Day 15: The day started out promising, with some sun and blue in the skies. It didn't take too long for it to start raining, much to our disappointment. All through PA, OH, and MI, locals have been commenting on how extreme the rain has been this spring. One of our roads today was closed because it was flooded over, and there were swans swimming across it. Fortunately, we were able to cross the stream traversing the road. We had a nice stop at a bookstore/coffee shop (Book Nook & Java Shop in Montague, MI), where Tim had a $5 "Fancy Pants" locally made popsicle for brunch. He said it was worth every penny. We continued riding for another couple hours through the rain, and stopped for lunch. We kept hoping the rain would be over when we got out after lunch, but it did not stop until we arrived in Ludington. We had dinner at the House of Flavors, a local diner/ice cream shop known for creating the world record largest ice cream dessert in 2016: 1/2 mile long down their main street. So, of course, we had to have ice cream for dessert. Their "world famous" flavor is Blue Moon, with top secret ingredients. Really hard to pin down what it tastes like.
After assessing our options, we decided to go ahead with the Lake Michigan ferry crossing to Manitowoc, WI at 9 pm, rather than wait for the 9 am crossing. Today happened to be their first night crossing for the summer season. The SS Badger has been in commission since 1953. The 62 mile crossing took about 4 hours, and they had activities such as bingo and movies to keep us entertained. Tim and I were both big bingo winners, coming away with a deck of SS Badger playing cards. I kind of coveted the SS Badger sunglasses, but they were gone by the time I won. All of us tried napping with limited success. The ride crossed us into CST, our first time zone change, so we arrived in Manitowoc about midnight. Interestingly, as soon as we got off the ferry in WI, we could tell that the breeze was warmer, even though it was supposedly the same temperature. The air on the Michigan side was notably damper and chillier. WI is state #7 on our journey, and we are now squarely in the midwest, but still "out east" for Spokane locals. For the last 10 days or so, it was heartening to experience local pride as we traversed the back roads of PA, OH, and MI, where American flags lined the one main street in many of the small Rust Belt communities. All the locals we talked to have been very friendly, and universally they have wished us a safe journey.
Maps of today's ride:
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/3747790039
https://www.relive.cc/view/u3606379759
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| All trail for first 30 miles today. |
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| You don't see a scarecrow like this every day. |
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| Morning brunch and coffee. |
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| We do a lot of this. Where are we? |
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