On The Road with Barb and Brad: Other Things to Do and See in Door County

As our summer in Wisconsin winds down, we took the time to see some more sights in the Peninsula. Of course, we stopped in at Al Johnson's to see how the goats were enjoying the summer. Looks like its been a good one for them!

In Sturgeon Bay there is one of three Maritime Museum locations. Previously unknown to me, Sturgeon Bay has a rich and storied history as a center for ship building. The museums celebrate this past and have some restored vessels that are nifty to tour.

One of many lighthouses on the peninsula, Eagle Bluff is picturesque and located in Peninsula State Park near the town of Ephraim. This lighthouse was active from 1868 through 1926. The current lighthouse is decorated with some of the original keeper's furnishings and many period antiques. Tours are offered by a docent dressed in a period keeper's uniform.

Shawn and Shelby came up for a visit in early September. One of our adventures was taking the ferry to Washington Island, then renting bicycles and riding around to visit the sites.

We also went out to Whitefish Dunes State Park and Cave Point. This stretch of beach features rocks tumbled and shaped from centuries of Lake Michigan wave action. A popular activity is to build the towers of hoodoos. As you pass by one, you find an appropriate stone and add to the tower. If it remains standing, you will have good luck in the future. Should it fall, you have now incurred the wrath of some supernatural spirit and bad luck will follow.

One of the last things we did was to sample an authentic Fish Boil. I'd never heard of it, and frankly eating boiled fish didn't sound particularly appetizing. But it is seen as a "Must Do" on the peninsula so we went to see what it was all about. They start with freshly caught whitefish. Add to that baby red potatoes and sweet boiling onions. About a pound of salt is added to the mixture along with water and put into a kettle. The fire is built beneath the kettle and the mixture is brought to a rolling boil.

A Fine Kettle of Fish

A byproduct of this process is the fish oil that floats heavily on the surface of the water. This oil is not tasty and is removed in a most unique way. The Boil Master stokes the fire under the kettle and rings a bell to announce the coming event. When everyone is ready, he tosses a fuel on the fire causing it to flare up and the boiling liquid to overflow the kettle. Thus the oils are removed, in a most impressive Boil Over.