Washington Island is a special place. But many Door County visitors miss it completely, perhaps due to time limitations or simply since it is off the beaten path. It is a bit of a hike to get all the way to the northern end of the Peninsula. Then, unless you have your own nautical transportation, you'll take either the car ferry or the passenger ferry across to the island from Gills Rock or Northport.

So why is this small, rural place so special? You'll find out if you visit. Maybe it's the quietness and slower pace. Maybe it's the people. Maybe it's a lot of factors that make the island unique.

Consider a bicycle trip around the island's sparse county roads. That way you can take it all in and explore the nooks and crannies a little more easily than flying by them in a vehicle. Lady slippers were in full bloom during our June trip, and one is pictured here. We spotted it in a ditch along the road!

Islanders seem a proud bunch. Many were born and raised here and we think most know other. One very nice touch in this community is that people wave. Yes, they wave at you, whether you're in a vehicle or on a bike, etc. We suppose this is because since folks know each other anyway they naturally wave. Or perhaps it's because islanders figure that visitors are important to their economy and want to welcome them. Before we understood about the waving phenomenon, we simply thought that when kids waved at us they were mistaking us for someone else!

One step along your way is really a must. The Washington Hotel, at 354 Range Line Road, overlooking the water, is a real charmer. Innkeeper and chef Leah Caplin has transformed this legendary property into a wonderfully cozy B&B, restaurant, and culinary school. Having been a professional gourmet chef in various venues around the country, she chose this idyllic location to settle down and setup this new enterprise. Leah strongly advocates locally grown foods and uses them in her own cooking. Classes are offered from time to time dealing with the details of organic, local, sustainable growing and cooking practices.

But not to worry. If you're not inclined to spend any vacation time in the kitchen, you can sit back and enjoy Leah's luscious multi-course dinner. Bakery fresh from the brick oven she had brought in as part of the renovation provides just the right finishing touch.

We stayed at the Washington Hotel in early June. Since it was still off-season, we found ourselves totally alone for the night, as the sole guests. (No, the establishment doesn't seem to be haunted, and we had a quiet night.) An extra bonus was sleeping on organic cotton sheets. Ummmm. Here's a place where you sit out on the veranda and sip lemonade, revel in the natural beauty of the grounds, and dream of yesteryear, when lodging guests a hundred years ago probably did the same thing. This is "down home" hospitality.

There are other places to eat on the island, but in the off season the choices are limited. Make certain you make the last ferry run to the mainland, unless you're spending more than a day here.