Sturgeon Bay, WI

At the left, I am sitting in front of one of the exhibits at the Maritime Museum in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. It is a very nice museum, although not quite as elaborate as the one I visited last summer in Astoria, Oregon. I didn't realize the major role the people of this area played in building ships for World War II. There is still ship building here, but nothing like in the 1940s and 1950s. There have been some very nice yachts built here too, one of which sold for $35 million.

As I toured the museum and followed the news the past few days, it brought back many fond memories of my stay on Galveston Island last April. We were parked at Galveston Island State Park, about 100' from the Gulf of Mexico. From the pictures I have seen on T.V., I assume the campground is gone. We walked along the seawall shown in so many newscasts and ate at one of the restaurants facing the gulf.

One of the special sites I visited in Galveston was the Bishop's Palace. This is (was?) a beautiful mansion built in 1887 for a local attorney and features a hand-carved staircase, jeweled glass windows and a mantel than won first prize at the 1876 World Fair. The mansion survived the hurricane of 1900 that killed thousands of people and then was purchased by the Catholic Diocese for the local bishop in 1923. I have not seen any report about the mansion. I hope it survived again.

While I am up here in Door County, I hope see more of the beautiful countryside and maybe visit a lighthouse. If the weather is good, I hope to take the ferry to Washington Island. I think this area is a lot like New England. I was told the cherry crop was not too good this year, but the stores do have lots of cherry products.

The weather has been rainy here, but nothing like what other parts of the country have seen. I will keep you posted on my travels in Wisconsin. I have met some people who are still upset that Brett Favre left Green Bay, but the Packers winning the first two games of the season has softened the blow.