My mom grew up in Manitowoc and I spent a lot of summers there as a kid. They were a major submarine builder during WWII and there’s a really nice Maritime Museum. The museum includes an actual WWII sub that has been restored to the original WWII configuration. You can take a tour of the sub, and it’s fascinating. We took the tour some years ago, and at the end of the tour there was an old guy who had actually been on the sub. He described life on the sub, including the time they lay still on the ocean floor as a Japanese ship dropped depth charges on them. After several hours, eventually the Japanese gave up. According to the guy, it was just in time as the sub was damaged and leaking badly. I just checked and the museum and sub tours have resumed with safety precautions, if you’re interested.
Also, Beerntsen’s Ice Cream and Candy is a local institution and has been around since the 1930’s. It’s family owned and operated- the 3rd generation is running it now. They have great chocolate and other candy, and all the traditional soda fountain and ice cream specialties. My personal favorite is the Boston Nut sundae.
Manitowoc is a cute little town, but its once-thriving economy was shattered when the major factories closed a few decades ago. They’re trying to build some kind of tourist economy with the museum and the yacht marina, but like so many Midwestern towns, it’s struggling. Your tourist dollars will be welcome.
