Midwest - Door County

The missus and I are headed to Door County, Wisconsin in two weeks to celebrate our 1 year anniversary.

Does anybody have any "can't miss" locations? We are probably going to go to the American Folklore Theatre (http://www.folkloretheatre.com/index.html), and possibly the Red Oak Vineyard (http://www.redoakvineyard.com/index.html).

Any other suggestions? Looking for dining options as well.

You probably ought to try a fish boil. White Gull Inn (http://www.whitegullinn.com/fishboil.html)is well-known; there may be better, I can't claim expertise.

Al Johnsons in Sister Bay is great for breakfast. I am in Baileys Harbor for a few days and it is just lovely here. Enjoy your anniversary celebration.

You probably ought to try a fish boil.
Al Johnsons in Sister Bay is great for breakfast.
will 2nd both Al Johnsons http://www.aljohnsons.com/ and also going to a fish boil, both unique Door Co experiences.

If the lake is calm, look into renting a boat for a 1/2 day http://www.boatdoorcounty.com/
or if you don't know how to boat (or don't want to) there are both sailing charters and power boat charters.

The pininsula is so narrow that you can watch a sunrise on the east side and sunset on the west. Bring a picnic basket to a beach or a bluff.

Take the ferry to Washington Island, rent scooters and explore the island. This was one of the first multi-day trips Mrs Sweet Willie and I took when we started dating eons ago.

We also really liked PENINSULA STATE PARK http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/land/parks/specific/peninsula/

I believe you are in Chicago, perhaps on the way back from Door County, stop by The American Club in Kohler for some pampering in one of their top category rooms after a good meal in one of the restaurants. http://www.destinationkohler.com/hotel/tac/tac_index.html

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Thanks! One of my Wisconsin friends told me about Al Johnson's! We'll probably go there on our actual anniversary.

take your time driving up. Youll go through Sturgeon Bay, Baileys Harbor, Egg harbor among others. It all depends on what you want to do. There will be markets, festivals some sort of tourist ploy on any weekend in the summer. Stop at them, look around, take it in. Pick cherries, stop at wineries. I know a great B&B in Sturgeon Bay if interested. www.thechadwickinn.com.

Fish Boils are good, never had one at white gull inn, but to me that place seems a bit too "touristy" if that makes sense at all. Al Johnsons is something to see. But the best part of a Door County trip is just going through the towns on the highway, stopping walking around going into shops, cafes etc.

If your feeling adventurous head all the way up to Washington Island. Take the car ferry across with or without your car. Rent mopeds and tool around the island.

Your best bet is the door county tourism board. www.doorcounty.com

Shoot, I guess it's long past your anniversary...hope you had a great time. Since I have this ready to go I'll post anyway as someone else looking for info on Door Co. might find it useful.
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Another vote for Al Johnson's, but make a reservation if you can because it will be busy.

Frankly, I'd check out White Gull Inn for the fish boil but only stay for the cooking part, which is kind of a show. The fish isn't all that good and it's so full of tiny bones that you spend half your meal picking them out and trying not to choke on them. I didn't think the rest of the food was that great either. I'm normally a fish fan, but won't do a fish boil ever again.

Penn. State Park (http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/land/parks/specific/peninsula/) is great. You can hike, rent boats, etc. There is a nice little restaurant across the street from the park entrance with great wood-fired pizza.

On the way up, stop at the Shipwrecked Brewery (http://www.shipwreckedmicrobrew.com/) in Egg Harbor.

There is another WI state park called Rock Island SP (http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/land/parks/specific/rockisland/) that you can only reach by taking another ferry (passenger only, no cars) from the bay located on the NE corner of Washington Island. The island (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_Island_State_Park_(Wisconsin)) was once privately owned and the guy built a huge Viking style boat house and a couple other buildings. The island also has WI's oldest lighthouse. There is an enjoyable hiking trail to the lighthouse and around the island.