July 21st through August 23rd, 2025
Monica's mom speaks fondly about her time in Door County, Wisconsin, and that was next on our list. We left Mackinaw City and headed over the Mackinac Bridge to the upper peninsula. We were there a few weeks before and it was a really nice drive, again.
We were staying in Egg Harbor, one of the most popular places on the narrow strip of land between Green Bay and Lake Michigan, on the "thumb" of Wisconsin. The campground was in the woods, and we had to double check to make sure we weren't trying to set up camp in the middle of a road. Our site was huge and awesome, and it was going to be a great three weeks.
Our first trek was to Waupaca, Wisconsin, for the family reunion held every summer. We picked up some cherry pies from the farmer's market next to our campground and headed out. The cherries in Door County are so amazing, and the pie was incredible. It was nice to see everyone.
There are a few little towns along the county's peninsula, and we visited all of them. We mostly stayed on the Green Bay side. We had to visit Sister Bay and Al Johnson's Swedish Restaurant, of course. They have great food, and they have goats on their roof to keep the grass up there in check. We wandered around the marina across the street and marveled at how well Margot was healing. She wasn't back to normal yet, but it had only been five months since the incident.
During our second weekend in Door County, we drove to the tip of the peninsula to take the ferry to Washington Island from Ellison Bay. The restaurant we wanted to go to was closed, so we wandered around a bit. We even made it to the shoreline for some photos. We found a different restaurant to grab some decent food, and then Monica did a shot at Nelsen's Hall Bitters Pub to get her membership. It's not the tastiest shot but she did it!
We went to the farmer's market to pick up some more Door County cherries and nearly cried when we found out the season was over. We were lucky to be there during the tail end of it. We picked up some pies instead, so it all worked out.
We really didn't want to leave Door County, but we had one more stay in Wisconsin ahead of us. We went through Green Bay and headed north to the narrow strip of land Wisconsin has on the shores of Lake Superior. We found ourselves in the northland, in the trees, and far from any city. Though we missed having stores and a collection of restaurants to visit, it was nice to get out into the wilderness.
Our main destination was the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. We were going to do a boat tour around the Apostle Islands, but our tour kept getting cancelled because of bad weather. So, one of the days we decided to drive to Madeline Island by taking the ferry to the only island not a part of the national lakeshore.
Compared to Washington Island in Door County, Madeline Island was a bit of a bust. There wasn't much to do. We drove around to check out the houses on the island and had a decent lunch with a view of the water before heading back after a short time.
The ferry ride on the way back was on choppy waters, and we giggled all the way back to the mainland as water came up to drench the cars. It was a bit crazy but honestly kind of fun.
We had a romantic dinner a few days later on the shores of Lake Superior. It was an incredible sunset.
After three reschedules, our Apostle Islands Boat Tour was happening! We got great seats on the big boat and had a great time. Monica read online first that the weather was chilly and potentially rainy on the exposed upper deck, so we got great seats in the enclosed area next to a window that could open and close. After a bit, all of the people who scrambled to get to the upper level were down with us trying to dry off. It was a rainy and chilly trip, but absolutely beautiful.
We really loved Wisconsin! If it wasn't for the snowy, cold winters we'd consider a retirement life there when we're too old to travel all the time. We think we'll just visit in the summers. Off to Minnesota!
