Started off the morning nice and slow. There was no hurry today since our boat wasn't leaving until 1:15 central time. So me and dad hit up the Perkins next door to the hotel and had a nice breakfast. After that we walked across the street to the Lowe's. I wanted to clean my hideous looking chain and get it lubed up. So I grabbed a can of WD-40 and headed back. After about an hour's worth of soaking and rubbing, the chain was finally clean and looked brand new. The chain is all set to take me home now. Man, this bike is going to take weeks to get clean again.
After that we loaded up and headed on down to the dock. It was hard finding it since there were no signs to the loading area. You could see it sitting at the dock, but there were no signs saying "Turn here." After a quick "scenic" tour through downtown Manitowoc, I found my way over to it. Checked in and lined up for our entry onto the ship's hold.
We were told by some other guy we met the other day that motorcycles go on last so we figured we would be waiting around for a bit. Just as we turned our motorcycles off, we were greeted by a police officer and struck up a nice conversation with him and were told that we would probably go on relatively early. Maybe a half hour later we were driving on and tying down the bikes.
Headed upstairs and took a quick tour of the ship and went down below and grabbed some snack food. Little did we know that we should've secured some food at that moment. Since later on, our hunger became real and started looking for food. The cafeteria was closed!
With no annoucement, the ship's engine churned to life and we were off and moving. We moved to the top deck up to the bow and watched our exit out to Lake Michigan. The ship lumbered out of port and just traipsed along the waters.
My dad and I took up residence on the bow area for awhile. It was protected from the wind and really quite comfortable. The whole time was really just relaxing listening to the water below being pushed away and feeling the boat gently roll side to side. It put you to sleep...or almost asleep.
While the trip was four hours, it seemed like a really fast four hours in the crossing. Before you knew it, you could see the sand hills/dunes of Michigan on the horizon. At first they look like a mirage, but after a little while, you see the hills for what they really are.
The ol' Badger approached the port of Ludington and eased its way on it. The engines were pulled way back and we drifted into the docking area. Then a great loud clanking sound, a splash and you knew the anchor on the starboard side (right) dropped. This is the docking method that they use. Drop the anchor down, then let the ship pivot and swing itself around on its anchor. Pretty fun to witness on board.
The crew mates threw out the mooring lines and we backed into dock. It was amazing how fast everything moved off the ship. The cars aren't driven by the owners but by the employees of the SS Badger. So you have these guys unloading a car and then sprinting back on board to get to another car. Meanwhile, me and my dad undid the tie-downs and backed up and got the heck out of there. A few miles down the road was home.
While it wasn't a very long day, it was very tiring. Both us were feeling pretty wiped out from the day. Not sure exactly why either. But here we are in the Eastern time zone. Last time I was in this time zone was May 18th...haha..almost an ENTIRE month out of my own time zone!
Well, tomorrow we're off to my sister's place down in Canton, Michigan for a visit and my first home cooked meal since I left. I'm really looking forward to that! I'm also looking forward to not living in a hotel/motel room and NOT having to tear everything off my bike..and of course seeing my sister and her family!
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