Begin your decompression. Linger over breakfast on your balcony overlooking the water. Wander down to the shore and hop in one of our double kayaks and take a leisurely explore around the harbor. Stroll the few blocks to Espresso Lane for a relaxing lunch. Back to your balcony for a fierce game of backgammon then a well deserved nap! Dial the innkeeper and have a bottle of chilled chardonnay delivered to your room for a toast to the perfect romantic getaway. Wander down the sidewalk to Restaurant Saveur and enjoy fabulous eclectic world cuisine. Enjoy the canopy of stars on the way back to the inn!!!!

Enough laziness, time to get out and do a little exploring. Today is Lighthouse Day. Enjoy the view of the Old Bird Cage Lighthouse from your balcony over breakfast. Grab our tandem bike for a twenty minute bike ride to Cana Island Lighthouse, an often photographed, very special spot. Return to town in time for a classic tavern lunch at the Cornerstone Pub. Next walk to the Baileys Harbor Range Lights within the Ridges Sanctuary, a two block journey from the Inn. While you’re there take a guided hike with the naturalist and enjoy the myriad of rare wildflowers. Grab a quick dinner at the Coyote Roadhouse on Kangaroo Lake and take in a performance of Door Shakespeare under the stars at nearby Bjorklunden.

One visit to Bjorklunden under cloak of darkness is not enough. Enjoy a pleasant walk through town after breakfast and visit Boynton Chapel, built in the style of an ancient Norwegian Stavkirke. On your way back through town, pick up a box lunch at the Yum-Yum Tree and stroll right past the inn down Ridges Road to Toft Point. Revel in a solitary picnic lunch on the limestone shelf overlooking Lake Michigan or choose the old homestead clearing on Moonlight Bay, now a field of wild lupines in June. Hop in the car and drive 10 minutes to the best sunset casual dining "al fresco" Fred & Fuzzy's and on Tuesday nights stay for great live music or travel back to Baileys Harbor and swing to the Big Band sound of the professional musicians at Birch Creek.

Today is “take in the peninsula day”. Drive north from our door to Sister Bay. Don’t miss Chelsea Antiques along the way. Sister Bay is the big city in Northern Door County with 800 people! Peruse shops and galleries in town and check out the goats on the sod roof of Al Johnson’s Swedish Restaurant! South on highway 42 takes you past many shops and galleries. Picturesque Ephraim is the place for lunch. Wilson’s is a classic soda fountain with mouth-watering hamburgers followed by the obligatory ice cream cone while you stroll the waterfront. Continue south on 42, Fish Creek is next with more of everything. The pearl here is Edgewood Orchard Gallery, just south of town on Peninsula Player road. Egg Harbor is the next village and Trio restaurant is a must for contemporary Italian cuisine. Haven’t had enough yet? Peninsula Players, America’s oldest professional summer theater is a few minutes away and the waterfront setting is a stunning spot to take in the sunset before the performance.

No lingering over breakfast today! Rock Island is the destination, one of our favorite places in the world. Drive north toward the ferry dock at the tip of the peninsula. Stop at one of the farm markets along the way and pick up a loaf of bread, cheese and smoked fish for a picnic lunch. Catch the Washington Island Ferry from the Northport dock. Enjoy the crossing of Death’s Door and view the Poverty Island and Plum Island Lighthouses along the way. Enjoy the scenic beauty of Washington Island as you head for Jackson Harbor on the opposite corner of the island to pick up the Karfi for a ride to Rock Island. No cars, no bikes, no food, just curious buildings, enchanting hiking trails, pristine beach and breathtaking views. Your dinner stop upon returning to the peninsula is the Shoreline Restaurant in Gills Rock, casual dining, spectacular water views and really good food!

Your last full day on the peninsula and you have not been to Peninsula State Park! Head to Fish Creek, hike or bike the park, it is stunning. Take a tour of Eagle Bluff Lighthouse; play on the beach at Nicolet Bay. Fit in a lunch at the White Gull Inn. Return to the Blacksmith Inn in time for one last nap. Reserve an early table at The Inn at Kristofer’s, one of our favorite dining experiences, and then head back to Peninsula State Park for a performance of American Folklore Theatre . Under a canopy of trees and stars, the stage comes alive with original musical comedy that will leave you smiling.

Oh, Oh – today is check out day. Get up early and enjoy one last kayak as the sun rises over the harbor in a blaze of orange and leaves the water glistening with diamonds of light. Savor the view over breakfast. Jump in your whirlpool one last time. Say goodbye, we’ll welcome you back before you leave! But don’t panic, there is one last stop in Door County on the way south. Sturgeon Bay, a town of ten thousand makes for a gradual easing back into the world of stop and go lights! The enticement here is the Door County Maritime Museum and the shops on Third Avenue and two wonderful lunch stops, The Bluefront Café or the Inn at Cedar Crossing. But wait there is still golfing, charter fishing, horseback riding, and sailing. What happened to that whole day just spent on the beach reading? You never made it to Stone’s Throw Winery or Whitefish Dunes or Newport Park! Time to start planning the next visit!