Friday we came over from Michigan to Wisconsin on the car ferry.
The S.S. Badger is a 410 foot long car ferry built by the C&O Railroad in 1953 to carry fully loaded railroad cars across Lake Michigan. It was the last (the earliest was built in 1875), and largest (620 people, 180 vehicles of all types, two 7,000 pound anchors), coal-fired, steam engine car ferry built in the U.S. But, the efficiency of railroad service around Lake Michigan improved, and in 1980 the C&O got Interstate Commerce Department permission to abandon cross-lake service. After some interim ventures, the Badger and two other car ferries were sold to a business man who created the service as it runs today….transporting people, cars and commercial vehicles. The pictures show the ferry being loaded in Ludington, MI, and the smoke plume from the stacks as we cross Lake Michigan.
Our crossing was smooth, wet (lots of rain) and 4 hours long. Such a wonderful way to avoid a 10 hour drive around the bottom of the Lake and through Chicago, Milwaukee and endless summertime highway construction!! So on to Sturgeon Bay where we reconnected with The Emerys. Bay Marine had pulled the boat out of the water to clean and polish it all up for us. The attached pictures show the boat as we got to see it hauled from the warehouse back to the water. It looks great!!
Just as we were about to load the boat, the heavens opened up and it just poured rain. So we made an executive decision, and headed for a hotel for one last night. Today we will move onto the boat for the summer. Whoopee!!!
A final note: we had dinner at a local fish restaurant and had fabulous walleye. And, ran into two couples we know from last summer’s adventures. Jerry and Cathy, Ron and Marlene keep their boats at Quarterdeck, where we stored The Emerys over the winter and where we docked last summer. They are all here for a long weekend. So it was fun catching up with friends, and the chance meeting foreshadows another fun summer on Lake Michigan.
Now we are off to load up the boat and lighten the load in the Jeep. Cheers.
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