Tuesday, July 18, 2000

Today we traveled from Manitowoc WI to Ludington MI. We only rode our bicycle 10 miles because we took the auto ferry across Lake Michigan. The ferry left at 1:00 PM, but before it left we went to a bicycle shop in Manitowoc and they rebuilt the rear wheel, straightened the bent connection for the rear derailleur, and sold us two new tubes. The bicycle shop opened at 9:00 AM. We arrived a few minutes later and the bicycle mechanic dropped what he was doing to work on our bicycle. I now feel better about the condition of the bicycle.

We then rode from the bicycle shop to the ferry. Before we got to the ferry, we searched for a restaurant where we could buy something to eat for lunch. We found a Subway that was open in downtown Manitowoc and bought two 6-inch subs for our lunch. Then we traveled to the ferry landing. The ferry had already arrived and unloaded the traffic from Michigan. We waited and watched while the ferry employees loaded the automobiles into the ferry. Each automobile had to be driven into the ferry, turned around, and backed into place because every automobile enters and leaves by the back of the ferry. About noon they let passengers embark on the ferry. At the same time they let us take our bicycle aboard. We tied the bicycle to the side of the ferry and joined the passengers in the passenger cabin. The ferry left at 1:00 PM. The lake was somewhat choppy and the ferry rocked. Mary Kay gets seasick riding in an automobile. She got to feel rather poorly. At one point she left to go to the rest room and never came back. After a while I began looking for her and I could not find her. I was very worried. Finally I found her outside the ferry sitting in a chair against the side of the cabin. She fell asleep and did not tell me where she was.

The ferry arrived in Ludington and we put our bicycle clothes back on and rode on a main street to our motel. Then we had to ride back toward town to find a restaurant where we could eat supper. It was a cold day with the high of only 57 degrees. We also had lots and lots of people stop and ask us questions about the bike and to take our picture with the bike.