A weekend in the Cape Cod of the Midwest

On a whim we decided to spend the Fourth of July weekend away from the St. Louis summer heat. What was up north that was within reasonable driving distance of St. Louis? Door County, Wisconsin, known for being the Midwest's version of Cape Cod.

Door County is a peninsula that juts northeast into Lake Michigan. The west side, flanked by the waters of Green Bay, is warm, sunny and well protected. Tourism abounds on this side, with lots of development on the coastal route along Egg Harbor, Fish Creek, Ephraim and Sister Bay - perfect for water sports like sailing, kayaking and jet skiing (although we personally prefer non-motorized water activities).

The area's Scandinavian heritage can be seen in some of its architecture, food, gift shops and life-sized troll statues. In Sister Bay, there is a goat grazing on the roof of Al Johnson's Swedish Restaurant.
 
Finding a budget priced place during the holiday weekend on very short notice - and one that would accept pets - was nearly impossible. We randomly found the Maple Grove Motel in Gills Rock - just around the corner from the northernmost tip of the peninsula. Gills Rock is 10-15 minutes away from the main tourist areas - but the hassle-free view of fireworks around the corner from the motel couldn't be beat.

A few things that we discovered in Door County:

Peninsula State Park
Peninsula State Park, located between Fish Creek and Ephraim, was packed with sunbathing beach goers and car campers airing out their laundry in full view. There is a nice panoramic view of Green Bay from the 76-ft. Eagle Tower observation deck. And thanks to the park guide's tip, we ventured onto Eagle Trail, a 2-mile loop with 150-foot cliffs, natural springs, lots of shade and rocky sections that hugged the shoreline. Very picturesque.

Cana Island
The eastern half of the peninsula, on the Lake Michigan side, was colder and more rugged, with waves crashing violently against rocks. We drove through a residential area to reach the end of the road. Then we walked through a gravel path (submerged at other times) to Cana Island and its famous lighthouse. The water was icy cold, but our feet went in for a dip anyway. We took this picture of the lighthouse when the skies cleared momentarily.

Fish Boil
In Ellison Bay, we dined at the Viking Grill, home of Door County's first commercial fish boil. It's a big show that involves boiling whitefish and potatoes in a cast-iron kettle. When they are almost cooked, the "masterboiler" pours some kerosene and the pot erupts into flames.
Served cafeteria style, the fish and potatoes come with sweet white onions, coleslaw, pumpernickel bread, lemon wedges, Kosher pickles and a piece of Door County cherry pie. It was the best meal we had on the trip.

Cherries
Speaking of cherries, did you know that only certain climates are conducive to growing cherries? The top cherry producing regions in the U.S. are Michigan, New York, Utah and Wisconsin. In Door County, the surrounding waters moderate late spring frosts as well as summer heat - keeping the area ideal for growing cherries. Visit a cherry orchard and pick them off the trees when they're fresh. Cherry harvest season starts in mid-July, but the 2010 crop ripened a few weeks earlier so we got lucky. At Door County Wildwood Market north of Sister Bay, we got a huge bucket of freshly picked cherries for around $7! There's also cherry juice, cherry jam, cherry pie filling, cherry salsa, cherry scone mix, cherry wine...