After leaving Green Bay we
headed north to Marinette, Wisconsin in search of cheap fuel. We found it at Harbor Town Marine where the
price for diesel was about 50cents a gallon cheaper than anywhere else. This is a significant savings when you
consider that we would take on about 180 gallons! We somewhat gleefully filled up – I say
somewhat, because it was 180 gallons at $2.30/gallon!! We never stopped to consider why it was so
cheap until one of the 7 slip holders here said the fuel was most likely leftover
from last boating season – not something you want to hear after filling your
tanks! So whether or not we got a
bargain on fuel is yet to be determined.
The fuel polisher is running and we do have plenty of fuel filters on
board. J And the owner of Harbor Town Marine gave us
free dockage for the night – maybe he was just so gosh darn happy to sell the
last of 2016’s diesel fuel…
A short walk across the
Menominee River past big mounds of iron ore, the Waupaca Foundry and the Dunn
Paper Company brought us to the Michigan Upper Peninsula town of Menominee,
‘where the best of Michigan begins.’
Not much was happening in downtown Menominee where most of the
well-maintained buildings from the 1890’s were vacant. L Maybe we should revisit this area in the
winter once the big freeze settles in.
Then we could participate in ice boating or perhaps ice car racing, a
cross between stock car derby and the Daytona 500?!?!
The strong west winds had pinned
Lazy W against the fuel dock for most
of the evening. Luckily by morning the
wind had subsided and we were able to pull away and head east to the Door
Peninsula and a slip at Alibi Marina (motto – ‘Everyone Needs an Alibi’) in Fish
Creek, Wisconsin.
Fish Creek is said to be the
largest and busiest vacation area on the Door Peninsula. A large number of eateries and shops line Main
Street just a block or two from the marina docks. We are not shoppers (except for alcoholic
beverages and produce) so we had to force ourselves into tourist/shopper mode
and wander in and out of the shops. Here
you can find an eclectic assortment of goods for sale – art, garden décor, fur
coats and vests, leather goods, all sorts of tchotchkes, moccasins, jewelry, humongous
rustic teak benches, and the requisite t-shirts and sweatshirts emblazoned with
Door County. We stopped in at The Barrel
Room to taste their olive oils and local wines, all of which seemed to use a
high percentage of cherry juice mixed with grape juice to produce cabernets (?)
and pinot noirs(?) Really? This shopping thing wasn’t working for us so
we made one last stop at Fish Creek Market for much needed produce for
dinner. Alas, the produce market was
stocked only with a strange mix of bruised bananas, green onions, apples and
cherry tomatoes.
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| A chilly evening at Alibi Marina in Fish Creek |
It is a good thing that our
cruising plans are set in Jell-O. We had
planned to anchor off Peninsula State Park and dinghy in to shore for a Monday
evening outdoor performance under the stars by the Northern Sky Theater. However, we awoke to gusty winds, chilly
temperatures and the threat of rain - that nixed Plan A. So, Plan B called for staying at Alibi Marina
for another day and Ubering to the show.
Did I mention the chill in the
air here in northeastern Wisconsin? One
of the reasons for cruising on the Great Lakes this summer is to avoid the heat
and humidity of the Chesapeake Bay.
Since we endured the heat wave in Milwaukee the temperatures have been mostly
in the low 70’s with low humidity – except for today. 51⁰ with a
wind chill of 48⁰ is a
bit on the cool side for late June! Break
out the fleece – it won’t be getting much warmer than that today.
June 26th was the 60th
birthday of my brother George and interestingly our Uber driver’s name was
George. He whisked us away to Northern
Sky Theater for the 6PM performance of Oklahoma
in Wisconsin. This campy musical
follows the trials and tribulations of a Hollywood location scout looking for
the perfect location – outside the state of Oklahoma where there are just too
many oil wells spoiling the view - for filming a 1954 technicolor movie of Oklahoma!. Door County, Wisconsin and the Rocking Chair
Inn of Fish Creek are just ‘perfect’ - or maybe not. The production was well done amusing family
entertainment and the cast could really belt out those tunes. As we exited the outdoor theater, we found
George waiting for us and that was fortuitous - otherwise we would have faced a
very long walk back to the marina since we had absolutely no cell phone
reception in the park. 5-STAR service from George.
The weather was finally
cooperating so we moved on to Sister Bay, a mere ten-mile cruise from Fish
Creek. On our walk to the Piggly Wiggly
grocery store we came upon Al Johnson’s Swedish Restaurant. The truly unique thing about this restaurant
is its grass roof and the small group of goats that graze upon it!
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| Al Johnson's Swedish Restaurant |
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|
The first goat to appear on the roof was
Oscar in 1973. In the cold of winter or
when it is raining, too hot or too windy, the current goats stay on the family
farm. Otherwise, they graze on the roof from
9AM until 6PM. There is a ‘goat cam’
streaming live video from the rooftop!
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| Frank and friends at Al Johnson's Swedish Restaurant just before breakfast of Swedish pancakes, lingonberries and Swedish meatballs. Delicious! |
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| Happy Hour in Sister Bay, Wisconsin with Lazy W docked in the distance |
Sister Bay Marina hosted a
Tuesday night Wings and Things tasting.
We met some local boaters and a couple who are on a three-year sailing
excursion with their middle-school-age daughter. They will head up the Saint Lawrence, visit
Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, then meet a sailing club in Portsmouth, VA for a
cruise to the British Virgin Islands!
And we think we are on an adventure…
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| Edith M Becker sailing at sunset on Sister Bay |
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