Port Washington, WI

Our First Critique

Port Washington, WI

Saturday found us beating the heat and humidity, that was gripping our part of the state, in the cool city of Port Washington.

The reason we chose to visit this city was because during the previous week, Sherri and a friend had found themselves there for lunch after a shopping trip.  Since they didn't have time to explore, we decided to return on Saturday and thus began our idea to do this blog.

We arrived around noon and found ample free parking available on the Main Street as well as on side streets and parking lots.  We chose a parking spot centrally located downtown which had a two hour limit but as far as we could ascertain no authorities were keeping track.

Our first stop was at a clean public bathroom on our way to New Port Shores for lunch. We could easily have waited and used the restaurant bathroom, but how could we get our research first hand without checking it out.

The restaurant's maritime theme, great tasting seafood, and friendly staff made it a pleasurable experience.  We observed many eateries in the immediate area but this is the only one we can fairly assess.  From our perspective, many looked inviting.

We checked on the bathrooms, they passed!

This was Sherri's lunch, shrimp kabob and marlin steak.

We had both enjoyed seafood chowder before our entrees.

After lunch, we explored the newly refurbished breakwater walkway out to one lighthouse.

It's about a mile round trip, very easy walking on concrete.

The lighthouse is a unique structure with its arches as opposed to solid construction.

The reason we can estimate the distance is that John noticed two identical survey markers that where placed a quarter of a mile apart along the route.  (And besides, Sherri had her fitbit on to verify)

From there, we headed to the North Shore beach located within easy walking distance from the Marina.

A number of years ago, we had taken the Ozaukee Interurban Bike Trail from Grafton to Port Washington.  Since then, there have been many improvements to this section that takes you to the beach.

It is now a wide, concrete access to the beach.

The sand area of the beach is rather long and rather.narrow and many people were enjoying it that day..

We did not venture onto the beach but just took it in with our eyes.

Adjacent to the beach is a wooden stairway that leads up the bluff to a city park. The climb to the top was not difficult as there were many landings on which to rest.

We had seen advertisements for a beer garden posted around town.  We didn't  know where it was located and were pleasantly surprised to stumble upon it in the park at the top of the bluff.f

We enjoyed two Sprecher Fire Lights before heading back down via the road which led us right back to downtown.

At the bottom of the hill there is a brewery at the American Legion post.  There is ample outdoor seating and parking.  We cannot attest to the flavor of their beers as we did not partake, but it looked like a great place to stop for a quick one or to linger.  They had food available there, too.

Instead of another beer, we decided to treat ourselves to an ice cream from the Dockside Deli located right in the marina not far from Newport Shores.

As a side note here, there were clean, public bathrooms near the beach, in the park, and at the beer garden.

Ample bathrooms, indeed.

The Dockside Deli offers a variety of sandwiches, salads, and snacks.

They serve Chocolate Shoppe ice cream in various flavors.  We chose Heaps of Love and This stuff gets real, two very good choices.

We enjoyed it while sitting in Adirondack chairs overlooking the marina.  There was ample outside seating.  I found the chairs very comfortable, John did not.

Our view from our chairs while eating ice cream.

To wear off our ice cream we walked up another stairway to the historical society's light house exhibit.  Tours were available but we were too late for one.

We also saw St. Mary's church which sits at the top of the bluff and overlooks the city.

We descended these steps from the top of the bluff.  These cement steps are easier to maneuver than the wooden ones, although both sets are in good repair.

On our way back to the marina, we used yet another public bathroom.  John had no problems whatsoever, but Sherri tired to open the door, it was locked so she waited thinking it was in use.

John returned and asked why she was waiting.  He pointed out to her that she was trying to get into the "Employees Only" door, not the ladies room!  Oops.

They really are clearly marked!

One last walk to the southern limits of the lakeside walking path led us to the power plant. 

There was a wedding taking place in a gazebo by the lake, such a beautiful spot.

 The light  house we walked to now appears to be on my head!  HA

 And there it is!

I forgot to mention that the day started out very foggy, but even the fog couldn't hide the beauty of this area.  It allowed us to view the quick changes that occurs in a maritime location.

The fog is lifting in this photo from our first walk to the light house.

This is Sherri's new bike and she is ready to ride it on the Ozaukee Interurban Trail.  Seriously, as we stated previously, we have ridden this trail a few times and are anxious to do it again.

We walked over six miles touring this great city.  It is walker friendly, bike friendly, kid friendly, senior friendly and has great public bathrooms.

We hope that those of you who took time to read this blog enjoyed it as much as we enjoyed writing it.

Stay tuned to see where our next adventure will take us.

Until then,  

Travel safe and enjoy the ride!

(And may there always be a clean bathroom for you)