautiful marina, and we spent some time just walking along their beach walk enjoying the views.
As a gardener, I always admire creative gardening ideas, so I have to stop and point out this planter. The flowers are actually planted in a garbage can and the wood and ropes disguise the can. Isn't that genius?
There are so many beautiful boats in the marina, and once again, I wondered what the people do for a living that own these amazing boats. But if you're not wealthy enough to own your own boat, there are plenty of businesses that will take you out on Lake Michigan for a boat ride or fishing excursion.
Look at this beautiful sail boat! Wow!
There were lots of beach lovers on this hot day. I took my sandals off and I couldn't believe how warm Lake Michigan's water was.
After we checked out the lake walk we walked around town and visited a few stores. All the stores were located inside cute old homes and other historic buildings.
I saw there was a "creamery" listed in Sister Bay so I hunted it down.
It was pretty cute inside; loved the tin ceiling, but would you believe they didn't sell ice cream? They sold gelato but not ice cream. Seriously, how can you call yourself a creamery and not serve ice cream? 😀.
I LOVED the sign on this store window so I had to stop and get my photo taken by it.
I took this photo so you could get an idea of the traffic in some of the more popular towns and how hard it is to find a parking space sometimes.
I finally did find a place that served actual ice cream: Analog Ice Cream and Coffee. I highly recommend this place! Their ice cream was so good!
And here is the famous Al Johnson's Swedish Restaurant; once again, with no goats on the roof. I keep hearing there are goats on the roof, I keep seeing photos of goats on the roof, but this is my third trip to Door County and I have ever yet to see in person goats on the roof. 😡. I have never eaten at this restaurant. It is the most popular restaurant in Door County, but it is only open for breakfast and lunch and the timing for me has never been right to eat there. On this visit, it was mid-morning. We had a huge breakfast at the hotel, plus I just had an ice cream cone, so we weren't hungry to eat here.
We did stop at Seaquist Orchards Farm Market and picked up some cherry pie. This is such a cute store and is really worth the stop for souvenirs and home baking supplies, jams, jellies, etc. I grabbed a jar of cherry jam while I was there too. Door County is known for its cherry trees so cherry pie is a featured dessert up there. You do not have the full Door County experience if you don't have a bite of cherry pie while there.
Next, we decided to go to the very tip of the Door County Peninsula where the ferry is located to take visitors to Washington Island. We had to drive Door County's most famous and most photographed road to get there. The road is not as impressive in person as it is in photographs. This is the view from the car, but the photos I've seen on line must be shot from a drone to get the real curvy view.
The road is Highway 42 and the curvy part is the stretch between Timberline Road and Porte des Morts Drive. It has 15 serpentine curves and is nicknamed "Jens Jensen's Road" in honor of the landscape architect who influenced the roads winding path to encourage drivers to slow down and enjoy the scenery. I'm all for that philosophy.
We had now driven to the very top of the peninsula of Door County, and we couldn't go any further unless we got on the ferry to take us to Washington Island. I would love to go to Washington Island someday, but I felt we got there too late to make the cost of ferry for ourselves, plus the car, worthwhile. I think you need to get on the very first ferry of the day to get the most out of Washington Island, so we will save Washington Island for another trip.
We did take some time to enjoy the beautiful beach and also watch the ferry come in!
Here's a short video of the ferry coming to load up more cars.
Hubby enjoyed climbing the breakwater rocks.
Next, we stopped in Gill's Rock which is the topmost town in the peninsula. We stopped in a couple of cute shops and then grabbed some smoked salmon to snack on; it was delicious. My husband and I aren't big restaurant eaters when traveling. Our usual eating habits are to enjoy a free breakfast at our hotel, snack during the day, and then grab an early dinner; usually around 4:00 or 5:00.
I loved the look of red geraniums seen through the red trimmed window.
View from the pier at Gill's Rock.
I thought this was a cute t-shirt!
Our delicious snack of smoked salmon. My only regret was that I didn't buy more, it was so good!
Our final stop of the day was Cana Island. I have to admit, I had never heard of Cana Island until the storms happened the weekend before our arrival. Door County was hit with horrific straight line winds and Cana Island even experienced a tornado and water spouts. The storm hit late in the afternoon and people were trapped on the island until 11:00 pm that night. Trees had fallen into the only road onto the island. But the good people of Door County heard that people were trapped and somehow were able to get blankets and food to them until they could be rescued.
To get to Cana Island you have to park your car in a lot on the peninsula, and then walk this small stretch of gravel land to the island. They also have a tractor that gives people free rides over to the island, but we chose to walk.
A view of the water from the small piece of land separating the island from the peninsula.
It costs $12.00 to walk onto the island and tour the lighthouse. The house, right in front of the lighthouse is attached to the lighthouse and is where the lighthouse keeper and his family lived.
A tour of the lighthouse keepers home is included in your admission ticket.
The home or "Keeper's Quarters" was built in 1869. It was originally separated into two apartments. The downstairs apartment was for the Head Keeper of the Lighthouse and his family and the upstairs apartment was for his assistant.
Tasks of the Lighthouse Keeper included:
- hand carrying fuel up to the lantern room and fueling the lamp
- trimming the wicks
- regularly cleaning and polishing the Fresnel lens and surrounding windows
- polishing the vast amounts of brass fittings and tools
- lighting and extinguishing the lamp each day
- monitoring the light and nearby shipping at night
- cleaning and lubricating the clockwork
- maintenance and repairs of all buildings
- greeting and sometimes lodging visitors
- writing reports, keeping records, and ordering supplies.
The Keeper's Office was where official business was conducted.
We then watched a film upstairs that talked about the history of the lighthouse and all its keepers.
Now it was time to climb the 97 steps to the top of the lighthouse. Going up the steps was a lot easier than coming down. Once at the very top, you had to duck your head and crawl through a hole in the lighthouse floor(similar to an attic crawl space) so this isn't an adventure anyone can do. Once you've entered you will see the Fresnel Lens and there is an employee to answer any questions you may have.
There were these cool porthole windows to stop and take a breather and look out while ascending the spiral staircase.
We were actually shocked that let us up to the top of the lighthouse and let us go outside on the viewing deck! It seemed a little dangerous to me with the strong winds. There were times I felt I would be blown over! But my oh my were the views spectacular!
The overall height of the lighthouse is 89 feet.
Even though you could walk totally around the viewing deck, one side was far more windier than the other so I only got views from one half.
Here's a short video of us on top of the lighthouse:
When we reached the bottom of the steps, we were pretty proud of ourselves 😀. As I said earlier, it's easier going up than coming down.
After our tour of the interior of the Lighthouse and Keeper's Home, we walked down to the shores of Lake Michigan to get these views:
Well by now we had traveled up the entire west side of the peninsula plus half of the east side, so it was time to call it a day. We headed back to Sturgeon Bay for dinner and to spend the night. Next week, I'll share all about our day in Sturgeon Bay: the gateway to Door County.
Have A Great Day! Amy
Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!
More Posts In This Series:
Sheboygan Wisconsin:
Door County:
