The heat that settled over Door County the past two weeks did exactly what it was supposed to do.

The cherry harvest has fully arrived. Tart Montmorency cherries are now open for picking at most orchards across the county, and the farm markets are stacked with fresh fruit, cherry jam, cherry salsa, and pies that did not exist just the other day.

If you have been waiting for the right moment to get up here, this is it.

Cherry season does not last long and the best weeks go fast.

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This week in The Best of Door County Weekly:

A few things worth knowing about this week.

The smoke. Wildfire smoke from Minnesota and Canada swept through Northeast Wisconsin last week, dropping air quality to Very Unhealthy levels on Wednesday.

The haze has been lingering in the region in varying degrees since. If you or anyone in your group has heart or lung conditions, check air quality readings before spending extended time outdoors.

The smoke is not unique to Door County but it is worth knowing about before you plan a full day on the water or the trails.

A piece of history arrives in Sturgeon Bay. The USS Silversides, one of the most decorated submarines of World War II, has arrived at the Sturgeon Bay shipyard for its first dry dock preservation work in more than 50 years.

The three-month project will help ensure this historic vessel survives for future generations.

The Silversides is normally docked in Michigan, and this kind of preservation work does not happen often. Worth a short drive if you have any interest in Great Lakes maritime history.

Bay Birch Gallery opens in Door County. A new art gallery, Bay Birch, recently celebrated its grand opening.

Worth a visit if you enjoy local art and supporting new businesses up here.

Follow them on Facebook at Bay Birch Gallery.

Door County Baseball League Update. The most recent results have Egg Harbor rolling with an 11-1 win over Institute on Friday before the rest of the league took to the diamond on Sunday.

Kolberg handled W. Jacksonport 5-1, Washington Island absolutely demolished Baileys Harbor 17-0 in what can only be described as a statement game, and Sister Bay rolled past Maplewood 15-5 to keep pace near the top.

And now the standings are getting interesting.

Washington Island remains the team to beat at 9-1. Sister Bay moved to 8-2 with the win and is making a real run at the top spot. Kolberg also sits at 8-2 after the Jacksonport win, which means the top three are separated by one game with plenty of season left.

At the other end, Institute is still looking for its first win at 0-10 and Baileys Harbor dropped to 5-5 after that ugly Sunday result.

Coming up this week, Egg Harbor travels to Baileys Harbor, Institute visits Washington Island, W. Jacksonport hosts Sister Bay, and Kolberg travels to Maplewood. The Island-Institute matchup looks like a mismatch on paper, but as they say, that’s why you play the game.

I take you back to New Years 2010.

Six adults. Six kids. Margaritas at Mojo Rosa's in Egg Harbor. And somehow, in the middle of all of that, I had what I believed to be a great idea.

Let's jump in the lake.

I broached the idea with my friends Ken and Stefan. Maybe it was the excitement, maybe it was the taquila, but whatever the reason, they both said yes.

The next morning was the 24th Annual Polar Bear Plunge hosted by the Jacksonport Polar Bear Club.

What I did not fully appreciate at the time was that jumping in Lake Michigan on New Year's Day in Door County means standing on ice in your swim trunks in approximately 15-degree air, barefoot, with no plan for what comes next.

It didn’t have to be that way, but we had not prepared. No aquasocks. No bucket of warm water for our feet. No dry clothes waiting nearby. We had watched other, wiser people bring all of those things. We had brought nothing.

For what felt like an hour but was probably three minutes, we stood there on the ice staring at the water. At one point, Ken ran back to the car barefoot. His six-year-old son was genuinely convinced his father was going to die of hypothermia. Which, in fairness, was not an entirely unreasonable concern.

We all jumped in anyway. We all survived. We spent the rest of the day thawing out in the hot tub, which ended up being a better New Year's Day than we origionally planned.

I was so proud of our accomplishment that I bought a souvenir shirt. I still have it. It reminds me that some of the best things we have ever done up here were completely unplanned and slightly ill-advised.

That’s Door County for you.

If this is your first time up here or you live here year-round, there’s almost always something you have not done yet.

Door County has that quality where the more you explore, the more you realize how much is still out there.

Our complete guide to things to do across the county covers every village, every season, and every kind of traveler, from the hikers and kayakers to the wine tasters and theater goers, from families with young kids to couples looking for a quiet weekend away.

If someone you know is coming up for the first time and asking where to start, this is the page to send them.

Read the Best Things to Do in Door County Guide here.

Last week we asked about your favorite Door County restaurant and the results were pretty interesting.

Shipwrecked took the top spot with more than 20 percent of the vote, which means a lot of you have strong feelings about the Egg Harbor staple.

Coyote Roadhouse and Wilson's came in tied for second, which is a fun pairing when you think about it. A roadhouse and an ice cream stand, neck and neck.

That feels right for Door County.

Every week we spotlight a recently sold home and an active listing to give you a feel for what the Door County real estate market looks like today.

Whether you are actively looking or just dreaming, this is your weekly peek at what is changing hands.

JUST SOLD: Sister Bay

A custom three bedroom, three bath home on White Pine Lane in Sister Bay sold July 17 for $828,000.

Tucked down a private lane on five acres and nestled among the pines, this is exactly the kind of property that makes you understand why people fall for Door County real estate. Wood-burning fireplace, warm oak floors, vaulted ceilings, a gourmet kitchen with an island, a sunroom wrapped in windows, a she-shed, and a 3-car garage with a heated workshop.

FOR SALE: Baileys Harbor

A three bedroom, two bath home on Red Cherry Road in Baileys Harbor just hit the market at $585,675.

Built in 2004 on five acres, it is a clean and straightforward Door County property in a quiet part of the county. Listed July 17.

If you have been watching Baileys Harbor, this one is worth a look.

The Skyway Drive-In Theatre in Fish Creek has been lighting up the summer sky since July 26, 1950, making it the longest continuously running drive-in in Wisconsin.

This is a genuine, old-school drive-in. One screen, two movies. A snack bar that has been basically the same since the 1950s. And the cartoon advertisements before the movie, the ones created decades ago, still run before the show.

Yes, they still sell Pic mosquito repellent.

Yes, traditional speakers hang on the posts in the first four rows if you want the full vintage experience, though you can listen on your car radio.

This week's double feature is Toy Story 5 and The Devil Wears Prada 2.

The entry gate opens at 7:45 p.m. Admission is $11 for anyone 12 and older, $7 for kids 5 to 11, and free for kids under 4.

The Door County Plein Air Festival runs through Saturday, with artists painting outdoors at locations across the county in real time. The public Quick Draw competition is one of the more entertaining things you can stumble into on a summer afternoon up here, watching painters work against the clock with the landscape in front of them.

The BoDeans play the Door County Auditorium on Thursday. If you grew up in the Midwest in the 80s and 90s, you know the BoDeans. If you do not, now is the time.

Live music at Lake Fire Winery on Friday is a great excuse to combine a tasting with a summer evening outside.

The Sturgeon Bay Farmers Market runs Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon. More than 80 vendors, all Door County grown and produced. The best market in the county by volume and one of the best reasons to spend a Saturday morning in downtown Sturgeon Bay.

Celebrate Carlsville Day is Saturday. A genuine small-town celebration in one of the county's most overlooked communities. Local food, local people, local fun..

Door County produces approximately 90 percent of Wisconsin's tart cherry crop and accounts for a significant portion of total US production, making it one of the most concentrated cherry-growing regions in the country.

But here is the part most people do not know: the cherry industry in Door County was nearly wiped out in the 1950s when synthetic red dye used to color maraschino cherries was found to be a carcinogen and banned by the FDA.

Since maraschino production had been one of the primary markets for Door County's tart cherries, growers suddenly had to find new buyers fast.

The pivot to frozen cherries for pie filling and juice saved the industry and is largely responsible for the cherry economy that exists up here today.

After last week's heat wave with highs pushing into the upper 80s, this week brings some welcome relief. Tuesday comes in around 72 degrees with a slight chance of rain but mostly manageable. Wednesday clears out nicely with a high of about 71 and sunshine returning. Thursday looks even better, climbing back into the mid 70s with clear skies.

Sunrise Tuesday is at 5:36 a.m. Sunset comes around 8:27 p.m., giving you just under 15 hours of daylight. The days are still long but if you pay attention you can feel the very slow lean toward fall starting.

Cherry update: tart Montmorency cherries are in full swing at most orchards right now. Call ahead before you drive out as conditions change day to day. Sweet cherries at many locations are winding down so if you want those, move quickly.

This week's newsletter was written to Moving Pictures by Rush, which came out in 1981 and contains some of their biggest hits in Tom Sawyer and Limelight.

Rush is currently on their Fifty Something tour and played three shows in Chicago this past week. Their fourth Chicago show is Wednesday.

I went Saturday night and was reminded all over again just how absurdly talented this band is.

Neil Peart, the original drummer who passed away in 2020, was the heart and soul of what made Rush sound like nothing else. Anika Nilles fills that role now and does it with real authority. Watching her play live is something.

If it’s been a minute since you’ve given Moving Pictures a full listen, today is the right time for it.

Summer up here means dogs on docks, cats looking out cottage windows, and apparently schnauzers keeping watch outside Al Johnson's while their owners enjoy a tasty beverage.

Meet Jiffy. He is an 11-year-old schnorkie, which is a miniature schnauzer mixed with a Yorkshire terrier, and he was recently spotted holding down a table at the Stabbur Beer Garden in Sister Bay. Jiffy looks like he has done this before. He looks like he has opinions about it.

This is exactly the kind of Door County moment we are here for. Send us yours. Dog on a trail, cat at a campsite, something we have never seen before.

Tell us the name, the village, and what was happening. Send photos to [email protected] and Jiffy will have some company in future issues.

Cherry season is here. The smoke is clearing. The drive-in is open rain or shine. A WWII submarine is sitting in Sturgeon Bay waiting to be saved.

There is a lot going on up here right now and not enough summer left to waste any of it.

See you up here,
Brian

thebestofdoorcounty.com