Friday, August 22, 2008

An Introduction to Door County

When it comes to Door County, I've heard comparisons made to Cape Cod. I've also heard one regular call it the Caribbean of the Great Lakes. From what I have seen, I would have to agree with both of these. Being a collection of small harbor towns, running up the peninsula, the county has the airs of the upscale. While the entry point at Sturgeon Bay does have some industrial feel with shipyards and cranes, most of the locations are well groomed for the tastes of the yachtsman and fine boutique shopper.

Along the roads you will see a mix of rich forests and farmland. Many orchards, with outlet markets, offer cherry-related products of all sorts. Cherry wines, jams and candies can be sampled and purchased at the outlets or in many of the shops in town. The towns themselves usually have a cafe or two, a confectionery, yard art shops and an historic structure or two. You should also search for a custard shop and inquire into their favorite restaurants.

So far, we've eaten at some pretty cool places. Al Johnson's is the Swedish restaurant with the grass roof and the goats on top of it. The menu offers Swedish specialities, pancake being one of them. We shared the herring appetizer and I went for the Swedish meatball sandwich. The opening bread plate was served with red lingon berry preserves. Oh man was that tremendous! Speaking of lingon berries, you hear them often referenced in Scandinavian cooking shows and served up in Swedish and Noreweigan communities. Having had them, I will be looking for them even harder from now on. The lingon berry juice has become a new favorite. Similar to cranberry juice but without the overpowering tartness, it is sweet and refreshing!

At Custard's Last Stand I went for a small bowl of vanilla custard, degrees better than the best ice cream, I think. In Ephraim, the 'capital' of Door County, Wilson's restaurant presents burgers and a wide range of specialty ice cream desserts. The burger was great, the home made root beer better and the Wilson's Special sundae the best! With the turning of many a patron head came the tall glass, floating in all its gorgeousness and gorgeousity. A glowing amber butterscotch, beneath layers of vanilla ice cream, marshmallow, fudge, vanilla ice cream and marshmallow, with a cherry on top! Oh so yummy and one of their cheapest ice cream offerings.

At the Chef's Hat I went for a penne pasta with andouille sausage. Mushrooms, green and red peppers, pine nuts, gorgonzolla and more, bathed in olive oil.

Other than food, we've shot some footage around the county. There are many lighthouses in the area, but the Cana Lighthouse had to be the best. Tall, white and appearing to be bolted together in many ribbed segments, this tower is what you think of when you hear the word 'lighthouse.' In Bailey's Harbor we spoke with some girls kite boarding and got some on-camera time. At Peninsula State Park, we climbed the 75 foot wood fire tower to take a panoramic view of Door County. The sun had burned off most of the mist of that day, but their still remained a brief haze, mixing fairly good visibility with an ethereal atmosphere. Some boats zoomed in the vast waters of Lake Michigan below and in the distance, but most was open and blue. You could see many of the towns, such as Ephraim, in the distance and points and islands as well. At the horizon there was nothing but water.

Training is going pretty well. It's odd to be giving some pointers but having no shooting responsibilities. I've almost as much anxiousness to get this over as I did when I was being trained in. I have to get used to tolerating the quirks and messiness of another individual and have encouraged myself to let much flow as it goes. We've been able to do on camera stuff that is impossible with only one person. This set-up is really what should be done when you have a host in front of the camera. The Canadian Les Stroud (Survivorman) is about the only talent that shoots himself.

On to more shoots in Door County. We'll make our way to a fish boil and I'll let you know how the next days go! I'll also get some of the pictures up when I've a good connection to the internet. Ta!

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