Finne's Follies: Door County, Wisconsin

Tranquil Timbers RV park, Sturgeon Bay, WI

I've been out of commission for a while due to a technology breakdown. My computer would not start up. Ultimately I had to send it back to the manufacture for repair. But I'm now back in business.

Our last travel adventure was Door County, Wisconsin. We were there for two weeks, parked in Sturgeon Bay at the Tranquil Timbers RV "Resort" (an Encore park). For the record, it's not a resort as one might think of a resort, but its an okay campground.

Door County encompasses the little peninsula that juts off the top of the state of Wisconsin between Green Bay and greater Lake Michigan. Door County is famous for its cherries. It is also famous (or should be) for its cherry wine. So the scope of our travels involved more or less two things: cherry pie and cherry wine... and we enjoyed both.

You may wonder where Door County got its name. We didn't, really. Some things you just accept without question. But we learned the answer to this question while on our tour of Washington Island.

Washington Island is the largest island just off the tip of the peninsula. It has a distinctly Norwegian history, so it was especially interesting to Mark, who is distinctly Norwegian. We saw exactly four attractions on our tour: a farm museum, a beautiful beach, a shop with fudge and pastries, and a replica of an old Norwegian church-- "Stavekirke". There's a similar replica in North Dakota that we've visited. This one was a bit smaller (if I recall correctly) and the landscaping a bit more rustic. We interrupted preparations for a wedding, but they were gracious enough to allow us a few minutes to look around. At the shop we visited there were the grass-roofed houses that are common in Scandinavian countries. Sister Bay, a town along the west shore of the peninsula has a famous restaurant, Al Johnson's Swedish Restaurant, with a grass roof upon which you will often find goats grazing. We passed it once or twice on our travels around the area and didn't see any goats, but perhaps it was the goats' day off.

The "Viking Tour Trolly"

Grass-roofed buildings on the shop grounds

Stavekirke

Barn Loom at the Farm Museum

Schoolhouse Beach

And, lest I forget... Door County was named for the treacherous waters between Washington Island and the mainland. So many boats have sunk in that waterway during bad storms, and so many people have lost their lives, that it came to be known as "Death's Door"... and so, the name "Door" County. I suppose "Door County" is better than "Death's Door County."

Now for the recommendations:

Every place sells cherry pie, but all cherry pie is not created equal. Ingredients are key. Good ingredients translate into good taste every time. The best cherry pie award goes to Elsie Mae's, and Grandma Tommy's is runner up. Both are made from scratch with real pantry ingredients, but Elsie Mae had the best tasting crust.

The best winery award goes to the Door Peninsula Winery. They have a huge selection to choose from, free tastings, and great prices. Their selection of cherry wines is amazing. Whether you prefer sweet, dry, sparkling, or anything in between, you will find something to delight your taste buds. They also have a good selection of traditional grape wines and other fruit wines such as pear, plum, citrus, etc. We visited all eight of the wineries in the area, but this one was our all-time favorite.

Door Peninsula Winery

Also, while we were in Sturgeon Bay, we discovered a wonderful little restaurant tucked out of the way nearby our campground called Mary's Waterfront Grill. We ate there three times. The food is wonderful and the outdoor seating has a view of the channel that passes from Green Bay on the west side of the peninsula to Lake Michigan on the east.