We actually left on Wednesday, which was a day later than our original plans. Ironically, the reason for our delay was that the weather on Tuesday looked rainy. Of course, the weather was perfect for riding all day. Even though it was pretty much a monsoon, we set out into the rain around 2:00.
Other than a couple of detours and the sheets of water falling from the sky, the 45 mile ride to Ludington was fairly event free, and we arrived at 6:30.
Before we left home, I had arraigned to stay with a woman named Claudia I found on a cycling hospitality website called warmshowers.com. She graciously welcomed us, fed us some excellent sweet potato soup, and gave us a place to sleep. That night, as I fell asleep, I realized that it was the first time I'd slept on a bed since January. The next morning, we got up at 6:30, packed up our panniers, and headed out to the ferry.
Our first clue that something was amiss was when we pulled up to the ticket office and there wasn't any other passengers hanging around. Inside, Pop said, "hi, I'd like to get out tickets.". The woman behind the counter looked at us and asked, "You mean for today?". "Uhh, yea...". "Oh, we canceled the trip for today because of how rough the lake is, but I can reschedule your tickets for tomorrow." Great, that does us a whole lot of good. After a brief conference, we decided to head back to Claudia's and see if we could stay for another night. On the way back to her house, I mentioned that we should see Claudia wanted any help on her porch.
*quick detour on Claudia's porch* Claudia, a single woman in her 50's, holds a degree in agricultural engineering. She also apparently has some experience in construction. So, instead of hiring someone to build a three-season porch, she decided to do it herself. We arrived 2 weeks or so into the construction process, and she had already set beams int the ground and was now in the process of installing floor joists. What I found really amazing where the plans she had drawn, illustrating every part of the porch from the distance from the sidewalk to the length and type of the length of the bolts. *end detour*
Claudia took us up on our offer to help with the porch, but only if the drizzle that had developed cleared out. Dad and I spent a few long hours in the local library until the afternoon arrived and brought sunshine and warmer temperatures. By that time, I was dying to be up and moving around, so working on the porch barely felt like work.
When Claudia decided that we had done enough for one day, we all went inside and helped to prepare supper, which we later enjoyed with one of Claudia's friends.
I really enjoyed our stay with Claudia, it was heartwarming to meet and get to know someone who cared about others enough to open her house to them.
Fortunately, the wind died down overnight, and we set sail on the Badger at 9:00 the next morning. After a smooth cruise, we unloaded our bikes into Wisconsin. Once we had secured a map and changed into some cycling clothes, we rode 45 miles through perfect weather to a small private campground Pop had located ahead of time. Once we arrived, we realized that he had neglected to make a reservation. And it's memorial day weekend. Even so, the camp lady manage to squeeze us into a tiny grassy section 15 feet away from a busy camper. Later, we walked around and only found 3 empty sites. I really don't understand the attraction of staying someplace that probably has a higher population density than Chicago and calling it "enjoying the outdoors".
Anyway, that's where we are now, resting for a long day of riding tomorrow.
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