We went to Door County, Wisconsin and are sharing the best experiences, places to eat, hikes, and boat rides to do on a long weekend in this midwest vacation destination.

Highlights of the Door County:

• Sturgeon Bay cheese and ice cream
• Lighthouses
• State and city view points 
• Hikes and overlooks
• Fish boil
• Sunset boat cruise

If you want to take this exact trip, you can download our Door County Itinerary. This guide to Door County gives you your daily schedule, hikes and boat cruise experiences, time allotments, costs, travel time between things to do, places to eat, where to stay and so much more.

We stayed at The Liberty Lodge at Sister Bay and loved this historic B&B! If The Liberty Lodge at Sister Bay is booked, The Inn at Little Sister Hill is a good choice, so is Scandinavian Lodge, Sister Bay Inn, or Birchwood Lodge.

See more weekend trip inspiration in our U.S. travel episodes!

Find a great flight deal to this region by signing up for Thrifty Traveler Premium and watching the daily flight deals (points & cash) that are emailed directly to you! Use our promo code TS10 to get $10 off your first year subscription.

Door County – Episode Transcript

0:47

Today we’re taking you to Door County, Wisconsin.

Now I know a lot of you squaddies are probably thinking Door County, Wisconsin.

0:54

What’s that?

And up until recently, I was in the same boat.

0:58

I had never really heard of Door County.

And then some people told us about it.

1:03

We did our research and I am gung ho on Door County right now.

So Door County, just so you guys are aware, is located in the upper eastern peninsula of the state

1:12

of Wisconsin along Lake MI.

So this is the peninsula that forms Green Bay.

1:18

It has over 300 miles of shoreline, five different state parks, 10 county parks, dozens of beaches,

and thousands of acres of wilderness.

1:27

Perfect for boating, paddling, hiking and just enjoying nature.

And I love the outdoors.

1:34

But it also has a lot to offer beyond the outdoors.

It has a lot of waterfront dining, locally grown wineries and breweries, quaint lakeside

1:42

communities, and it’s known for its wine, cherries and cheese.

So Door County is the perfect Great Lakes getaway, and it was the perfect trip to celebrate Jamal

1:54

and I visiting our 45th state.

Jamal, was this a birthday trip?

1:58

It was not a birthday trip.

Now granted, we did take it late July, literally the week of or a little bit after my birthday, a

2:06

few days after the fact, but I did not count it as a birthday trip.

But I enjoyed it nevertheless.

2:12

Because you know why?

Psychologically, I don’t think Brittany said this was a birthday trip.

2:15

This is something that she squeezed in wanted to do.

So when she doesn’t present it to me as a birthday trip, somehow I enjoy him a little bit more.

2:22

But I also think maybe Door County was just so awesome that that’s also why I really liked it a lot

and didn’t really be like, oh, you’re taking me somewhere when I don’t want to go somewhere.

2:31

So nationally, maybe it doesn’t have a big reputation, but does it have a big reputation in that

Wisconsin area?

2:38

In the Midwest area, definitely when we were at the hotel that we stayed at, there was a map there

in the dining room area and you could put where you’re from and most people that had marked the map

2:48

were right along like Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, like that sort of area.

I would say like 80% of people were from that area.

2:59

So it’s very well known to that region of the US, maybe a little bit more on the East Coast too, not

so much West Coast, which where we are and hence we hadn’t heard of it up until very recently.

3:10

But I enjoyed it a lot.

And I was telling this to Brittany, as I get older and we’re travelling more domestically in the

3:17

United States to a lot of off the beaten path places, I’m really appreciating when I go to places

that give me that small town America feel.

3:27

And Door County, Wisconsin really has that a lot.

And I, I loved it.

3:32

Were people really friendly there?

Very friendly, very friendly.

3:35

And then I mean, you just see the different style homes, the different streets, tree lined, etcetera

that just look so different than what you’re used to kind of in the city life that we’re about.

3:46

And not to say that in California there’s not small towns.

I mean, we all grew up in a small town in California, not as small as a lot of the population places

3:53

that we went through here and Door County, but you still just get that middle of America, Midwest

small town feel that you you really can’t get a lot of other places.

4:02

And I enjoyed it a lot.

You might be asking what brought us to Door County, Wisconsin because like Jamal had mentioned

4:09

earlier, we hadn’t really heard of Door County, Wisconsin, but my dad and his girlfriend Stephanie.

So shout out to them, they had Door County on their list.

4:17

And why was it on their list?

So Stephanie went to school out in Michigan, so she knows that area.

4:23

And I think she was like, I want to go to Door County, Wisconsin.

There’s a lot to do along the Great Lakes, and she just really wanted to see it.

4:30

And so if there was a part of Wisconsin she wanted to go to, it was this part.

So they went on their trip in May and they came back and they were like, Oh my God, it was so

4:38

awesome.

You guys need to take this trip.

4:40

I said, all right, send me your itinerary.

And I just happened to be watching SW sales and there just happened to be a flight that was like

4:49

$100 each way.

And I was like all the way to Wisconsin.

4:52

You can’t really get better than that.

And it just kind of fell into place.

4:56

I also have a friend who is from Wisconsin, Appleton, WI, her name’s Tara, and I texted her and I

said if you were to go anywhere in Wisconsin, where would you recommend?

5:06

And the 1st place she said was Door County.

So I said, all right, well we need to head off the state of Wisconsin anyway.

5:12

It’s going to be our 45th state.

What better way to go than visiting Door County, Wisconsin?

5:16

So it just happened.

Door County, Wisconsin, You’re saying though it’s on the Michigan Great Lakes.

5:21

Did you also get into the state of Michigan?

We did not know because Lake MI, of course, the Great Lakes are huge.

5:27

So Lake MI touches several other states.

So unfortunately we did not.

5:32

We flew into Milwaukee from Milwaukee.

We drove N up into Door County and people can say, well, door count, There’s tons of small quaint

5:40

towns within the county.

We’re going to get into it.

5:43

But that whole peninsula is the county and there’s lots of great things throughout the entire

region.

5:48

So hence the name Door County.

But there’s small little town spread between like I had just mentioned.

5:53

All right, well, without further ado, let’s get straight into the tips for visiting Door County.

Yes, our first tip is to bring a collapsible cooler.

6:03

This region, like I mentioned, is known for its cheese and wine, and you want to keep those cool so

that you can enjoy them without having to buy an ice block.

6:13

And a lot of places did sell ice blocks.

But having a collapsible cooler, you’re just like one step ahead of the game.

6:19

Why do you look like?

That What’s an ice block?

6:21

You don’t what an ice block is.

It’s a frozen block of ice.

6:25

That you use as a cooler.

Yeah, like you can buy the Styrofoam coolers and then put like an ice block in.

6:31

But yeah, a lot of places had things like that.

Also on this trip, you’re gonna go on a boat tour if you do it the way that we recommend, and you

6:40

can bring your beverages on board.

And so you want your cooler prepacked with your bevies in it so you can really enjoy that sunset

6:48

cruise.

Did you buy cheese from like a grocery store or do they have little cheese shops?

6:53

They have tons of little cheese shops.

More particularly, a really famous one that if you mentioned that name, the locals will know exactly

7:00

what you’re talking about.

We’re going to get to that a little bit later here.

7:03

We did stop there, had a great time, did not have the cooler, so we did not pick up cheeses in that

moment.

7:09

But if you don’t get it from that cheese shop, you can find that cheese brand or any other cheese

spread throughout wherever you go through Outdoor County.

7:16

Another tip is to stay two to three full days.

Our trip was four days with travel, but we spent some time like one day was completely travel and

7:26

the other day we had to leave kind of early to get back.

So 2 full days you can see the whole county.

7:32

Three you get a little bonus day to like lounge at the beaches and relax a little bit more and take

it a little bit more leisurely.

7:39

So if you have the ability to spend 3 full days, would highly recommend that and it’s going to be a

great time.

7:47

How’s the weather in the summer months like when you went?

Well, great question because that was actually going to be our next tip is to look out for the

7:53

humidity.

So Great Lakes, of course, during winter it’s going to freeze, it’s going to be really cold.

7:59

And a lot of places throughout Door County close up shop, right, It’s really only locals there and

everything else really isn’t open.

8:06

So during the summer it does get humid.

When we were there late July, going into August, it was humid.

8:15

I was expecting it to be worse.

I think we just probably had really pleasant weather for whatever reason, maybe a little less humid

8:23

than normal, but you feel it.

The night cools down really nice and you enjoy that.

8:28

But if you were there, maybe June, early July, just be ready for humidity because that region is

known for it.

8:35

One thing I want to mention, being ready for humidity, there’s one thing to expect it.

There’s another thing for how do you deal with it?

8:42

And there’s almost no way to deal with it, right?

You just have to sweat it out.

8:46

But.

Sweat it out how to dress appropriately.

8:48

You can certainly dress appropriately, light layers, all that, but these electronic neck fans that

are really gaining popularity, I would highly recommend one of those or we’ll link it in the show

8:58

notes.

But they’re these little U-shaped neck fans you put on.

9:02

They’re rechargeable, they have different speeds.

They work really well in humid destinations.

9:07

Oh that is a great tip.

That is a great tip.

9:09

We’re going to have to do it.

Do you have a fan, Kim?

9:12

I do, yes.

I’ve been using it in Austin when it’s.

9:14

Humid.

Excellent.

9:14

You did not have it when we were all in Florida and we were concerned when we did our Everglades

National Park boating tour, we were like how are we going to deal with the humidity down here?

9:24

I mean not me you know, but the girls were honestly debating what outfits to wear because of what

potential swamp ass might come from the humidity if we.

9:33

All yeah so to that so there’s don’t wear khaki.

Yeah, there’s planning going into it, so do keep that in.

9:38

Mind, we needed them in Costa Rica, really.

But back to the episode.

9:42

So another tip for you guys is to pack bug spray.

So along the Great Lakes, you know, bugs love water.

9:48

And so we went to a State Park, got out and immediately I was bit and I was like, so I got out my

Sawyer bug spray.

9:56

We sprayed us all up and I had minimal bites.

Last and final tip, pack sunscreen.

10:03

You are going to be on the beach, ideally, whether you’re actually lounging to go or just enjoying

the scenic views, you’re going to be out walking.

10:11

So do have that sunscreen.

I think we learned this lesson when we went to New River Gorge last time.

10:17

Even when it’s not even really that hot, 80° that prolonged being outside.

It’s bad.

10:23

We got bad burns.

Did not have it here in Door County.

10:26

Why?

We were in sunscreen, so have it.

10:29

Sunscreen is one of the the essential items that we have in our Amazon shop Travel Squad podcast,

Amazon Shop.

10:36

We also had a ton of other resources on our website for packing tips, packing lists that you can

download and use.

10:43

We have all of our itineraries, including one for Door County, so head over to

travelsquadpodcast.com and download yours.

10:49

So on this trip we did leave on a Wednesday and we landed at 6:30 PM in Milwaukee and picked up a

rental car and I just want to say something we were supposed to land 12:30 AM was it?

11:03

12:10.

AM the next day and we decided, hey, let’s just try our luck flying standby with Southwest because

11:11

same day of you can get yourself on standby and we really lucked out to get in a little bit earlier

and I’m really glad we did.

11:19

So I guess that is a squad tip here for you guys.

If you are flying Southwest day of, you can actually request standby at no additional change fee or

11:28

charge from your original ticket.

It just has to be on the same day.

11:32

But of course, no guarantee that you’re going to get on it.

But we got lucky.

11:37

Six hours early in, so we got a great night’s sleep before we started driving on Thursday.

Did you stay in Milwaukee close to the airport?

11:46

We did.

We are racking up our Marriott point, so we stayed out of Marriott near the airport.

11:51

Did you do anything in Milwaukee?

We did not because the airport is not immediately closed to downtown Milwaukee.

11:57

It’s not far, but not close enough.

And we got in.

11:59

We’re like, no, let’s just get a good night’s sleep.

We’re going to be driving doing things tomorrow.

12:03

We did go out to dinner to a Indian restaurant that was right by our hotel.

That was absolutely delicious, enjoyed dinner, and we had that for breakfast the next day.

12:13

A little leftover butter chicken never goes wrong in the morning.

So on Thursday we woke up early so that we can get the most out of our time indoor county.

12:21

Our first stop was Sturgeon Bay, which is about 2 1/2 hours north of Milwaukee and we got in OR just

before 10:00 there.

12:31

And we went to Sturgeon Bay specifically.

Kim, you were asking earlier about cheese shops where you can get it.

12:37

We went to Renard’s Cheese.

Now, this is the place that I mentioned that everybody will know Renard’s Cheese.

12:44

Stop here, have your cooler, pick up cheese again.

If you don’t have the cooler, you’ll be able to find this cheese elsewhere.

12:50

Probably going to be a little bit more expensive because of course now Renard’s is selling it to

somebody.

12:55

Somebody’s got to make a profit.

So it’ll be a little bit cheaper here.

12:58

But regardless of if you buy cheese or not, you want to stop in because they give samples galore.

There is a whole area of just samples.

13:07

The guy who helped us out, he was super nice.

Even what they had out for samples, he was asking us what we like.

13:12

You want to try something a little bit different?

Pulled something out for us to have that wasn’t even on the sample repertoire for the day, giving us

13:19

all sorts of stuff.

Really fun experience to just go in and do the tasting.

13:22

Yeah, you get cheese cubes, cheese curds, cheese spreads, all types of cheeses.

And then the cheese curds, you can actually get them seasoned.

13:30

So they’re not just like plain.

And they have a whole list of different types of seasonings and ways that you can change them up.

13:36

So really good here.

And they also actually had a really wide selection of Door County and Wisconsin based products like

13:44

wine.

So we ended up picking up Was it a Peach wine?

13:47

It was a Peach white wine, yes.

It was really good from here as well.

13:50

Was it sweet?

Yeah, a little sweet, but not too sweet.

13:54

And then we also picked up some crackers here.

And just crackers, no cheese.

13:58

Crackers, no cheese ’cause we did not have again, the cooler for us, we knew we would probably get

cheese later.

14:05

So we were like, no, we’ll pass on it, we can find it elsewhere.

But these crackers look delicious.

14:10

This Peach wine looks great.

Let’s pick this up.

14:13

And of course, I wanted to go in and buy something, especially since we got a ton of samples in that

moment.

14:19

I wanna, you know, do business with somebody who was really good to us, which again, I forget the

name of the gentleman who was giving us the the samples, but super nice, super friendly.

14:28

And you’re going to experience the same when you’re in there and just try a whole bunch of different

things.

14:32

That way you know what you want.

They also have a little fudge section with different types of fudges and one was a cherry fudge in

14:40

Wisconsin.

Door County specifically is known for its cherries.

14:43

It was really good, so you can pick up a whole bunch of stuff in there.

I have a quick question about cheese.

14:49

You’re saying you don’t have a cooler and most cheeses go in the fridge.

But what’s up with those cheeses that don’t go in the fridge?

14:56

There are certain types of cheeses that don’t.

You’re right, I am not a cheese expert enough to know why that doesn’t spoil.

15:03

I’m sure it has to do something with the way the it’s pasteurized.

Or is it a hard cheese or soft cheese?

15:10

So I don’t know.

But really great question.

15:12

You probably could find a cheese that didn’t require refrigeration, but those ones are usually the

ones that you’re not trying to eat with crackers and wine.

15:20

I don’t think you know.

It’s a cheese mystery.

15:24

So Door County is also known for its lighthouses, and so I wanted to hit up a few while we were in

the area.

15:30

So we drove to two and they’re in the same spot.

So one’s called Sturgeon Bay Canal Pure Head Lighthouse, and the other one’s just called North Pure

15:39

Head Lighthouse.

And to get to their lighthouses, we follow the GPS.

15:45

But then it kind of just like dumps you in front of this gate and you’re like, what are you supposed

to do here?

15:49

But if you look to the right of that gate, there’s actually like a small parking area and you have

to park your car.

15:54

And then you’re going to follow this road down that’s kind of blocked off to normal traffic.

And you actually have to walk in to the area because it’s actually like AUS Coast Guard station.

16:06

And so only part of it’s open to the public.

But then once you’re on that road, you can see out to the lake and then you can see a lighthouse out

16:15

there.

It’s really interesting because like Brittany had mentioned, it is Coast Guard territory.

16:20

When you are looking to the right, to the left is actually private residence.

So you have this one area where the private residence is like stay off and they have it sectioned.

16:30

And then another area where it’s the Coast Guard, people forget is actual military.

So this is a military installation and they’re like, we’ll keep off of here, but this area where the

16:39

lighthouse is is open to the general public, the walkway and pier.

So they give you this little narrow path that they actually have painted through of where you have

16:48

to walk to the waterfront.

But you mentioned, of course we’re seeing lighthouses.

16:52

People think lighthouse on the ocean.

But again, the Great Lakes are just so huge and in this region of the US, even including Canada,

16:59

cause of course the Great Lakes touch Canada so much commerce that they really did need lighthouses

along the lakes.

17:06

So famous for them here.

The Sturgeon Bay Ship House can help.

17:10

Your lighthouse is bright red.

So when you see pictures of door counting, you often see this lighthouse featured really beautiful.

17:19

You do have to like walk down this pier to get all the way to the end.

Be careful because in the summer there’s tons of spiders and like you’re walking through this like

17:27

overhead area and the spiders can be dangling down.

So Jamal.

17:32

Jamal hates spiders, by the way.

I hate spiders.

17:35

Me too.

Yeah, it’s like when we were in Chicago, remember we were walking on the waterfront in that tunnel

17:39

that goes under the road to actually get to the buildings.

When you’re walking along Lake MI and guess what?

17:48

Same situation here.

There’s a catwalk over because of course, the catwalk that leads to the lighthouse is the Coast

17:53

Guard stuff.

But the actual concrete of the pier is where the public is.

17:57

So to keep you from being able to really get to the lighthouse, then you’re walking below those

catwalk overhangs.

18:03

Tons of spiders dangling.

I stepped off to the side so you can avoid them.

18:07

Just be cautious for them if you decide to walk under the catwalk.

How long is the walk?

18:12

Oh, I would say less than 1/4 mile for sure.

It’s not like a very long walk and you’re not evading spiders for 1/4 mile.

18:19

It’s it’s a lot quicker than it really is that that quarter mile includes the paved area where they

have it painted off for you to not go on Coast Guard property and to not go on that private

18:28

property.

So.

18:30

Yeah.

So get pictures of the beautiful red lighthouse.

18:34

And then the other lighthouse is on the US Coast Guard side, so you can see it and you can take

pictures of it, but you can’t, like get super close to it because it says specifically that it’s not

18:45

open to the public.

And it’s only open to the public on the second weekend in June.

18:51

So unless you’re there specifically during that time, you can see it, take pictures of it, but just

not get super close to it.

18:58

These are really old.

These lighthouses were built in the 1800s, so that’s how old they are.

19:02

So a lot of history here too.

From the lighthouses we went to a State Park, it was called Whitefish Dune State Park.

19:09

It’s also pretty close to Sturgeon Bay and for most of the state parks within Door County at least,

the entrance fee is $11.00 for out of state license plates and it makes you put your license plate

19:20

into like a little machine to print you out a ticket, but $8 if you have a Wisconsin State license

plate.

19:27

I hate this.

And I always feel like we have bad luck when we go to get rental cars in other states.

19:32

They always give it to me as if I’m in another state.

I one time we were in middle America and I got a California plate and I was like, oh, why are you

19:38

doing this to me?

Like, and now I’m going to be prone to be pulled over.

19:41

So we’re here in Wisconsin.

What plate did they give us?

19:44

I don’t know.

I don’t remember Kansas or something.

19:46

Yeah, Yeah, but it wasn’t Wisconsin.

So now, OK, 3 Bucks is 3 bucks, but it’s the principle.

19:51

It’s like I’m Milwaukee.

I would expect a Wisconsin plate, right?

19:54

So if you are renting a car and going to be doing this trip, just ask the rental car company if you

can get a car with a Wisconsin plate because several places that you’re going to go along the way,

20:05

state parks, county parks, they do do it by plate.

So it’ll be just a little bit cheaper.

20:11

So this State Park is known for its sandy beaches and towering dunes.

And so the tallest dune in this area is called Old Baldy.

20:19

And of course, if there’s a hike to a dune, you know I’m going to do it.

But in this case, I didn’t, Kim.

20:25

Whoa, were you sick?

No, I wasn’t sick.

20:28

But my dad and Stephanie, they did the hike to Old Baldy and they said they didn’t realize when they

did the hike that you’re on top of the dune and it’s actually there’s like foliage on top.

20:41

So they thought they were going to see like these huge towering dunes.

And that wasn’t what they got.

20:45

They’re like, we were standing on it.

We need to like, really see how big it was.

20:49

And they’re like, so, you know, there are other things to do in the State Park, so focus on those

things.

20:55

So instead of being on top of a sand dune, I was like, all right, I can find some other hikes in the

area.

21:00

Well, the sand dune is only 93 feet tall.

I mean, that’s the highest that it is.

21:04

So it’s famous for that.

But again, not really crazy sand dunes.

21:09

I would imagine the sand dunes that we experienced when we were in Sand Dunes National Park in

Indiana, also along Lake, MI at that point.

21:17

We took that day trip from Chicago.

Those were a lot more impressive and granted, we did not go on to it, but I googled the photos and

21:23

like, yeah, so I would skip this one for sure.

And not the park here, not Whitefish Dune State Park, but old Baldy itself.

21:31

Skip.

So instead, we hiked along the Lakeshore going NE until we actually ran into another State Park.

21:40

And while you’re just leisurely hiking along the shore, you get so many beautiful views of Lake MI.

The water’s a beautiful blue-green.

21:49

You can see kayakers in the water.

It’s really pretty.

21:54

I can really see why people that live in that area really love the Great Lakes.

So then we made it to Cave Point County Park and there was like a cave area actually where a whole

22:05

bunch of people were just like jumping from the top into like this secluded Cove into the water.

And it just seemed like a really fun time.

22:13

Did you partake?

We did not partake.

22:15

Of course, we had our luggage with us, but we were not in our bathing suit attire to do it.

We knew we were going to be doing a few more things that day, so we did not jump in.

22:25

And fairness, it was a lot of families having picnics at this park, kids in there having to take

turns finding a way to climb out because there wasn’t a really easy way that I was able to see to

22:36

climb out.

Of course, other people were able to do it, but I was like, no, it’s okay.

22:40

I imagine we were going to get in the water later.

So we did not do it.

22:44

And by that point it started to become overcast too, so.

It was a little didn’t.

22:47

Really want to get in at that point.

And part of the Whitefish Dune State Park, they advertised having like a boardwalk area to walk

22:55

through.

And so we were trying to get back onto the trail, which was called the Brachiopod Trail, that goes

23:01

over like a little wetland area.

So we went back into the other park to do that.

23:06

When you crossed over into the county park, did you have to pay an additional fee?

We did not because we were on foot.

23:13

I do not know if in the county park you had to pay by license plate either when you parked because

we were able to do it as a walk and little trail hike.

23:20

So really good question, not too sure of the answer.

But the parks touch.

23:25

You should just visit both of them.

There’s a lot to do, hiking, kayaking, swimming, just enjoying the lake.

23:32

Pretty overlooked, so it’s really nice.

As a matter of fact, that kayaking that you’re talking about Brittany, this is the spot where this

23:38

was a potential to do.

But for whatever reason, Brittany nixed the kayaking this day.

23:43

Brittany.

I know, look at me.

23:45

I was like, we’re going to be more leisure on this trip and not so super active.

Well, we also just, we needed to get into the county at a certain point in time and we were on a

23:55

tight schedule and I had some more lighthouses to visit.

So which lighthouse did we go to next then, Britt?

24:00

We went to the Canna Island lighthouse in Bailey’s Harbor.

I actually did enjoy this one.

24:06

This is actually the most photographed lighthouse indoor county.

They do charge you $12.00 a person to go.

24:13

Really, really cool.

Because you park, then there is an area when the tide is low that you can walk across.

24:21

When the tide is high, you won’t be knee deep or anything like that, but maybe a little bit ankle

deep because it creates this little sandbar, but not really a sandbar, right?

24:30

But one is created there for you to have the path.

There was also, I’m pretty sure a local farmer or resident and he had a tractor that he was pulling

24:40

the trailer behind and charging I think a dollar if people wanted to take that.

So you could do that.

24:45

Most of the families did that, that little kids, but we were at low tide, so we just took the

sandbar across.

24:51

But what’s really cool about this lighthouse is that it’s almost a museum too, because that’s why

they charge you the 12 bucks.

24:58

You can go in, climb the 97 steps to the top, get the panoramic view.

But they give you a good representation of what the keepers quarters used to look like back in the

25:10

day, give you some of the history of that.

There is a film also.

25:14

So that was really cool.

This is the second time that we’ve been in a lighthouse where we did a kind of tour with the keepers

25:20

quarters.

The other one was in Long Beach or LA area, if you remember.

25:25

But here, that was fun too.

I enjoyed it.

25:27

And this lighthouse is built in 1870.

It’s a really beautiful lighthouse.

25:32

And then on the island, because it’s on Canna Island, you can walk around the grounds and also be on

the lake as well.

25:38

I did not realize that Jamal does not like lighthouse Heights, like being up at the very top and

like walking all around it.

25:45

He’s like, I don’t like this.

Whoa, Jamal.

25:48

I don’t mind heights when I feel like I’m safe.

You didn’t feel safe on the lighthouse?

25:54

Well, like Brittany said, built in the 1800s, you know, I know it was recently restored and

retrofitted, etcetera, but it’s just steel that’s on there and it has a little bit of give to it.

26:06

There’s not really support.

I know it’s structurally sound, but it’s one of those things where it’s like there’s not really a

26:12

lot of support.

It’s an overhang really circle that’s going around the light.

26:16

So yeah, I’m not feeling it in those moments.

This this is not my thing.

26:20

The last few steps to get up, you actually have to be really careful because if you’re not paying

attention, you can hit your head and then going down the first few steps is a little tricky as well.

0:00

So just keep that in mind.

26:32

Kind of got to be pretty mobile to get up there.

So I’m not going to lie, at this point I’m lighthoused out, you know, I mean, it’s one of those

26:39

things you could only see so many.

I granted two of them were in the same spot.

26:42

Then we saw this one and we had the cheese tasting.

So it was a fun day.

26:46

But when I say I was lighthoused out, kind of serious, kind of not, but we were continuing on to

Sister Bay, which is the town within Door County that we were staying at.

26:56

We heard great things about Door County Creamery.

You hear Creamery.

27:01

What do you think?

Maybe cheese, maybe ice cream, all of the above.

27:05

They also have sandwiches that you can get.

And we were like, all right, we got a little bit of hunger right now.

27:10

What are we going to we do?

We originally wanted to go for ice cream, but we said no, no, no, let’s try some of the sandwiches.

27:17

We ended up getting a goat cheese sandwich with hot honey that was absolutely amazing.

Cheese and honey only.

27:26

No, there was more stuff.

There was like arugula, some fried onions that were on it.

27:31

I think they also had some sort of shaved meat, not a pastrami.

Why would it like a salami or something to that effect, But those are the main things.

27:40

It’s like the goat cheese and hot honey.

But yeah, it was absolutely delicious.

27:44

It was called the hot honey sandwich.

Super, super good.

27:47

They also make goat milk Gelato and we got a scoop of that which is good.

And so they make tons of different cheeses, cheese spreads, they have the sandwiches.

27:58

Of course they make goat milk soap.

Have you tried goat milk soap?

28:02

I love the goat milk soap.

Oh, it’s so nice.

28:04

You can buy it from here, but lots of the hotels use Door County creameries goat milk soap as part

of their soap.

28:10

And that’s another thing where like I was just saying like small town America, I love all these

small businesses are mom and pops and they’re supporting each other.

28:17

They’re using their local stuff to supply the hotels, which I thought was really cool because sure

enough, we check into our hotel, which is almost like AB and B, so we’re going to talk about that a

28:28

little bit later, but lo and behold, we see that it’s Door County Creamery goat soap.

I loved it.

28:34

It’s on the Main St. in Sister Bay, so you can’t miss it.

And Sister Bay is just like a really cute, quaint town along the Bay.

28:42

And we stopped here on our way to the hotel.

But while you’re driving to your hotel, you’ll probably also be able to see another famous

28:50

restaurant called Al Johnson’s.

And sometimes they have goats on their roof.

28:56

How do they get up there?

I think they have like a little ladder system that gets them up.

29:00

A ladder system for the goats.

Like a ramp, Like a little.

29:04

Ramp, Ramp system.

Or some of the workers carry them up there.

29:07

I’m not entirely too sure how they get up there, but they’re up there.

So this area is something that we didn’t mention.

29:12

I guess we’re going to get into it a little bit later in the day when we talk about going to the

fish boil in the history of it.

29:17

But there is a lot of Scandinavian culture in this area.

So you have a mix of buildings, things that look like it comes from Scandinavia region of Europe,

29:26

which is true.

Al Johnson’s building looks that way.

29:28

And then they have grass that is growing on top of the roof versus a traditional roof.

So that is why the goats are on top.

29:35

They are actually grazing the rooftop of the restaurant itself.

It helps keep the buildings insulated in like the Scandinavian areas.

29:44

So they brought it to Door County.

Interesting.

29:47

So we did catch a goat up there munching.

Did not see how it got up, but I did see a lady go try to herd the goat.

29:53

So I don’t know if she ended up carrying it down or how they get it down.

But that is a great question.

29:58

When you’re in Door County Camp or any of you squatty, let us know how they get them up.

Go early in the morning and see how they get up there.

30:04

And from there we went to our stay at the Liberty Lodge at Sister Bay.

So we were actually hosted here at the lodge.

30:11

And it was founded in 1898 by Abraham and Christina Carlson.

It is a original Door County landmark.

30:19

Yeah.

The lodge served as a welcome destination for Steamboat passengers that were sailing Green Bay

30:25

waters from Chicago.

And these early guests typically stayed for weeks, enjoying the pleasures of the Door County

30:32

Peninsula.

And that’s one of the things too, that, you know, being in other Great Lakes regions and of course,

30:38

including this one, it’s one of those things where these places were areas where a lot of affluent

people came to escape the city heat of Chicago, Milwaukee or other big city areas that were along

30:52

the lakes.

And so they would stay weeks at a time.

30:55

So of course earlier we were talking about the humidity, but a little bit cooler here than in the

cities with all that stuff going on.

31:04

In the Liberty Lodge at Sister Bay, it’s more of a bed and breakfast than like a modern day hotel.

Had you ever stayed in a bed and breakfast before?

31:11

We have actually one place in New Jersey which was absolutely amazing also.

And that’s kind of why I mentioned Great Lakes region, but that’s not necessarily the case when it

31:21

was in New Jersey because of course it’s along the Atlantic.

But that area that we were at Cape May where we stayed in the B&B, same thing.

31:28

All the rich people came from New York City or other places within New Jersey and just stayed along

the shore for weeks at a time.

31:36

And to this day, it’s almost like Door County where people just go and summer vacation along the

shore.

31:41

Right, right.

I remember when you were planning this trip, the Liberty Lodge at Sister Bay was your number one

31:47

place.

You really wanted to stay.

31:48

You really wanted to see it, and I know why now.

I saw your stories from when you were on this trip.

31:54

It looked absolutely gorgeous, like the porch situation, the whole room situation.

Tell us about it.

32:01

Yeah, so they are pretty small.

They only have 14 rooms, but they’re all really beautiful rooms.

32:06

Our room had a fireplace and a roll pool tub inside of it.

And they just have like really nice hard Maple floors, cherrywood furniture.

32:15

They have a sign in the bathroom saying like, please respect the plumbing because we were built in

the 1800s.

32:20

Like so everything’s like super classic.

But what I loved outside of our room on our porch deck was there were two chairs so you can pull up

32:29

and just sip and enjoy your coffee, read a book.

And then there was a gazebo off to the side that was also connected to the deck.

32:36

And then when you go into the main lodge area, they have a big fireplace, some nice leather seating

area, and then they have a little dining area as well.

32:46

And let me tell you, the breakfast bread.

Amazing.

32:50

Tell me about it.

Well, so in the morning they did have a few things that were just almost like continental style,

32:58

right, But not in a bad way that some people associate continental style.

You had some fresh made scones.

33:05

Brittany mentioned earlier that cherries are a big thing here.

So it would actually list the place where they got the cherry compote jam or Jelly that they had set

33:14

out.

What else did they have on the the continental side of things?

33:18

I’m trying to remember because those scones were like grade A for me.

They also had these like cherry button cookies.

33:25

Oh.

Yeah.

33:26

Cherry Button cookies.

Like the the middle was like a cherry compote or jam and then like the outside was a a shortbread

33:33

and I couldn’t get enough of those.

They also had yogurt and granola.

33:39

They had cherry juice.

Cottage cheese.

33:41

Cottage cheese, but then they also had like a little menu and you can get like a European style meat

and cheese plate for breakfast.

33:51

And so we did that and they had like a they had.

The parfait also, so they had a few things that you can get specifically from a menu, maybe three or

34:01

four of those, those last two things, the parfait as well as the cheese plate were two of those

ones.

34:08

And then of course the continental style to pick up coffee, tea, whatever you would like.

So it’s not like a traditional bed and breakfast where you know the probably the breakfast menu

34:18

rotates every day or something like that.

A lot of it stays the same, but similar themes but different, which I really enjoyed.

34:26

And you mentioned the lobby with the fireplace and everything.

They have books and games in there.

34:30

So if you want to go out to the gazebo and play that, bring it back to the room, play in the lodge

with the fireplace going, or sit on the open deck.

34:40

It’s like a southern deck where you have your chairs and you’re overlooking the water ’cause it’s

right on the waterfront.

34:46

I shouldn’t say right on the waterfront.

The road is there, but you can see the water.

34:50

So you are on the lake when you’re at Liberty Lodge.

Awesome.

34:54

They have a little cornhole section too, so there’s a lot to really enjoy about this hotel.

We really enjoyed our stay here, it was fantastic and there’s nothing better coming home from a long

35:05

day and relaxing and unwinding in a hot tub pool inside your.

Room with that Peach wine that we picked up at Renard’s Cheese, by the way.

35:15

I’m just going to throw that out.

There and then we have, you know, the fire going a little bit, so there’s some ambiance there and

35:21

there’s the TV above the fireplace.

Amazing end of the day.

35:25

Take a guess in what we watched Kim while we were in the hot tub having our wine within the room.

Trash television on Netflix.

35:33

Love Island.

Close.

35:34

A little too hot to handle action was going on.

Yeah.

35:38

So that was what we were doing in there.

But like I mentioned Door County, a lot of stuff here is seasonal.

35:44

Liberty Lodge is only open from Memorial Day through October because then of course, it closes for

the season because it gets really cold out there.

35:52

From here, after we checked in, we went and checked out a market called Sequest Orchards.

It’s a market and bakery and it has everything cherry and more.

36:02

So you can get a ton of baked goods, spreads, cheeses, whole bunch of things here.

So it’s definitely worth taking a little stop in and.

36:11

This is free, of course, you can buy whatever you want within there.

But even if you’re not planning on getting anything and bringing it back because you’re afraid it’s

36:19

going to break in your luggage, if you’re not close enough to drive to this area, I would recommend

stopping by because it’s just one of those fun local things to do.

36:28

But it also gives you a really great perspective to the economy and industry that goes on here in

Door County with all the great stuff that you can buy in the shop.

36:38

And then we ended our day at a fish boil.

The fish boil was at the old post office in Epram.

36:43

So it’s an old historical post office that has now been turned into a restaurant.

And they have like 3 different seatings per night.

36:50

During the summer.

You have to call ahead to make reservations.

36:54

You come half an hour early before your time to see the presentation.

And by the presentation, Jamal had mentioned there’s like a whole Scandinavian culture here.

37:02

So fish boils are very traditional Scandinavian culinary experience.

Is it kind of like a pig roast for Hawaii?

37:09

It kind of is, except it’s a fish boil and they are bringing the fish from the Great Lake and doing

the boil, which is something that they did, of course in Scandinavian region.

37:19

So since a lot of people from Scandinavia settled this region, it’s something that was brought here

and it really started to take off and become popular when this region of the US started to become

37:31

that tourist destination of more affluent people leaving the cities during this summer as a place to

escape stay in a couple weeks.

37:39

They were saying, and they give you a little bit history of the region as they’re doing the fish

boil and of course history of the fish boil.

37:45

But they were saying that hotels back in the day, you know, they were small little operations and

there wasn’t really restaurants or other stuff.

37:54

So it was expected that the restaurant would feed you.

So this is what they did in the evening to feed guests because they can do it for cheap.

38:01

They had a ready available supply of fish constantly.

So fish boils became popular in this region too for that.

38:08

So they have this huge kettle and they’re boiling potatoes and onions at the bottom, and then they

eventually put the fish on top.

38:16

And then at the very end, once everything’s like ready, it’s called the fish boil because they throw

a whole bunch of kerosene on it.

38:23

And so then there’s this.

Like, big dramatic.

38:25

On the wood, not on the fish and the boil.

I just want to specify.

38:28

There’s the big boil over of some of the water in the pot and there’s like a huge flame and so it

gets rid of like all of that top layer that’s cooking.

38:39

And so it’s a great way to like clean out the pot, I guess.

So our cook, his name was Torch.

38:44

I’m.

Sure that’s not his real name, huh?

38:47

A little nickname.

No, I think his real name is Jeremy, but thanks, my torch.

38:52

And we’ve heard from multiple people that he puts on one of the best fish boil shows in Door County.

So if you’re gonna see a dramatic fish boil, this is a place to go see it.

39:03

And if you are not a fish fan, you can actually get this with ribs or chicken, correct?

Yeah, so same price, but you can say like, oh, you don’t want the fish, but you tell them that in

39:15

advance.

You can still watch the show, of course, but yeah, you can get it with chicken or ribs instead.

39:22

And our meal was the fish, potatoes, the onion, coleslaw, bread and included cherry pie, of course.

Yum.

39:30

And they had some melted butter to pour on top of the fish.

It was so good.

39:35

Yeah, at the table they just had like a craft of melted butter.

It’s just put it over it.

39:40

I loved.

It are you sitting at tables like picnic tables, family style or your own personal small table?

39:45

Own personal small table inside the restaurant.

So they do this show in the back of the restaurant and then you are assigned a table and you come

39:54

inside and sit down and have this meal.

Well, we sat inside.

39:56

They also do have outside seating, but the outside seating again is not by the show area.

That’s just completely different.

40:02

But you do have options and when you book your reservation they will ask you do you want inside or

outside.

40:08

Originally we had a later reservation, but we got done with our day a little bit earlier.

So we called and asked them, hey, would you be able to seat us at one of the earlier seating?

40:17

And they said yes, but only thing available now is the inside versus outside because originally we

had outside seating.

40:24

So we were inside for this.

But when we made the original reservation, we were like, well, does it matter inside or out?

40:29

And she says, well, if it happens to rain, you know, sometimes we get rain in the evening.

So there’s that, but we’ll be able to kind of accommodate you.

40:37

So do keep that that in mind depending on what you want, but I would say go inside with the AC.

That’s just me.

40:43

And then we ended our night at the Sunset Beach Park, and it’s just like a small little park that

you couldn’t go and watch the sunset.

40:51

It was a little cloudy on this day, so we didn’t actually get to really see the sunset over the

water, but it was still pretty nonetheless.

40:58

That was a big first day.

It was it was so driving from Milwaukee, getting up into Door County and Sister Bay, doing all those

41:05

things.

So it definitely took a little bit out of of us, but nevertheless we persevered on to Friday here.

41:13

But when we started our morning Friday, we already just mentioned a little bit about the breakfast

at Liberty Lodge.

41:19

So we did have that.

We also forgot to mention that there is oatmeal, really good oatmeal bar too with the all the

41:25

toppings and accompaniments to go with it plus everything else that we mentioned.

So really good.

41:30

And you know, I can’t do a trip without a hike.

So we got a little hike in.

41:34

We went to Peninsula State Park, and it’s one of Wisconsin’s most popular parks.

We hiked the Eagle Trail.

41:41

It’s known for its rugged terrain, scenic views.

It has a historic Eagle Tower where you have like amazing panoramic vistas.

41:50

You can either go up by climbing a whole bunch of steps, or they have like a little ramp that you

can go up.

41:55

We climb the steps and then we went down the ramp.

So we got a little bit of both.

41:59

Other than the tower, is it a hike that has a peak and ascendant or is it mostly flat?

It’s mostly fat.

42:05

So like when she says that it has this tower, it really isn’t part of the hike.

A lot of Eagle’s nest here.

42:11

So there’s the Eagle Tower, Eagle Trail.

There was a couple other eagle somethings on that, but we did this first because this is where we

42:19

parked, which was close to the trailhead.

But the actual hike is along the Lake Shore.

42:26

So you’re kind of in the foliage of the, the trees, You’re right along the lake, you see the

dramatic rock formations and some caves that they actually have along the rocks and the, the

42:39

shoreline.

So this was really cool.

42:41

I I enjoy this hike a lot.

Yeah, and it’s not a long hike.

42:45

It’s only about two miles.

The park entrance is 8 to $11.00, depending on what kind of license plates you have, of course.

42:52

And we did see a proposal at the top of the tower as well, which was, did you clap?

Yeah, we.

42:59

Did take their picture for him.

We did.

43:01

I was about to take the picture, but I noticed some guy who wasn’t with them caught what the guy was

about to do and started filming.

43:08

And then after the proposal, he was like, I caught it all.

Do you want him to share your information?

43:13

I can text it and send it to you.

And they ended up doing that.

43:17

But it was, it was funny.

It was a guy proposing to a girl.

43:20

Obviously, I think they were with the girl’s parents and the mom was distracting the girl

overlooking to the lake ’cause you’re at a really high elevation overlooking the the lake, which is

43:32

a really beautiful view there.

And then the dad was kind of with the now fiance since he proposed.

43:40

She looked back and he was already on his knee, but I don’t think she really caught it.

And it was a little awkward because I was like, oh man, he’s trying to get her attention.

43:48

She’s like avoiding it or what’s going on.

But then of course, she cried and realized what was happening.

43:53

But I was about to film, but I did not because somebody else did.

And I was like all right, I don’t need to do this, but cool nonetheless to.

44:00

See, and then we went to another overlook called Sven’s Bluff Overlook.

You get more views of the forest, Green Bay, and we actually saw like a trolley tour stop here.

44:12

So we got a little bit of a free history lesson by listening in, which you can do while you’re there

as well.

44:18

Yeah, that’s one thing that we did not do.

There is a known trolley that will take you around and give you the history.

44:25

And in hindsight, I don’t want to say that’s something I wish we did.

If I was to go back or be in this region again and do it, I I would do the the trolley tour because

44:33

what we learned when we were at Spence Bluff Overlook and the trolley happened to be there at the

same time, caught a lot of cool information.

44:40

I mean, the lake is so big, but one of the things that they were actually saying is it is in this

area rather shallow.

44:47

So there’s lots of shipwrecks in that region.

And you really have to know where you’re going to navigate or have modern equipment to let you know

44:55

how deep or not deep it is because a lots of people run aground and there’s very narrow passages to

make it through that.

45:02

You don’t like scrape your boat out on the bottom.

And he was telling more cool stuff than that.

45:07

But I thought that was really interesting because you wouldn’t think that it’s shallow considering

how vast it is.

45:12

I mean, you look out and you can’t see the other end of the lake yet it’s shallow by the shore.

Yeah, he was actually saying that it’s so shallow that in winter months the lake freezes over to

45:23

pretty far out.

So if you want to do construction on your home that’s like on an island, you wait for the lakes to

45:31

freeze over and then you can drive trucks over to that spot with like lumber and supplies and things

like that.

45:38

One thing I would love to do one day is ice skate on a natural frozen lake.

You could do that right here, I guarantee it.

45:45

From here we went to our restaurant called White Cool Inn Restaurant and let me tell you, we went

specifically to get the stuffed French toast with cherries.

45:54

I have never had more delicious French toast.

Than the French toast?

45:59

What about the OMG French toast from Snooze No?

OMG is not as good as what this was.

46:03

Yeah.

And I like cherries in general.

46:05

I’m not a big fan of cherry flavored jams and things, but this was really good cherry stuffed French

toast.

46:12

It had a beautiful Mars Capone cheese stuffed in between the bread.

And so we were originally wanting to do this in the morning the next day before we left, but we’re

46:22

like, oh man, the breakfast was so good this morning morning.

Are we really going to turn down a breakfast?

46:27

And we’re like, OK, let’s try to go.

They only serve breakfast at the White Goal Inn up until 2:00 PM.

46:34

So we made it I think at like 145 in time to place our order before we missed the breakfast call.

And I’m glad we did.

46:42

So it was really like a little brunch for us.

We didn’t get anything else.

46:45

We went here specifically for this because we heard it was fantastic and it did not disappoint.

So I would highly recommend going to get your cherry stuffed French toast at the white goal in.

46:56

Yeah, full order comes with four pieces, so we split it, but they do have 1/2 orders too.

Weren’t you also considering a candlelight dinner here?

47:04

I did see that on their website they do have like a candlelight dinner and a fish boil, so it was an

option for us but we didn’t end up booking it.

47:12

But the French toast, definitely go for that.

After the white goal end, we went to the Ellison Bluff State Natural Area, and this is a region that

47:20

features dramatic limestone cliffs that drop sharply into Green Bay.

It really gives you stunning views of the water and surrounding landscapes.

47:30

And there is a small boardwalk path and dirt path that is right on the edge of the Cliff.

So you could take that dirt path and then that boardwalk that you’re talking about, it’s not really

47:41

on the ground.

It protrudes from the cliff’s edge and it just gives you a small little overhang to look over.

47:48

And how did you feel about that?

One I didn’t mind.

47:50

It felt a lot more sturdy than that lighthouse built in 1800s, so I could tell you that.

So after you got your fix of living on the edge, where did you go to next?

48:01

We stopped at Charlie’s Smokehouse in Gills Rock, and I know you love fish Kim, but this place

specializes in smoked fish and so they have a lot of locally caught and expertly smoked seafood.

48:18

And so we got the smoked salmon and the salmon cheese spread here.

It was really good.

48:23

We ate it right on the back deck that they had.

Salmon cheese spread.

48:27

Yeah, I know you wouldn’t like it, but it was delicious.

Imagine like an artichoke dip, but instead of artichoke it’s with the salmon.

48:36

So that’s what it is.

It’s just the fish mixed with that.

48:39

It was really, but I will say this though, the smoked salmon itself, not in the cheese spread, was

so good.

48:48

We had our crackers that we picked up at Renard’s Cheese still with us and we use that to eat some

smoked fish.

48:56

Some of the cheese spread, they do have a deck Outback that you can go and sit on and enjoy what you

buy, or you can take it to go.

49:04

I can’t believe how reasonably priced it was because normally salmon’s expensive.

I feel like we got a pound for like 20 bucks and it just lasted us forever, really.

49:15

It was so good.

Again, I know Brittany said it.

49:18

You don’t like fish, Kim, but Charlie’s Smokehouse in Gills Rock is a Door County staple that pretty

much everybody knows.

49:25

This is where you go if you want to get some good smoked fish.

Loved it.

49:28

And this day we were working our way from South to north up the peninsula.

So in this spot in Gills Rock, we’re pretty far north.

49:37

And from Gills Rock we took the winding road to Northport.

And this windy Rd.

49:42

Windy for no reason, but it’s just a very picturesque landscape.

Scenic Dr. have some forests, some shoreline views and it’s the most photographed Rd. in Door

49:53

County.

It would be really pretty to see in fall.

49:56

So luckily this is just along the way because if Brittany took me to this just because it said it’s

the most picturesque and windy or whatever, and then I saw it, I’d be like, well, what is this?

50:08

But.

Oh, I just googled a picture.

50:10

It’s so.

Pretty, it is pretty, but that photo that you googled in picture, is it during fall a little fall

50:15

color it’s.

Green, but I’m seeing the fall too and it looks really pretty.

50:18

It’s pretty right, But as you look at that photo, there’s nothing really in the way from preventing

it to be straight.

50:24

So I’m just like, like Brittany said, they made it windy for no reason.

So in that since I almost feel cheated, like did you just do do this to have something to do and

50:33

bring people to the region or is there something?

That it’s like a little flavor to the.

50:37

It made it made it nice.

I enjoyed it.

50:39

It was beautiful, don’t get me wrong.

But it’s like if this was out of the way and it was to go to, and granted we were there during the

50:46

summer, fall foliage, though, I would be like, Oh yeah, I would totally go out of the.

It’s kind of a bummer that this area shuts down as fall comes in because looking at these pictures,

50:58

I would want to be there in the fall.

Well, they do close down towards the end of October, so I feel like you can still see it if you go

51:05

like end of September, maybe early October.

So then you end up in the northern tip of the peninsula.

51:12

From here you can actually take a ferry to an island called Washington Island, but you would need

that third day for that.

51:17

And we didn’t have that and you.

So we just decided to kind of work our way back.

51:22

And what would you do if you took that ferry?

What is there to do?

51:25

It’s a a pretty remote island, but you can have like more relaxed beaches because there’s like no

one out there and there are a few historic things to see.

51:35

More lighthouses.

I’m sure there are, I don’t know for sure though.

51:41

So Tanya, she is the manager at Liberty Lodge, and she even asked us if we were going to be going

out to Washington Island, and we told her no because we just don’t have time.

51:51

She said, yeah, you need a good bit of time there.

But she was saying that it’s one of her favorite things to actually do.

51:56

She has family coming in.

They’re planning on doing that, staying a day out there because they do have, like, good

52:01

restaurants.

It’s a little bit less crowded because, of course, you have to take the ferry.

52:05

There’s only so many accommodations, but she said people think it’s smaller than it is, but you

could rent bikes and ride from one side of the island to the next and just keep things really

52:15

leisure.

So it’s almost like a staycation thing for people who are from the region.

52:20

Or if you have more time to just go enjoy and have a little bit more seclusion.

After that we went to, and I’m going to butcher this because I think it’s in French, we went to

52:29

Porte de Martes Park and this is just a park at the top of the Cliff, but you can take stairs down

that go to the Lakeshore and walk along the Lakeshore.

52:41

And this area is famous because it features some of the Niagara Escarpment, which is a prominent

geological formation that actually stretches from Niagara Falls in New York and Ontario area all the

52:55

way through Michigan and Wisconsin.

And it consists of a series of steep cliffs, ridges that formed from getting real geological on you

53:05

guys now Dolo stone and limestone.

And it just offers a striking contrast and natural scenery to the diverse ecosystem that’s along its

53:14

path.

So I thought this was a really cool area.

53:16

You’re going to be right by this.

So I would stop, but this is not a must do in my opinion, but really cool geological features.

53:22

And so then we started to head South because we were at the tip of the peninsula and we wanted to do

some wine and cider tasting.

53:29

So we went to Lautenbach’s Orchard Country.

And it’s this shop, but they have an orchard and you can do wine and cider tasting there, and you

53:39

could try different cherry samples.

And they also had an amazing cherry pit spit.

53:46

So if you take your cherry pit that you just tried from a cherry sample and you go to their back

area, they have this big spitting range and they have spit pit.

53:57

Yeah, the spit pit.

And they have it marked by, you know, how many feet and they tell you what the longest pit spit has

54:02

been for like men’s and women’s.

And then you can try your luck and see how far you can get so and.

54:08

Who spit farther?

I did.

54:10

No, you did not.

I spit further and matter of fact, we each filmed both of our spits because for whatever reason, we

54:17

thought this could be some good Instagram content and Brittany did post it on there.

But of course, when you’re filming it, you can’t really see the pit because it’s so small.

54:27

But I made it pretty far.

Brittany made it very subpar.

54:31

And then as I’m filming her, she just, I made it all the way over here and then she runs to the end

of the pit like she made it all 50.

54:37

Feet.

So not much of A spitter, huh Brittany?

54:40

No, but.

How was the price point on a tasting?

54:42

Oh, the price point was so cheap.

So you for $5 you can do five 3/4 of an ounce tasting or for $10 you can do five 1 1/2 ounce

54:52

tastings.

And they had a ton of different lines to choose from.

54:56

I told Jamal maybe we should do 2 of the $5 ones with a 3/4 ounce tasting and get 10 different

tastings each.

55:03

But anyways, we didn’t do that.

We just got 5 and it was nice.

55:07

They have like this outdoor patio area.

They also have an indoor area.

55:10

Really enjoyed it.

Really awesome vibes on the back patio area by the spit pit because they do have a covered porch.

55:17

Really nice chairs.

Really.

55:19

I mean, again, you are on an orchard to some degree.

You can see the farming, the barns, all sorts of stuff.

55:25

So it gives a great ambiance.

We decided to sit outside, but on this day it was hotter than the day before.

55:33

So after a while of sitting outside, we’re like, oh man, we got to get back inside, get into the AC

because it started to warm up quite a bit.

55:41

Even though it is covered and they did have the fans, it warmed up on us.

And so we were doing this before we were going on our sunset cruise and this was the perfect way to

55:53

end your trip in Door County is by doing a sunset cruise with Fish Creek Scenic Boat Tours.

They have 4 different scenic boat tours, but we did the sunset live music one.

56:04

This is where we were telling you you can bring your own alcoholic drinks on board.

You can bring anything on board that you want to.

56:09

So people came with full coolers of beer and drinks here.

There was a Bachelorette party on board.

56:16

There was a birthday on board.

It was a full little cruise.

56:20

Is it like a a party vibe then?

I wouldn’t say I felt it like a party vibe because the songs that he plays because it’s a sunset

56:29

cruise, but there’s the captain and then there’s a gentleman who’s singing and he sings more calm

songs, cover songs, of course, to just really put you in the vibe.

56:39

I wouldn’t say there’s lights going and it’s feeling like a party, but depending on the crew that’s

with you on there, it can be a little bit more lively.

56:46

But people aren’t on there just being like I’m getting shitty.

You know they’re they’re drinking heavily enjoying their BYOB but in a a non party aspect

56:54

responsible manner but still enough to have fun.

That makes sense.

56:57

OK.

And I really did like the sunset cruise.

57:00

It’s about an hour and 45 minutes, so almost two hours.

You get the music, but then in between music and songs, as you’re passing like lighthouses or

57:09

islands, he turns into a tour guide and he tells you a lot of information about the history of the

area, about the wildlife and the Bay that you’re seeing.

57:18

And then he’ll go back to singing again.

So it was a nice mixture of both song and information.

57:24

You did the Sunset Live music cruise.

Do you remember what the other options were?

57:28

Yeah, they had one called Millionaire’s Row and West Islands.

They had one that kind of goes by the Peninsula Park Caves and a town called Epram, and then they

57:40

had one called W Islands and Eagle Bluff Lighthouse.

So it goes by a lighthouse and stuff and some other islands.

57:47

And so based off of what I saw online and like the timing of our schedule, we picked the sunset one

because we thought it’d be really nice to see the sunset over the water.

57:55

And was it?

It was fantastic and like I said, today was hotter than the day before.

58:01

So the day before was kind of overcast and she mentioned when we were at the park to watch sunset

that is infamously called Sunset Beach Park, really couldn’t see it because it was cloudy.

58:13

Today was a beautiful day and the sunset did not disappoint the person singing what a professional.

He timed a beautiful calm song to sunset and literally he did not repeat any of the chorus or do

58:29

anything or go longer.

He’s like, ah, today’s going to be a good one.

58:33

He even said that like as we’re getting on the boat, he said, I can guarantee you it’s going to be a

fantastic sunset.

58:38

And I swear he hit his last strum to the song as that last little thumbnail of the sun went down

behind the water, like he timed it perfectly.

58:48

And somebody said that to him and he said, I’ve done this before and I’m a professional.

And then the whole boat started to laugh.

58:53

But he really timed it perfectly to the last strum of his guitar as it went down.

It was.

58:58

It was perfect.

Yeah, and for the last few minutes of sunset, the captain kind of stops the boat, but like rotates

59:04

it slowly around so that everyone gets a really nice view of the sunset.

So it was really, really nice.

59:10

Like couldn’t have asked for a better sunset than this one.

And what kind of a boat is it?

59:16

And like how many people can fit on one boat?

It’s a medium sized boat.

59:19

There was what probably like 10 or 15 rows where you can fit four people each on a row on each side.

Four to three people on each side, I would say.

59:29

Yeah, probably.

How many people would you say it was on this boat, 50?

59:32

I would say about that it’s not too big.

Yeah, yeah, Yeah, Well, you’re right.

59:37

I said it’s not too big, but in terms of like, it’s not like vastly huge, right?

But you have a good amount of people on there with you.

59:43

It’s.

Not like a pontoon boat.

59:45

It sounds like a party.

That’s I guess that’s very true.

59:49

And Speaking of pontoons, when we got back to shore after the sunset cruise, they did have pontoons.

This company that does the boat tours also has boats that you can rent and pontoons that you can

1:00:01

rent.

And so if you were going to spend that third day, I would really highly encourage you guys to book a

1:00:07

third day so you could spend more time at the beaches.

Maybe rent a boat, because if you were going with a group of friends, you can rent A pontoon that

1:00:15

can fit like 12 to 15 people.

And the rates are really affordable for the boat rental.

1:00:19

Like if you do a partial day, it could be like as little as 200 and for a full day it’s like 600.

And if you’re splitting that with like 12 people, that’s like nothing.

1:00:29

And those pontoon boats, they have to be like really flat on the top so that you’re floating and not

deep.

1:00:35

Because again, they were telling us a story on the sunset cruise of lots.

The people who think they know what they’re doing, who really don’t, lots of rich people who come

1:00:44

out with their boats and park it in there and run it aground because they hit all the rocks and

stuff below.

1:00:50

So those pontoon boats, they are just barely on the surface, not even anywhere below.

So you don’t have to worry about that because you could imagine the businesses like these people

1:00:58

don’t know what’s going on.

There’s no equipment.

1:01:00

We’re not going to let them run aground.

So you are safe out there with these pontoons.

1:01:04

Just don’t be stupid and bring a big boat out there and not know what you’re doing because you will

run aground.

1:01:10

And that was the perfect way to end our last full day in Door County.

Kim had mentioned it earlier that we do have this itinerary available for you.

1:01:18

We have everything linked for what you need to pack, the restaurants that we’ve talked about and

other ones that we do recommend, the hotels that we stayed at and anything that we booked.

1:01:27

It’s directly LinkedIn there for you.

And this itinerary is free.

1:01:30

So all you have to do is go to our website and download it.

And then we just drove home on Saturday, we drove back to Milwaukee.

1:01:38

Just being a sports fan, I wanted to go ahead and see Lambeau Field, where the Green Bay Packers

play.

1:01:45

It’s along the way in the southern region.

So we did make a stop just to see that we drove by.

1:01:50

If you are a Packer or sports fans, you can’t actually do a tour.

It’s almost like the stadium is a museum.

1:01:56

They do offer daily tours.

From my understanding.

1:01:59

We did not do that, Didn’t necessarily want to, but that’s something we did heading back to

Milwaukee before we flew back home on that Saturday.

1:02:07

Sounds like a lovely, wholesome weekend out in Door County.

It really was.

1:02:11

I really enjoyed it and I hope you squaddies enjoy it too if you make it out to Door County.

Thanks for tuning into our Door County, Wisconsin episode this week.

1:02:19

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1:02:25

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1:02:39

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