A Day in Door County

After 45 years of marriage one would think that describing a wallet would not be too difficult. But for me, it was a bridge too far. Somehow I communicated to my patient wife that I wanted a wallet smaller than the one I have used for the past fifteen years. She contacted The Hide Side, a premium leather store in Fish Creek, WI, and ordered a beautifully made piece. However, due to my limited communication skills, it needed to be exchanged.

Fortunately, Fish Creek is located in picturesque Door County, about a 45 mile ride from my house. After taking care of a few duties around the house I carefully packed the wallet in the swingarm bag on my Harley Davidson Lowrider S and headed up to the Door.

Door County is a vacation hotspot during the summer, but the kids are in school yet and the small bayside towns are still a little sleepy. I rolled through Sturgeon Bay and noted that there were a lot sailboats still in dry dock at Skipper Bud's. Riding over the bridge on the bypass I saw the gulls swooping down over the channel looking for a late breakfast.

That thought made me a little hungry, so I stopped in at the Chocolate Chicken in Egg Harbor. This is one of my favorite stops and it did not let me down. I ordered a blueberry muffin and a cup of their Indonesian Black Satin Blend coffee. The sun was shining on the little table in front of the shop and I enjoyed late morning breakfast while watching a few retirees amble around town.

A great stop for coffee and pastry.

Soon enough it was time to get back on Highway 42 and continue on up to Fish Creek. The two lane highway was not too busy, but the drivers out there were not too eager to get where they were going. I adapted to the leisurely pace and enjoyed the sites. I could not tell whether is was the beginning or the end of the cherry blossom season, but several of the orchards were in full bloom.

The road drops steeply into Fish Creek. It makes a sharp right instead of flowing into the waters of Green Bay, but my destination was at the bottom of the hill. There was a parking spot right in front of The Hide Side, and before long I was perusing the fine leather wallets inside. The experienced clerk helped me find just what I wanted. Fortunately, the young woman behind the counter found a couple of cards that I had left in the one my wife gave me. We had tried it out before deciding to return it.

Just what I wanted!

Door County is a couples type of place, so I did not hang around too long. I rode down to the dock to check out the big boats and take a picture of the bay.

The dock at Fish Creek.

Then I went back up the big hill and south toward Egg Harbor. I stopped for lunch at Shipwrecked. The brew pub has a colorful history including stories about Al Capone, Chief Tecumseh, and ghosts. You can read all about it on their website. Unfortunately, it burned to the ground almost two years ago and it is now a completely new building. The cheeseburger, potato salad and coffee were all tasty.

View from the deck of Shipwrecked.

After paying my bill I took a slow walk out to my bike and took my time getting my riding gear on. It had been an excellent day in Door County and I wanted to make it last a few more moments. The ride home was as enjoyable as the rest of the day. It is early in the season and I plan to make a few more trips to Door County with my wife this summer.