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Issue 19 July 2009
In This Issue
Here's the Scoop!
Tour Homes!
A Special Place: EcoDoor


Door County - Lookin' Good!    
Sunset Silhouettes
Sunset Silhouettes - Egg Harbor
 
 
 
Sailboarding - Fish Creek 
Sailboarding - Fish Creek
 
 
Parasailing - Ephraim 
Parasail in Ephraim!
 
 
 Waves - Fish Creek
 Waves - Fish Creek
 
 Cana Island Lighthouse - Baileys Harbor
Cana Island Lighthouse - Baileys Harbor
 
 

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Greetings!
 
Summer is here and Door County is in full swing and here's your July issue of Navigator News(tm), our monthly publication!  
 
We'll keep bringing you some unique insights through Navigator News(tm) - this issue is particularly exciting, with lots of summer fun!  
 
All the Newsletters are "archived" and available anytime through our website, DoorCountyNavigator.com.
  So you can go and read all of our back-issues if you'd like!
 
In The News! 
  1. The July 2-Night Giveaway is already running . . . have you entered yet?  A wonderful 2-night stay in Rowleys Bay can be yours!  Tell your friends about it!  And the June Winner will be posted soon!
  2. TWITTER WITH US! You can now follow DoorCountyNavigator.com on Twitter!  Yes!  Look for DoorCountyInfo or click right here and follow our Twitter posts (they also feed to our BLOG).  You can even have Twitter alerts delivered to your mobile phone - so when you are in Door County you might get some important info!  Follow us on Twitter!

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And please visit our Sponsors' websites!  They make the Navigator News(tm) possible!    And they are some of the best places to stay in Door County  - click on their pictures and see what they have to offer - you will like what you find!  Thanks!

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Here's the scoop . . . On Going Out for Ice Cream
 
By Donna Marie Pocius
Special to DoorCountyNavigator.com

On a hot summer day in Door County, one of the coolest things to do is go out for ice cream or custard or gelato. You get the idea.
 
Here, in America's Dairyland, they serve big scoops. So, bring an appetite or be a baby and ask for a kitty cone.  And the atmosphere is always part of the fun. For example, you can enjoy your cold treat on a family farm, in town or on a scenic coastline.
 
Don't miss the historic ambiance at Door County Ice Cream Factory & Sandwich Shoppe, 11051, Hwy. 42, Sister Bay.  Peninsula pioneer Al Mickelson Scandinavian Lodge Bannerestablished a place for people to buy food and ice cream, and his efforts are recalled in black-and-white photographs in the vintage building's dining room, which seats about 40.
 
The homemade ice cream--28 are available each day-include flavors with fun names like deer tracks, Death's Door chocolate and Door County cherry. You can also buy this brand of ice cream online at the Door County-based company, icecreamsource.com.
 
Check out the view of the famed Eagle Harbor as you eat ice cream on the porch at Wilson's Restaurant and Ice Cream Parlor, 990 Water St., Ephraim.  Savor memories as you enjoy Cedar Crest ice cream, made in Manitowoc, Wis.
 
"We are known for serving an extra large scoop of ice cream. I don't want someone to look at a cone and say, 'Is that all I get?'" says Roy Elquist, owner of Wilson's since 1998.
 
Or, visit the place with the funny name and hot location: Not Licked Yet at 4054 Hwy. 42 in the heart of Fish Creek.  And they serve custard here-so be careful what you say as you order (they politely correct you).  Flavors include chocolate, vanilla, butter pecan and specials like black forest torte.
 
Speaking of custard in Fish Creek, another place to try is Malibu Frozen Griddle, now in downtown Fish Creek at the Town Dock in the Bayside Shoppes. Here, they prepare your order in front of you on a frozen griddle. Choose from more than 21 flavors and 30 toppings like Door County cherries.
 
In downtown Baileys Harbor is Custard's Last Stan, serving up more homemade frozen custard. Also on the lakeside, the Yum Yum Tree, 8054 Hwy. 57, Baileys Harbor, serves homemade ice cream. And you're in Baileys Harbor, so go for a scoop or two of the Captain Baileys Irish cream.  Have a seat inside, or check out the view of Lake Michigan.    
 
Try gelato at Double Delites, a DoorCountyNavigator.com favorite place (check out our online review and new video).  Gelato is an Egg Harbor Lodge BannerItalian frozen dessert that is lower in fat than ice cream. It also looks very pretty sitting in the glass case (also made in Italy) and is quite tasty, to be sure.
 
"The Italians are truly about flavor of the gelato and the richness of flavor. It's rich in flavor but not in fat. Flavor, flavor, flavor," says Julie Perley, the owner, who makes the gelato in small batches each day.   Choose from about 12 flavors displayed.  Featured often are chocolate, coconut, lemon, mango, mint, raspberry, strawberry, stracciatella (an Italian classic).
 
If you have kids, you are probably already reading this. And kids love love love going to Dairy View Country Store, 5169 Cty. Rd. I, Sturgeon Bay (near Carlsville) 
 
Cookie the cow is Dairy View's icon, pictured on billboards in Door County and greeting the kids (in statue form) on the farm. The ice cream parlor sits on this family farm, where visitors can also learn about the dairy industry.  Following a tour, indulge in better pecan, chocolate, vanilla and a few more. All ice cream is made right here, and you can buy a tub to go.
 
"Our vanilla is a true vanilla, and the chocolate is a true chocolate. But butter pecan is our number one seller," says Roxanne Schopf, owner.
 
Or enjoy your ice cream in-town at Copper Kettle Creations, conveniently located in historic Sturgeon Bay at 24 N. Third Ave.
 
The owner Terry Ullman aims to create an old-fashioned and upbeat experience in the vintage building.  As for the ice cream, he serves Wisconsin-made Cedar Crest. At least 16 flavors are available in peek summer season. They include Door County cherry, caramel collision and superman. And everyone is over the moon about the almond-flavored, florescent-colored blue moon flavor.
 
"Kids love it. It is hard to get over the look of blue, but adults love it, too--once they try it," Ullman says.

Tour Door County Homes on July 28th

 

By Donna Marie Pocius

Special to DoorCountyNavigator.com

 

Five homes and gardens on the Door Peninsula will be open to the public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, July 28, during the 49th annual House & Garden Walk sponsored by Door County Memorial Hospital Auxiliary.

 

Included is a 4,300 square foot home built in 2004 on a hill with a view of water and the Bayview Bridge.  The home juxtaposes styles: Craftsman and Cape Cod, rustic and elegance and antiques with contemporary.  "We are eclectic I Bridgeport Waterfront Resort would say," Mary Wulf, the homeowner, admits.  "You can break the rules."

 

Also featured is the spectacular 5,500 square foot home with a provincial eclectic decorating style.  The owners spotlight their art from all around the world. The spacious great room has a nearly 30-feet-high ceiling accented by natural wood beams, a stone fireplace and a view of Green Bay waters.

 

Natural colors, such as green wood trim and creamy colored window coverings, are used.  "What I was going for was something natural. I didn't want anything shocking, because the outdoors is so absolutely beautiful here. And you don't want to take away-you want to work with it," says Gere Warnecke, the homeowner.

 

A home with a classic contemporary style as well as a spectacular view of the Egg Harbor marina and the water is also on this year's tour.  "The land is very special because of the view. And a lot of the furniture is European because I used to live in England," says JoAnn Mueller, the homeowner.

 

Next, people can take a scenic and fragrant walk through a one-acre garden, where more than 100 different perennials and much more are growing  "It has the colors of a Victorian garden-pinks, blues, lavenders, purples, whites. And green is what makes it all look so pretty," says Paula Keller, the homeowner.

 

A Fish Creek home, also on the tour, is made with cedar and stone and has many prairie-style windows. Its entryway opens to the expansive great room. Eye-catching features include varying ceiling heights, skylights and pine ceiling beams.

 

Meanwhile, the floors and walls have finishes to mimic the Peninsula's outdoors.  Like water meeting sandy beach, there are irregular edges as the limestone surface in the entryway meets the maple wood flooring of the great room. Even wall tile in a nearby bathroom seems to form the shape of a Door County cliff. 

 

The House and Garden Walk tickets, which cost $25 each, are sold in the hospital's gift shop, local banks, many other outlets and at homes on the day of the walk.  Proceeds benefit hospital inpatient services and Emergency Department addition. More information is available by calling 920-746-1071 or e-mail [email protected].

A Special Place: EcoDoor

 
 by Donna Marie Pocius
Special to DoorCountyNavigator.com
 
What's it about: EcoDoor opened in June in the Top of the Hill Shops, Fish Creek.  It sells home furnishings, linens, accessories and personal items that are eco-friendly. Included are unique linen brands like Nandina, Inhabitat and the Home Source. There are samples of the Nandina towels-made from a blend of 75% organic cotton and 25% bamboo on display, so you can feel how soft they are and check-out all the pretty colors and patterns. A coverlet by the Home Source has a 100% bamboo cover and seems to be the perfect bed topping for the summer.  Also, find vases made from recycled magazines, lamps with LED lighting, furniture crafted from natural fabrics and sustainable wood and much more.
 
Why it's special: The owners of this new shop, Steve and Sherry Ziolkowkski, put all products they sell to a kind of 10-point green test. Each item must meet at least two criteria such as being made from reclaimed, Newport Resort Bannerrecycled and/or recyclable material or made by hand or improving air quality and saving on energy.  "You can come in here, and what you want will be eco-friendly. We have taken the guesswork out of it," Sherry says.
 
The shop itself was renovated with green building materials: cork flooring, bamboo stairway, low VOC or no VOC paints and a checkout counter made from bamboo and recycled paper.  "We put a tremendous remodeling into this space," Steve says. 
 
Sherry adds, "PortSide Builders did the remodeling and did a beautiful job."
 
Quick facts: EcoDoor, 9321 Spring Rd., No. 17, in the Top of the Hill Shops, Fish Creek, 920-868-5400. A Web site is being developed.