The Ferry Ride

Michigan Day 11

Monday, July 21 – Ferry Day! This was to be the last full day of our Michigan 2025 Tour. We were up early, had breakfast at the hotel (which was actually kind of good) and loaded the van. We did a final check on what to keep with us during the ferry ride-we would be separated from our vehicle and would not have access to the van for the trip.

We arrived at the SS Badger Ferry launch point almost an hour early and were still the 3rd vehicle in line. 

The guard chatted with us, took the explosive detection dog around the vehicle then we were told where to stage the van for loading.

 

After a short wait, carry-on bags were inspected and we were sent on to the next staging area.

While waiting in line, we met Misty the Boarding Attendant who answered questions we had about the trip.  She explained that some vehicles have to be backed onto the ferry and that a driver named “Max” was an expert at it. We saw him back in many large vehicles with various trailers into what looked like a fairly small area.  Impressive! 

We watched the other drivers carefully move each vehicle into the boat and park it as far inside as possible. Then each driver (most of which appeared to be high school or college-age) would then literally run back the length of the boat and out onto the dock to get the next car. These kids kept this up the whole time. My first thought was, “what great interval training to keep in shape”. Even some of the older drivers were moving pretty well, although there were a few that were walking by the end of the line.

Asked about the sequence of vehicles unloaded, she said that vehicles with pets are always parked at the back of the boat where the airflow is better and would be first off the boat when docked. 

Misty also shared that she is a teacher during the school year and does the boarding attendant job during the summer and loves it! 

At 8 am, her 2-way radio crackled and she confirmed the ship was ready. We were released onto the boat and we immediately climbed up 2 levels and located a great position at the back of the boat. We would be able to watch the final loading and would have the sun on our faces the whole trip.

Almost exactly at 9:00 AM, the boat’s horn let out a long blast and pushed away from the dock. From our “promenade level”, we watched the Ludington shore slowly disappear.  About an hour later, we lost sight of land.

There were several restaurants serving breakfast and lunch. The coffee was OK. We had a brat and other snacks.

Mary took a few walks to look around the boat. There were some people that passed our seating area every few minutes for what seemed like the whole trip. They were getting their steps in by walking the perimeter of the top deck. We were told 6 laps around the top deck was a mile.

Inside the boat, one level down, we found a large number playing organized games including music trivia. In theory, you could sit down at the floating bingo game and play the whole trip. They finally shut the “parlor” down 15 minutes before docking.

There was a movie theater with two showings during the trip. While I can’t recall what movies were on the bill, I’m pretty sure neither one was The Poseidon Adventure.

The boat also offers berths to sleep and to relax. Apparently, these are real popular on the red-eye schedule.

The unloading didn’t take too long but since we were one of the first vehicles to load, we were one of the last to unload. The staff drove the cars onto the dock and parked in a staging area.

Once our van rolled out, we walked across the lane and we were on our way. Since we were in the neighborhood, we drove just a few minutes to Jenn’s Java in Manitowoc for sandwiches and coffee

Next was our 45 minute drive to Milwaukee for our overnight visit with family.