Today’s destination, Door County, WI. Getting there was half the fun. Our plan WAS to head for some Milwaukee breweries, but then cheese and chocolate happened. We stumbled upon Milwaukee’s only urban cheese maker, Clock Shadow Cheese, so of course had to pop in. As luck would have it, we got a personal tour within a few minutes of arriving. (Apologies to all the Chicago folks for donning the cheeseheads. Please don’t disown us. Disclaimer: This is in no way an endorsement of the Green Bay Packers.).
As far as tours go, our guide was one of the least engaged we’ve ever had. We’re not sure if she was reading from a script off her iphone, or just checking messages, however the view from the roof top garden was phenomenal. Most of the tour was spent touting the “green building attributes” of the cheese making building. We didn’t see any actual cheese being made, but did get the 8x10 glossy photos of each step of the process. Gary & Dru were very good students. Yes, we managed to sample lots of their cheese to make up for the $3 tour.
I spotted some bean to bar chocolate in their shop. What?! A chocolate maker we’ve never heard of 5 miles away? Hey, Gary and Dru want to ditch the brewery tour and go see a fellow chocolate maker? They were onboard.
Tabal Chocolate! These guys are awesome. We met Dan Bieser, the chocolate maker and instantly bonded with him. We spent a good hour with him. Truth is, I had to tear Ned away. He was deep in chocolate world. Dan not only gave us a tour of his operation, but let us taste what he had in the melangers and some of his new cocoa beans that just arrived from Columbia. Dan is doing some really interesting things with a local tea maker, Rishi. His blueberry Rooibos Tea chocolate bar is incredible. Tabal Chocolate check them out.
This was our first trip to Milwaukee. What a cool town. On our way to the chocolate maker we drove right thru the Miller brewing complex. My impression is that Milwaukee is transitioning from a rust belt industrial city to a more touristy, green conscious urban center. I also loved the neighborhood corner bars. So retro. (Remember Laverne & Shirley? Kudos to Dru for remembering and singing us the theme song. Laverne & Shirley Theme Song)
Next stop, Pine River Dairy outside Manitowoc. Home of the 25 cent ice cream cone. We’re on it. Ned proudly wore the mint chocolate chip ice cream hat. Gary, however, refused to place the strawberry cone on his head. He hung it elsewhere.
(Gary can be such a dick.)
Know what else Manitowoc is famous for? On Sept. 6, 1962 Sputnik IV, a Russian satellite, crashed in the middle of town. We decided to go in search of the crash site. Found it! The spot was in the middle of a very busy street downtown. Ned and Dru had me in stitches running out in the midddle of the street, dodging cars to point to it. Way to take one for the team! Unfortunately, the museum where you can see 20 lbs. of the actual debris had closed 18 minutes before we arrived. Next trip.
Goofing around...
We drove thru the town of Two Rivers on the banks of Lake Michigan. It’s famous for being the birthplace of the ice cream sundae circa 1881. Who knew? No, we did not stop and get a sundae.
The drive up the Peninsula and into Door County is one of the most iconic and beautiful drives in the USA. We skirted along Lake Michigan. When we passed thru towns it felt like New England and the rural areas looked like a classic Grant Wood farm painting.
We had dinner at Chef’s Hat in Ephraim this evening. The food, ambience and waiter, Make, were amazing! Yes, that was his real name. His nickname is Maker... as in Maker’s Mark? I still have bourbon on the brain.
After dinner we all watched the most incredible sunset. Gary and Dru are staying at a super swanky hotel so of course we crashed their place and took advantage of their hot tub.
We’re camped at Peninsula State Park. Now this is the type of camping we’re used to! In the woods, lots of tents, kids on bikes and not everyone lined up on mowed grass. Here’s a map of where we are.
