Door County Fall Fun

INCREDIBLE FULLY-LOADED TOUR includes

• Motorcoach Transportation
• 4 nights Lodging – Open Hearth Lodge
• 11 meals:  4 Breakfasts, 3 Lunch and 4 Dinners
• Visit Cave Point Door County Park
• Fish Creek Scenic Boat Tour
• Free time browsing shops at Founders Square
• Visit Eagle Tower
• View Eagle Bluff Lighthouse
• Tour Bjorklunden Stave Chapel
• Visit the Old Rugged Cross Monument
• Listen to Dan Meunier in Concert
• Visit the Coast Guard Lighthouse or North Pierhead Light
• Visit Door Peninsula Winery
• Door County Coffee and Tea Company
• Door County Candle Company
• Ferry to Washington Island and Tour
• Visit the Fragrant Isle Lavender Farm
• Visit Washington Harbor & School House Beach
• Visit Seaquist Orchard Farm Market
• Tour Washington Island Stavkirke Church
• Mann’s Mercantile
• Nelson’s Hall
• Door County Fish Boil
• Simon’s Specialty Cheese
• On Board Bottled Water and Snacks
• Gratuities for area Step-on Guides
• On Board Tour Director

Welcome Aboard! We’ll depart our pick up locations for a nice enjoyable ride to delightful Door County, Wisconsin. Breakfast treats and bottled water on board and we will stop for lunch on own en route, then Dinner (Pre-Paid) and onto our hotel. Check into our hotel, Open Hearth Lodge and relax for the evening or check out our surroundings.

Breakfast will be served at the Lodge. First stop to Fish Creek Boat Tours where we will be taking a guided tour on the waters north long Peninsula State Park’s seven mile shoreline. Learn about the park’s human and natural history, including the story of the Niagara Escarpment. After, we’ll lunch at Sonny’s Pizzeria. (Pre-Paid-All-Inclusive) They serve a great buffet with salad bar and great pizza choices. After lunch, we will visit the Old Rugged Cross Monument. See where the most popular and widely accepted Christian hymn “The Old Rugged Cross” was completed by Rev. George Bennard completed here Dec. 29, 1912 – Jan. 12, 1913. Then we will go visit the Coast Guard Lighthouse or North Pierhead Light. This impressive red structure is located at the fully operational U.S. Coast Guard station on the Lake Michigan end of the Sturgeon Bay ship canal. The Pierhead navigation light was built in 1882, and the station was built with a tower light in 1899, renovated in 1903, and automated in 1972. We will have to follow the path to it for those who are want to get a closer view although you can still see easily. Then we can visit  Door Peninsula Winery, feels like your home away from home for locals and travelers alike. With over 200 awards won for over 60 wines, ranging from robust reds to crisp whites, you’ll not be disappointed! Door County Coffee and Tea Co., is a world class coffee roaster, specializing in gourmet flavored coffee and premium blends. Enjoy the best coffee, teas, chocolates and sweets!  Door County Candle Company, Hand-crafted candles. With over 40 fragrances to explore, something for everyone. candles are truly so unique and special, and unlike any others out there. All of Door County Candle Company’s scented wax products are hand poured and handcrafted in small batches. This evening, we’ll enjoy dinner at the Log Den Restaurant for a Buffet Dinner. (Pre-Paid-All-Inclusive).

Enjoy Breakfast at the Lodge before another fun-filled day of touring! Meet guide on mainland, board ferry in the comfort of our own Motorcoach and during ride, guide will explain the history of the outlaying Islands, the Lighthouses and give an intro to Washington Island. Our first stop on the Island will be a restroom break at the information center. Time to travel to Historic Washington Harbor and beautiful School House Beach. We can step back into history at the farm museum and learn about Island life without electricity! On the island, we will the Fragrant Isle Lavender Farm. A Magical Place – Experience the Midwest’s Largest Lavender Farm. Come back to nature and be immersed in the serenity of the lavender fields. Fragrant Isle is home to 20,000 blooming lavender plants. Shop Door County’s largest selection of luxurious artisan lavender products. The Shop features more than 250 products made from Fragrant Isle’s very own lavender buds and essential oils. From head to toe there are products sure to please the most discerning customer. Enjoy Le Cafe’s selection of gourmet lavender treats including croissants, baguettes, cookies, chocolates, specialty lavender ice cream , our famous macaroons and more. Then sip one of our signature drinks at The Distillery as you overlook the lavender fields. On to Stavkirke Chapel, Washington Island, harbors a real, almost hidden historical treasure: the Stavkirke (Church of Staves) based on drawings of one built in Borgund, Norway in 1150 AD. This was a home-grown project, another testament to ‘life in a small town,’ community effort, where skilled local craftsmen, under the direction of head carpenters, John Herschberger, Dale Bjarnarson, and a half-dozen volunteers, came together whenever time permitted, mostly in summer. Now, I think we’re hungry for Lunch (Pre-Paid). After lunch, on to explore the Island. Then we will visit Mann’s Mercantile where they offer the largest selection of Washington Island t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats and souvenirs. They carry an array of home decor, jewelry, handmade items, including our homemade cream & butter FUDGE – Best in Door County! And see Nelsen’s Hall, Historic Island landmark est. 1899. We will then wind our way across the back roads to the Ferry Dock. Depart the island for a tour of the orchards at Seaquist Orchards Farm Market. Well-groomed roads throughout several acres of cherries, apples, apricots, and sweet cherries offer an opportunity for customers to see a “working farm.”  A tour guide steps right on the coach and gives a fun, informative tour. After the tour, apple cider and a wide variety of samples (jams, fudge, mustards, salsa) are available, along with some great shopping! Later this evening, we will have dinner at the English Inn Restaurant. (Pre-Paid-All-Inclusive).

After Breakfast at the Lodge, meet our step-on guide and depart for Cave Point Door County Park where the winds & waves from Lake Michigan have worn away limestone cliffs to create underwater caves. Some days, the sound of the waves crashing into the cliffs is thunderous, and the spray can shoot up 20 feet in the air! The view from the top is breathtaking as we watch the water splash and swirl beneath us. Then see a concert with Dan Meunier: Dan is a composer, singer and storyteller holding concerts in his historic schoolhouse which doubles as a museum. The schoolhouse, filled with works of art and eclectic antiquities, has become a place for Dan to share his love of the creative spirit. We will enjoy a concert of old-time music, comedy and hymns that is sure to please! Dan performs from a grand piano, an upright piano, and from an antique parlor organ. We will close with a sing-along. Visit Bjorklunden Stave Chapel, Boynton Chapel at Bjorklunden is a small wooden chapel built in a late 12th-century Norwegian stave church (Stavkirke) style. Handcrafted by Winifred and Donald Boynton between 1939 and 1947 on the grounds of their summer residence, the chapel is modeled after the Garmo stave church at Maihaugen in Lillehammer, Norway. After, enjoy lunch at Al Johnson’s Swedish Restaurant (Pre-Paid). Al Johnson’s is an authentic Swedish family-owned restaurant where you can find goats grazing the sod roof. No tour to Door County is complete without a stop at Eagle Tower! High above the Niagara Escarpment on Peninsula’s northeast shore stands one of the most popular attractions in Door County. Eagle Tower, located on top of Eagle Bluff, offers panoramic views of the park, surrounding islands, the Upper Michigan shoreline and the village of Ephraim. The tower is 60 feet high with the top observation deck sitting 253 feet above Green Bay. There are 100 steps to climb to get to the top of the tower, or visitors can enjoy an 850-foot, fully-accessible canopy walk that will wind above the tree line to the top of the tower.  If you dare to climb….. As we drive through Wisconsin’s largest State Park, we can experience the beauty of the shores and bluffs on our way to Eagle Bluff Lighthouse. Built in 1868, the living quarters are completely furnished from that era. We will learn about life in a lighthouse as we step back into the 1880’s. Then, stop at Founder’s Square for Free time for shopping around the area before our fish boil, Pellitier’s Famous Fish Boil. We will watch the boil-over and enjoy the technique and cooking process of the Traditional Door County Fish Boil. Our meal will consist of Fresh Lake Michigan Whitefish boiled with Baby Red Potatoes and Sweet Boiling Onions, served with melted butter and Lemon along with their made fresh daily homemade coleslaw, dark Bavarian rye and Homestyle honey white bread, choice of beverage, and of course, a slice of Seaquist Orchards Door County Cherry Pie for dessert. After dinner,  back to hotel.

Enjoy Breakfast at the Lodge before we depart for home stopping at Simon’s Specialty Cheeses. They continue to be synonymous with world class cheese and carries the full range of the company’s award-winning Cheddar, Feta, Mozzarella, Provolone and their signature fresh squeaky cheese curds. All of their cheese is supplied from their three Wisconsin plants. In addition to their own cheese, they carry over 100 other varieties of cheese from Wisconsin along. They also offer a fantastic selection of gifts, homemade pizza, fudge, craft beer, wine and many other items that make their store a unique destination. We’ll have lunch and a snack dinner before arriving home with many pictures, memories and new great friends! Welcome home!