After a week here in Door County, Wisconsin, it’s time to head to the next stop and one day closer to the solar eclipse around which this entire road-trip has been built!

Uncle Mike left us today and headed home to Chicago. He certainly left a big impression on Miss Poppy who was sitting on his lap almost immediately after first introductions (not how she has been raised)! Seriously, it was fun to see the two of them together especially when we were out walking in the forest and Uncle Mike was being pulled along on his first squirrel hunting mission!

We head out on our farewell tour starting with lunch at Wilson’s Sundae parlor in Ephraim which opened in 1906 solely selling ice creams and sundaes. It now offers a lunch menu and is immaculately kept with small booths for four people, art deco styled lights, a working jukebox and, of course, ice creams!

Onwards to Gills Rock where you can catch a ferry to Washington Island located about seven miles northeast of the tip of Door Peninsula. The island’s economy is based on tourism which supports a population of around 700 people.

Mike and I are truly enamored with the beauty of Door County, the relaxed environment and the summer weather – no humidity, few bugs, enjoyable temperatures and individually managed and owned shops and restaurants. We love the Birch trees that populate the forests, and the Black-eyed Susan perennials that adorn most Door County gardens.

Our conversation has veered towards buying a property and we have even taken a sneaky, roadside look at some homes! I think what really gets us is the winter and neither of us understand how you would live in a predominantly summer vacation area during four months of dark snow-bound days!

Black-eyed Susan plants bring a flash of colour to gardens in Door County.