We were toasty last night and slept well, although Auggie wanted to come into bed with us in the wee hours of the morning. His ears felt a little chilly. We had a leisurely morning with a minor stove repair. Apparently, one of the screws rattled loose and the burner came off. A few turns of the screwdriver and it was back in working order. We left the campground around 10:00 to check out the town of Fish Creek. We parked the truck at Alibi Dock.
We walked up and down the docks looking for familiar boats from when we called Alibi Dock our home. We recognized a familiar face–Smitty, who was on his boat, Bourbon Street, but we couldn’t think of his name until later.
 Smitty |
Every time I couldn’t remember the people or boat we saw, I said to Bob, “I’ll have to ask Pam. She’ll know.” (Pam, if you are reading this, send me an email if you remember any of these boats or the people who own them from when we hung out at Alibi.)
Scho ‘n Off
Paprika
Spiritwind – Sailor Mike and Linda?
American Dream
Summer Wind
This was our slip for maybe 8 years right against the bulkhead of the parking lot. It made it easy for loading and unloading and we didn’t have to worry about hitting another boat in the well because we were the only boat in it. They did add a lower dock for easier access.
Jimmy Dean’s 53′ Carver sat in the slip behind us all those years and is still there.
There were some new additions to the marina since we’ve been there. The word “Private” was stenciled on the finger piers to stop people from walking between the boats and adding more privacy.
One of the nicest changes was adding a fire pit with a seating area near the office.
One of the surprising additions was this boat lift that was added in this slip. According to the dock master, the guy said he couldn’t put bottom paint on his boat and the boat could not sit in the water without it so they allowed him to put in the lift. Hmmm! We had never heard of that before.
We walked out on the main dock and Bob took a picture of me pretending to sit where we would sit with our boating friends for drinks under the stars.
We talked with the dock master and reminisced about the old days and some of the people we knew. He was a wealth of information.
We really enjoyed our visit back in time at Alibi Dock. From there we walked down the far eastern end of the main street past the famous White Gull Inn, known for its Door County Fish Boils.
[For those are you who are novices to Fish Boils. it is quite an experience. A fish boil is done by boiling white fish, potatoes, salt, and onions in a huge cauldron outside on a fire. At just the right moment, kerosene is thrown on the fire to make it boil over (hence, the “fish boil”) and all the oil from the fish is gone. They bring all the food inside and serve it with melted butter, cole slaw, bread, and a slice of Door Co. cherry pie. As it boils, the chef talks about the process. The best part (besides eating it) and what everyone comes to see is the boil over. When the kerosene is added and the pot boils over, a huge cloud of black smoke rises up into the sky and can be seen from far away. We’ve been to a few fish boils in our time and it is quite a show!]
From there we walked to the end of the road to Sunset Beach Park.
You guessed it! It is where everyone goes to watch the sunset over the water. We’ve been there on many an evening to watch the sun set and it quite a draw for many visiting tourists. You can see people from everywhere streaming into this little park on the water waiting for the sunset. Once the sun goes down, you can hear applause from the crowd, and then everyone makes their way back. The applause always makes me smile.
 Sunset Beach Park |
The bay was pretty calm today and there were lots of boaters out on the water.
From there we walked along the main street in Fish Creek checking out “what’s new”. The Confectionery and Dippy’s Ice Cream Shop was still there.
The Hide Side and Bayside Tavern are old mainstays in Fish Creek and looked the same.
The Cookery was there but looked very different. The owner told us that they had a fire in 2008 and rebuilt the Cookery in 2009. The new version has a second story and the building was beautiful.
 The Cookery |
They still have a great bakery (I bought a HUGE cinnamon roll), homemade jams (I bought the 4 berry jam), and food. Breakfast was my favorite there. Two new additions to Fish Creek were Juniper’s Gin Joint where the old C and C Supper Club stood and Taco Cerveza where there was a small restaurant. (Can’t remember what it was. Maybe Pam can.)
 Juniper’s Gin Joint |
 Taco Cerveza |
We stopped at the Bayside for a beer and to check out the inside. It looked the same.
We decided to have something to eat and settled for a Wisconsin brat. Bob and I were talking about the changes in Fish Creek with the owner there, when 3 people who were sitting across the bar from us, said our names. Huh? It turned out to be Mary and Pete from Alibi Dock whose boat was called Sea Angel.
 Pete and Mary |
Mary’s sister was there too. It seems they still own a home in Fish Creek and winter in Jacksonville, FL. We caught up with them a little about where everybody lives now and what boats they have. Who would have thought they would have remembered us from so many years ago…and better yet, that we would recognize them. Mary said she recognized Bob’s voice. What are the chances that we would meet again in the Bayside? Looking around the place, it’s so great to be in Packer Country again. You see Packer stuff everywhere!
Walking down the street there were flowers and lots of color everywhere.
From the Dockside, we stopped in the grocery store and the clothes shop in the basement which was having a sale. I found a Door Co. t-shirt that I just had to have. From there, we walked back to the truck, via the Town Park and the Fish Creek Town Dock and marina.
 Fish Creek Town Dock |
The Quo Vadis was docked there ready to give scenic boat tours.
The old rustic cottages that lined this street near the marina were transformed into modern-looking rentals.
We drove down Cottage Row out of town. This shady lane is lined with million dollars homes on the water. Maybe the name should be changed to Millionaire Row.
 Cottage Row |
That road brought us up to the top of the bluff and Highway 42 which was lined with wildflowers.
We drove Highway 42 towards Egg Harbor to the Wood Orchard Market.
I was on a mission to buy some Door C. cherries. They come in two varieties–sweet and tart. I prefer the sweet ones best.
We headed back into town towards Peninsula State Park. The town was crazy busy.
We noticed that the small park and beach in town was being doubled in size. They were just starting to clear the land.
The entrance to Peninsula State Park is right in town.
It was $5.00 for a hour visit, but the ranger gave us 90 minutes on our day pass to see what we wanted to see. We wanted to check out the campgrounds to see which ones would be RV friendly. Weborg, Tennison Bay, and Nicolet Bay South campgrounds could all handle RVs, but there were only equipped with electricity and no water. We could stay there, but we would have to plan ahead for the water issue. As we left the first campground, we had to stop for this doe and her twin fawns that crossed the road in front of us. The fawns still had their spots.
Our next stop was Eagle Bluff Lighthouse which was celebrating 150 years of history this year. It was built in 1868 and still looked good. As some of you may know, lighthouses are my favorite so this was a must-see!
 Eagle Bluff Lighthouse |
From atop the bluff, we could see the tour boat below us.
A kind gentleman offered to take our picture there.
Driving along on Shore Road, we stopped at an overlook where we got a good look at Horseshoe Island, where we spent many a quiet night at anchor in our boat.
One of our favorite campgrounds has always been Nicolet Bay because of the great beach there. Many people were enjoying the beach today.
We also spent many nights at anchor off the beach there in Nicolet Bay. We enjoyed looking at the boats anchored there.
The beach area had some improvements made to it. There was a new building of changing rooms and an additional restroom building. A boardwalk was built to take you to the water, protecting the shoreline.
The iconic Nicolet Beach Store remained the same.
We continued our drive on Shore Road to where Eagle Tower once stood. Since I was a little girl and came here with my parents, I had climbed that tower on every visit to the park. Here’s where it stood.
The park deemed it unsafe and took it down in 2016. This kiosk showed the design for the new tower which will begin construction this fall.
That as far as we went in the park before we headed back. We stopped at Eagle Panorama for a great view of the islands and the Michigan shore in the distance on a clear day like today.
From that vantage point, we could see far. A nice woman offered to take our picture. We very seldom get a change to have a picture of us together on our trips, so we jumped at the chance.
We took Skyline Road back to town which took us through the middle of the park. It is usually less traveled and a great place to see deer, but not today.
We did have a great view of Nicolet Bay from above and all the boats anchored there.
Once we descended from up on the bluff, we could see Alibi Dock in Fish Creek from Weborg Campground across the inlet.
A Door County Trolley passed us as we exited the park and made our way back to the campground.
We relaxed outside with Auggie before going to dinner at the Greenwood Supper Club. It was another chance to get an Old-Fashioned and a perch dinner. This place has been around for a long time.
 Inside the Greenwood Supper Club |
We returned to the campsite so Auggie and I could take our evening walk as the sun was setting. The weather today was perfect–sunny and mid-70s. What a great day of memories we had!
