Mary
and I have been in Door County for 7 or 8 years and there are a couple of
things that we still have not acclimated to. I have been “encouraged”, by other
transplanted friends, to talk about one in this blog. The issue is directions
in Door County. For someone who grew up on “the main land” directions are
pretty straight forward. We go “up North” or “down South”. East and West are
left or right of North or South, depending on which way you are facing. We are
always “facing” North or South and the land is wide enough to accommodate us.
Then
we moved to Door County. Our neighbor stopped to greet us and to get
acquainted, it seemed that high on his list of small talk was the fact that our
house faced nearly directly North. Well he couldn’t fool me! I know where North
is and it wasn’t the direction that our house is facing. Our neighbor simply chuckled,
after all he’s a transplant too and he knew that it would take a long while for
us to “recalibrate” our internal compass. We checked our Gazetteer and sure
enough the old Hwy 57 (now DK) angled just enough to have our house facing
North on this beautiful but cockeyed peninsula.
We
found out that North was really East-ish and South was really West-ish and
anyone who got it right was probably born on this strip of land called Door
County. When we go to Washington Island it seems that the world mysteriously
rotates back to a “North is North” point of view.
In
my struggle to shift my “compass” I looked at our map again.
I was struck by
the fact that most of the roads are set up on the “traditional” North / South
and East / West grid. Except for the main highways (57 & 42), I see the familiar
grid layout, which admittedly looks out of place against the angle of the
peninsula. I guess that I understand the insistence of the “Door born” folks to
talk in terms that makes “North to be East” and “South to be West”. I just hope
I don’t get lost going to New London.
