Day 81 - across Green Bay to Fish Creek MI

      Today we dropped the lines at 6:55 am, and the view about an hour earlier is the sunrise looking back down the fairway where we are docked is shown in the photo at the right. Obviously (?), the Admiral took this picture as she was graciously allowing me a few extra minutes of sleep.  Our destination is Fish Creek, WI back across Green Bay, and we will once again be back in Door County although only about 17 miles along the coast as the crow flies north of Sturgeon Bay.

      The second photo was taken as we backed out of the fairway where we had been docked on the wall in front of the Dockmaster's Office with a park and the non-movie theater in the background. The route this morning was only 17.9 miles or just over 2 hours, and we left early while the wind was down because it is suppose to pick up later in the day. The wind had been blowing us toward the dock so it was easier to back away from the dock with the bow line still attached so that we could use it to pivot around. The Admiral had looped the line around the cleat and back aboard so that when we finished pivoting around all she had to do was drop one end and pull the other end to get the line aboard. 

     After backing out of the fairway, we had room to easily turn around and head out of the marina in a straight shot. The photo at the right was taken just as we cleared the breakwater around the marina and as we said goodbye to Menomonee. Once again we started in clear skies, but a few clouds had begun to form by the end of the trip. Even the clouds were welcome since we were headed directly into the sun for the whole trip, and the reflection of the sun off the water made it nearly impossible for me to see the chart plotter until my eyes adjusted to the lower light.

      The photo at the left shows Lucky Us moored at a T-head at the end of a pier. This is a good location since it cuts down on the foot traffic, but we are subject to loud boaters passing close by us.  T-heads are often used for transient guests since they are not as good for tying up the boat as is a regular slip where the boat can be secured slightly off the finger pier, which keeps the boat from rubbing or even worse doing damage to the dock during storms.





     We arrived at 9:15 am, which was well before the wind strengthened a little, and we both immediately opted for a nice long nap. When I take a nap alone, I always set the alarm on my phone for something between 1:15 and 1:35, but when the Admiral joins me, her rule is no alarms. After our naps, we headed out for a leisurely, early lunch. Catch the theme for today?

      Well, I carefully maneuvered the Admiral so that we had lunch at the same restaurant where we had eaten lunch during our road trip a few days ago. I really wanted to have the same lightly battered Whitefish again. Yes, it was as good as I had remembered! We also had the duck wontons (with cherry and chili chutney sauce) as an appetizer (photo at right). This dish is to die for!!! As a child, the Admiral's father was stationed in Hawaii for three years, and fried wontons was part of her introduction to Chinese food, and I was really glad that she knew enough to order this delicious dish.

     After lunch we returned to the boat to get Lucky and continued our walking tour around the shopping district, and we happened upon an afternoon concert in the park. Evidently, this is a regular weekday happening in Fish Creek during the summer. It was fun, but we only stayed a short while since it was interfering with the goal of shopping. I cannot say that the shopping was a rip roaring success, but the Admiral did buy us both very nice Door County sweat shirts.

      Ultimately, we headed back to the boat to clean up, leave Lucky behind and head out to dinner. The Admiral suggested that we go to a family style fish boil. They do the boil every 30 minutes, and it is a performance as you watch the Whitefish and red (or new) potatoes being boiled for your dinner. Just before the picture at the right was taken, the chef had rung a bell and yelled to the expectant crowd that it was the one minute bell. The boiled whitefish is ready when the water boils. How did he know that the huge pot would boil in exactly one minute?

      After the announcement, the chef quickly stacked pieces of wood around the fire and the pot (photo at left) with the goal of trapping in the heat. Then, and this is really cheating, he threw about a quart of kerosene on the fire. The kerosene erupted in a burst of flame as seen in the photo above. The extra heat trapped under the pot by the stacked boards resulted in the pot boiling in a matter of seconds. So, of course, the one minute bell was pretty accurate, but they really did "cheat" to do it.

     They then passed a big pipe through the handles of the strainer in order to lift it off the fire. There are actually two big strainers with the top or inside one containing the Whitefish. The lower one with the red potatoes goes on the fire first, and it takes 30+ minutes for the potatoes to cook while the fish was actually cooked only a few minutes. Yes, if you look closely, you can see that boiled whitefish is actually white.
      After the scene at the right, everyone adjourned to their tables to await their dinners. It was a good show and even better dinner.
      After a very filling dinner, we strolled leisurely back to Lucky Us where aside for another walk for Lucky, we were settled in for the evening.

      Lucky and I went out for her final walk around 9:30 pm, and shortly we were treated to this wonderful sunset. Today is the official longest day of the year as well as the first day of Summer, and we did a very good job of making the most of it.