Kewaunee, Wisconsin, on the West Shore

 Chores completed, we’ve pulled our trailer two hundred miles east to Door County, Wisconsin, and the small fishing town of Kewaunee. We’ve found an rv park that is smaller, a bit harder to navigate, and with aging utility connections, but at this time of year it’s all about the location. This is site 41 at Kewaunee Campground.

As I write this, it’s almost the Fourth of July, and we expect the campground to be packed, so we’re trying to prepare for that. The only grocery store in town is a Piggly Wiggly, but it has a great selection of merchandise, so a couple of trips into town are in order.

Just north of Kewaunee, the ship building town of Sturgeon Bay is a nice place to visit. There are several companies building “Lakers”, for ore and commodity shipping operations, and at least one custom yacht manufacturer, but we couldn’t get close enough to take a picture. We did, however, visit a wonderful park on the shore of Sturgeon Bay.

We’re enjoying the company of Bill and Diane from Michigan, and had to take a picture.

I’m in the short joke category these days, so a convenient pile of shells got me to the proper height for a manly photo!

Downtown Sturgeon Bay is a collection of high end shops catering to a diverse and inclusive clientele. Most shops were of no interest to us, but we liked the artwork scattered around town as well as the plentiful floral decorations.

A tasty lunch at the Door County Fire Station (a pub and restaurant in a former firehouse) ended our day in Sturgeon Bay. Rainy and stormy days curtailed our exploration of Door county for a bit, but a few days later we made it to Egg Harbor, WI. The name is said to originate with long gone sailers tossing eggs in a drinking game. Could be!

Of course, a visit to the Green Bay area wouldn’t be complete without a look at Lambeau Field, the home of the Green Bay Packers foofball team. It was still raining the day we arrived, but we still had an opportunity to be impressed with the venue.

Surprise, surprise, there is a gift shop!

And, the largest NFL championship trophy in existence.

Curly Lambeau founded the team in 1919, and is credited with dragging city fathers, kicking and screaming, into the program. He sold shares in the team to the public to raise money, and the Packers remain the only NFL team owned by it fans.

And the legendary Vince Lombardi.

U

After friends Bill and Diane left to return home, we took a short drive south to Manitowoc, a thriving town  with a beautiful bay.

A cup of coffee from Retro Eighth Coffee and a nice parking spot at the Manitowac Yacht Club gave us a nice view of a sailboat approaching the harbor.

Kewaunee held a car show on one of the few nice days we’ve had, so a quick stop was in order.

The “Tip” of Door county is about 70 miles north of Kewaunee. It was calling us. The weather was blustery and chilly, and the waves of Lake Michigan were fierce.

We stopped at Grandma Tommys for a soda, just because of the name!

Just a few miles from Gils Rock, the northern most burg on the peninsula, a beautiful road led us to Wisconsin Bay Park, and a picnic lunch.

It’s a peninsula, right? So we had to come back to point A, but we drove along the western edge of the peninsula, through the little tourist towns of Ellison Bay and Sister Bay.

In a freshly planted corn field, we spotted some large birds. Cranes? Don’t know, but they were leisurely feasting on the field!

By now we’re celebrating our country’s 248th birthday with a campfire and 57 of our closest friends!

We are approaching the end of our two week stay on the shore of Lake Michigan. Except for some inclement weather we’ve enjoyed the relaxed attitude of Wisconsin and hope to visit the state again. 

Off we go again!