Vermont Road Trip Day 1. Minneapolis to Ludington

Woke up before dawn and before the alarm with sweet Judi still sleeping next to me. She was surprised to be awake so early her little self. I dressed, couldn’t remember if I had showered the night before that the wash rag and towel were wet and damp. Emptied dishwasher and garbage and compost, made breakfast and coffee and let Judi out for a bit. Packed up car. Trusted that I had everything in the the piles already. Out the door at 6:15am. Got gas at the BP on Cretin. Then started riding. So very tired already.

Stopped in Menominee for rest stop. Stopped somewhere else at a Kwik stop for gas and coffee? Then stopped at a historic marker and geocache virtual for the 45/90 paralleleds. It was worth the stop. I am still exhausted. Must keep going and get to the ferry on time. 

Got to Manitowoc at about 12:noon. Stopped in a park to sort of rearrange things and pack my bag for the ferry for all the painting and writing I was going to do. Ate yogurt (yuck) and blueberries so I’d have some food at least. Drove to the ferry spot. The explosive dogs sniffed my car and all cars, then I park it and someone drives it on the ferry. Windows open, keys in the ignition so it was a lesson in blind trust that the stuff would be fine. But my car was probably the oldest car on the ferry and likely the smallest. 

I heard people talking in line about getting up top and getting a deck chair so that’s what I did; I was sort of close to the front of the line to get on and because I can actually walk up stairs I went up and got a deck chair. It was nice. I was on the deck chair at about 1:10pm, ferry didn’t leave the lock until 2:15 so I lounged there and watched the clouds move across the blue sky. And dozed. I mostly dozed off and on for quite a while, did the Wordle, sent some texts while I still could. The journey was really 4 hours of crossing. It got colder and windier when in the middle of the lake but not really cold. I wandered around the ship, had an ice cream bar for $3.75 and a bag of chips for $2.50. Listened to people talk. Talked to a few people. 

Watching the boat dock and tie up was interesting. It backs up to the to the berth or whatever it’s called. They do this whip maneuver by dropping the anchor on one side while the boat is still under power so that the stern swings around. Then there are ropes that are tossed to the land hands and then they are attached to bigger ropes, toed to stumps, and then winched in. It’s all very coordinated. Same with getting the cars off. They are driven off and parked and people wait until their vehicle shows up. Lots of big huge RVs and motorcycles and big SUVs. When my car came out finally I told the guy I was sorry he didn’t get to drive a fancier car and he said the Fit was perfect and really fun because it was a manual transmission. 

Now I’m in Ludington. Seems like a tidy beach town with lots of people. I head to the state park and have to pay another 10 to get in the park even though I already paid 46 to sleep on the ground. But first I had to have a swim because I was so sticky and dirty feeling. Changed into my bathing outfit and went into the Lake Michigan. Refreshing but not super cold. Maybe cool-warm. I’ll measure it tomorrow. Then went to find my campsite. (I measured it, 76F, or maybe it was 72F). 

I thought I was in the tent only area but I’m really next to the tent only area in a RV spot. The sites are very very very close together and the RVs are huge and the smoke from campfires is almost choking me. I have a headache. Maybe from being over tired and driving and anxious and the smoke doesn’t help. But, I got my spot, and put up my tent. The guy in the next site, in the tent area, number 205 (I’m in 203 and couldn’t find 203 but he knew where it was), he said I could move the picnic table because it was an RV spot and there was very little grass. 

I set up tent backwards. Still need to get the hang of the doors and which direction they go. Maybe I’ll write on it with marker. Oh well. All I need to do is sleep and I think I’ll sleep fine. Most of the people playing that sack game have quit so no more thumping. My neck and head really hurt. I hope I’m not getting a migraine. 

I ate whitefish spread for dinner on crackers, and had a shrub fizz and some water. Will chug some more water and hope I don’t have to pee in the night. At least RV people have their own toilets. I’m sort of far from the toilet. Tomorrow I’ll have coffee, an egg, bacon, tortilla, sour cream and beans.

Ok to bed it’s 10:05 pm EST. 

The young girls next to me, wit the helpful dad, were very curious about my camping trip and where I was going and how long it would sake. I wonder here my car keys are?

I did get up and pee in the night but it was about 4am and I walked to the toilet house. There were other people walking around in the dark too. 

Got up early, packed up tent, and was out of the campground before 8am. Stopped look at the beach again. The dunes and beach are great. The campground sucks. 

Drove 343 miles.