Northern Exposure III - 2011 - Day #14

Our introduction to Door County, WI was --- mixed!  The fact that the day was quite beautiful was a very mixed blessing.  My first impression of Door was along the lines of imagine the Keweenaw but add a quarter million vehicles and a half million people to go with them, rather like a cross between Nashville, Indiana and Pidgeon Forge, Tennessee.

We rose and organized ourselves in good time and managed to beat the worst of the rush in the breakfast room, especially as we ignored the waffle-maker again.  By 8:30 AM (Central) we were heading out on to the highway towards Norway in order to pick up the detour necessary to get us on the road to Green Bay.  We made good time while listening to the latter part of "Sailing To Capri", and in fact got to the edge of Door County in excellent time and started up Route 42.  We stopped at an upscale complex (candles/pets/food/"stuff") and browsed without paying the inflated prices but took advantage of their facilities.  We carried on and shortly thereafter our "troubles" began.

Prior to that, but as we were getting close, we saw a billboard and then the store itself of wild birds supply and equipment. It was fabulously stocked with many wonderful bird houses and even more feeders but especially really inexpensive but good bird foods.  Marissa bought a very attractive feeder for her house and John was, well, John, buying no less than 90 pounds of food, one bag of 50# oil sunflower and two 20# bags of the equivalent of "woodland"ready for his winter feeder set-ups, all for about 2/3rds of anything obtainable in and around Columbus.

It was a beautiful Sunday with many people having a holiday Monday to follow and it seemed as though every village (or whatever one calls those "named but unincorporated" settlements) was having a festival, or art show, or craft fair or something that made travel very much of a slow crawl and made all potential parking quite impossible.  We slogged on and eventually traffic became more bearable but still anywhere that might have been interesting to stop and see was still impossibly short of parking.  By now the scenery around the road was largely lovely and colorful, although a great deal more cultivated, especially including orchards, than had been the U. P.

At about the time our stomachs were flapping against our backbones we found an established restaurant, primarily hand-made-on-site pizza, with ample parking.  We ordered a small pizza and breadsticks "to go" and sat outside in the shade with Zoe while it was made and cooked, and then ate it in the same place.  We followed that up with superb Gelato each chosen from an huge selection all of which looked delectable.  Then we carried on to the very top of the mainland (where it takes a ferry to go further) through pretty scenery but with Marissa fighting a headache.  Unfortunately parking and opportunities to take picture were over-subscribed so we cut our losses and started to return.

With the best of intentions but lack of local knowledge John started a side trip in the hopes of getting out to a coastal bluff, but it became, as Marissa later pointed out, another Bataan death march!  We followed directions to the park and started down the gravel road doing quite well until until we came to the first large fallen tree and the long line of parked cars.  This necessitated about a 200 yard reversing experience just to find sufficient width to turn something as large as the van around!  Then we parked and with an excited and frisky Zoe started to follow the road on foot.  Although fairly easy to step/jump over, duck under, or circumnavigate we found 7 or 8 more trees across the road & other signs of storm-caused devastation.  When the road ended an indistinct trail continued on downwards through the sweet-smelling pines, over roots and rocks and occasional patch of dirt to the water's edge.  Once we could see the "beach", as inhospitable collection of rocky stuff as can be imagined, we decided to cut our losses and rather more slowly slogged our way all the way back to the van.  We think even Zoe was glad to see it.

We continued heading downstate, so to speak, and as soon as the opportunity came to switch to Route 57 down the "other side" we took it and started to make good time.  We stopped at a great store, but could find little to take for our supper, but Marissa indulged in an assortment of sweet and sour items in jars and bottles, some for gifts and some for her own enjoyment.  We continued cruising down this pretty but sparsely inhabited road making good time until 57 and 42 combined ahead of the bridge and the next two miles or so were traveled at a speed of which a hiker would be ashamed.  After the bridge things opened up and we soon found our hotel, OK but definitely a cut below the standard we usually enjoy given a choice.

John took a book to a restaurant in walking distance and waited a while to get carry-out of delicious patty melts with home-made chips and a "starter" of fried breaded cheese curds which were absolutely super.  And thus ended our day.