2 September 2014

(Pictures coming soon!)

We got out of Sister Bay early to make the run to Fish Creek. Goats don’t come out until after 9:30, but I did get a picture of First Mate Pig with the trolls that they have outside.

The 9 mile ride was easy, the Quo Vadimis was docked by 10AM. In the slip across the way was the “Quo Vadis”, the tour boat for the Fish Creek Boat Tours. (Quo Vadis is “Where are you going?” vs Quo Vadimus “Where are we going?” )

We headed into town for brunch and ended up at “The Cookery” for eggs and Bloody Mary’s. We then split up to do some shopping.

There is a huge kite shop outside of town so I did the 40 minute walk to see what they had. I got to see a wide variety of kites, but nothing that really struck me as a must own purchase. I did get some back issues of “Kiting” the magazine that is part of the American Kiteflyers organization. Both Dad I used to belong, we even went to the national conventions when they were some place close like Ocean City.

Susan meanwhile hit the shops in the main part of town. Mostly clothing and gift places. She got a great tee shirt to wear that has all the places in Door County listed.

Back at the boat I got caught up on some internet stuff while she took a nap. About 4 PM we headed back into town so I could see some of the shops I had missed. We went to a store that sold flavored olive oil and vinegars, wine, salsa and dips and fudge. We were there for over half an hour and we did get a bottle of wine for and a small box of fudge.

Part of our Looper experience is to do things that are different from what we normally would do and in lots of cases different from what we planned. “Hey, we are going here, wanna go!?!” is most always met with a “Why sure, we’d love to do that.” We are often putty in the hands of others.

We decided to sail the north shore and then down the western shore of Lake Michigan. As we headed across, we asked people, “What should we do in this area?” “Door County Fish Boil!” was the answer.

So tonight we were in Fish Creek and went to Pelletier’s Restaurant & Fish Boil for dinner. Over a wood fire they heat a cauldron with 30 gallons of water to a boil, add 10 lbs of salt, 20 lbs of potatoes and ten minutes later add 10 pounds of onions. That comes to a boil and cooks for about 20 mins. They then add 20 lbs of white fish steaks and bring that to a boil. (The whitefish are caught about 20 miles north of Fish Creek, so they are very fresh fish)

At the 28 minute mark of boiling, they throw 2 cups of kerosene onto the fire (not into the fish!). Huge giant flames bursts around the pot and about 5 feet into the sky. The extra heat brings the cauldron to a rolling boil and then an over boil of the water. The over boil takes all the nasty fish oils over the edge of the cauldron and puts a damper on the fire. Using long poles they then pull the pots of potatoes, onions and fish. In moments its served with coleslaw and fresh bread.

It’s better than Chinese steamed fish. It’s firm but tender, and has a mild fish flavor. All of the fat and oils came off in the boil. The fish shakes right off the bones. Potatoes and onions are perfectly cooked.

After fish dinner you get cherry pie with vanilla ice cream (and coffee if you want).

This made the trip to Door County worth while for us.. The place is pretty, lots of shops ,things to see, things to do. Plus “Boiled Over Fish”. They do ~1,200 pots a year (some days two at a time). The boil-master has been doing this for the last 30 years since he was 17.

And thanks Ben, a guy I met on the dock at Beaver Island for suggesting this. You rock.

On the way home we had a new dock neighbor. The 109′ Sea Quell was at the end of the pier, filling the entire end. The mast had a great set of lights on it, it looked like a sculpture. We did some research, you can charter her for about $40,000 a week. No idea why she was in Fish Creek. Susan was highly amused that while she was out spraying our 45′ for spiders, the Sea Quell crew was also out spraying. Seems there ARE things money can’t buy, and a spider free boat is one of them.

Wednesday it’s off to Sturgeon Bay for a few days. I’ll rent a car to go to Green Bay to see the Packer Hall of fame and the Stadium. On the weekend we will be heading down the west shore to Chicago. But for that we need some nicer weather.