Washington Island: Wisconsin’s Isle of Calm

Beachfronts and lavender farms offer tranquility to everyone who visits.

Guests can sit and enjoy the tranquility at Fragrant Isle Lavender Farm. Edgar Anderson/Destination Door County

I’m sipping a lavender-infused coffee while my wife, Tip, enjoys a cool lavender lemonade. We lean back in our Adirondack chairs and the world before us is the color of ... well, lavender. The breeze rolls through it like a purple wave, and the air hums with the pure delight of hundreds of bees. I suppose the nectar is lavender-infused as well.

Like an open-air spa, Fragrant Isle Lavender Farm lies at the heart of Washington Island, a different side of Wisconsin’s Door County.

A Touch of France

Martine Anderson was born and raised in France, and her husband, Edgar, hailed from Honduras. Their paths crossed in Miami Beach. Each had a successful and busy career—she in couture management for Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue, he with his own ad agency and a corporate executive job with McDonald’s that took him all over the world for the better part of 21 years.