Sister Bay, WI to Washington Island, WI

It is a windy 57 degree July morning. Sweatshirts are called into active duty. It is July right? 🥶

Washington Island is approximately 23 square miles off the tip of Door Peninsula. 783 people call this island community their year round home. Once the center of a territorial dispute between Michigan and Wisconsin, Washington Island was officially declared part of Wisconsin by the Supreme Court in 1936. There are no bridges connecting Washington Island to the mainland, so travel is by private boat, ferry, or airplane. The majority of visitors take a ferry with their car or bike. In summer season, these ferries run every 1/2 hour from 7:30 am to 6:45 pm (later trips on weekends). Roundtrip fares are $6 per bike, $15 per adult and $28.00 per car. As the ferries are constantly leaving the main peninsula, our courses are bound to intersect.

We arrive to Shipyard Island Marina. It is the only public marina operating on the island, although one must use the term “operating” loosely. They do not answer our VHF radio, or phone calls, when we try to ascertain our slip assignment. Contact is never made and we assign ourselves the dock of our choice.

While the marina has non-existent customer service for the transient boater, they do possess one huge tangible perk. They have a loaner car! Without a car, we would be marooned at the dock missing everything the island has to offer. Eventually, we find someone who admits to working at the marina and also willing to help us. We ask to use the loaner car and they are happy to oblige our request. Since we are the the only transient boat here, no one else will be using it. It is free for the whole day! However, several obstacles present themselves before we can drive away. First, Grandpa has to find the car. 🤔 Once located, obviously the next question becomes ” Where are those keys?”.😕 Finally, the car and its keys are reunited and off we go!😀🚗

Our first stop is an 8 mile drive to Grandpa’s lunch recommendation. He can’t remember the full name of the place, or the road names to get there, but it does has soup in the title. We find it (Jackson Harbor Soup)! We enjoy the tasty lunch outside on this cool sunny day. Thanks Grandpa for the lunch tip!

After lunch, we head to Schoolhouse Beach, named for an old wooden schoolhouse that previously sat on the property. This beach is very unique. There is no sand, just beautiful limestone rocks. The glacier polished pebbles, paired with the sparkling clear blue water, provide a natural wonderful geological treasure to behold.

Nature spent many centuries depositing these stones on Schoolhouse Beach. One by one, two by twos, whether in a pocket, purse, bucket or box, the limestone gems are being taken from their natural environment. The rate of removal is far exceeding nature’s ability to replenish. Therefore, there is a hefty fine for any removal of the stones. The threat of a fine, and the wish to preserve the beauty for all to enjoy, would appear to be enough to deter “pebble pillaging”. You would think…🤬

We leave Schoolhouse Beach with empty pockets, and head to Fragrant Isle Lavender Farm. The lavender is in full bloom and we can’t wait to sneak a peak ($8.00 each to walk the grounds).

Our next stop, on this 24 hour whirlwind visit, is the Sands Dune Park. This beach has no shortage of sand!

Having possession of a car, there is one final stop we make. A much needed trip to the grocery store!

Speaking of drinks, we have noticed a very peculiar tradition of bar patrons in this part of Wisconsin. They order shots of bitters. In fact, Washington Island’s population consumes more bitters than anyone else in the world. This tradition started during prohibition. Nelsen’s Hall Bitters Pub provided shots of bitters as a “stomach tonic for medicinal purposes”. Since they obtained this pharmaceutical license during prohibition, the pub can now make the claim that they are the oldest, since 1899, continuously operating tavern in Wisconsin. Today the tradition continues with the pub serving 10,000 shots of bitters per year. WOW!

We had wonderful time exploring Washington Island! The car made all the difference. A huge thanks to Shipyard island Marina for giving us the opportunity to explore their entire remarkable island home.