Another year, another 365 memories

It has become a tradition in my family that we spend the New Year's weekend (or weekdays) in Door County. We have been coming to the peninsula for as long as I can remember; I've done quite a bit of growing up here. We returned again and spent the last days of 2017 enjoying the snow, sunshine, and glad tidings of most wonderful time of the year.

Winter in Door County is magical, and on this trip, I wanted to pay more attention to the nature and scenery around. On New Year's Eve, we went to pick up our pizza from the one and only Wild Tomato, and on our way, we witnessed the most incredible sunset. There is nothing quite like watching the sun set on frozen Lake Michigan.

In keeping with the tradition started four years ago, we stayed at the Eagle Harbor Inn, which is located in the northern half of the peninsula, in Ephraim. Eagle Harbor is a fantastic, family-owned inn, and we always have the best time there. The staff is so friendly and helpful—the man that checked us in recommended that we go sledding at the Peninsula State Park, and they gave us sleds to use, which was useful, given that we don't actually own sleds. We would have never thought to go otherwise, and we had such a blast!

Wild Tomato is our restaurant of choice whenever we are in Door County. Whether we're there on a day trip or for the weekend, we always eat there. Since we've been going to Door County for over a decade now, we've tried a solid number of restaurants all throughout the peninsula, but after discovering this gem, it's all I ever crave.

Their specialty is wood-fired pizza, and having tried innumerable pizzerias, I can attest to the fact that Wild Tomato does indeed make some of the best pizzas. Their menu consists of salads, pies, and sandwiches, and with sandwiches being my favorite food category, I have tried just about every sandwich on the menu. Like I said, we come here often. I came to the conclusion that the Cowboy Burger is the best burger in the Midwest. (Coming in second from that list of sandwiches would be the Jerk Chicken Wrap.) I cannot praise this place enough. It's funny that even though we're from out of town—out of state, for that matter—we're regulars at Wild Tomato.

Wild Tomato

Wild Tomato, Sister Bay

My other favorite restaurant in Door County is one that specializes in breakfast food: the White Gull Inn in Fish Creek. I don't consider myself to be a breakfast person; quite the contrary, actually. Half the time, I don't even eat breakfast because I'd rather use those 15 minutes to get extra sleep. With that being said, it's almost ironic that I have come to enjoy the breakfast at the White Gull so much. It's just that good!

My family and I discovered this restaurant a few years back, and it became a staple in our Door County itinerary. For the longest time, my breakfast-of-choice was a stack of chocolate chip pancakes (sometimes with hot chocolate on the side for some good, old-fashion chocolate overload) until I discovered the Door County Cherry-Stuffed French Toast, and it is a dream! This dish was mentioned on Good Morning America, where it was deemed "America's favorite breakfast." This title cannot be more accurate. It tasted as divine as it looked, and I could not recommend it enough.

If I had to choose a favorite moment from this trip—and let me just say that it's a close race between, well, everything—I would say witnessing the very last sunset of 2017 was the highlight of my trip. Sunsets are incredibly marvelous spectacles, and it's really something special to watch the sun set on 2017. The cream-soda colored skies in contrast with the icebound waters of Lake Michigan was a sight to behold. I could not have asked for a better way to end the year.

This past year has been one of the greatest years. Graduating high school was as freeing and joyous as any occasion could ever be, and starting college was as liberating and exciting as I dreamed it would be. 2017 consisted of a lot of growth, positive-thinking, learning and adjusting, as well as a TON of pizza and frozen kefir outings (the best kind of outings). 2018, welcome. I hope you'll be as enlightening, joyful, and wonderful (and of course, filled of as many food and travel adventures) as 2017. 🥂