Days 85 - 92, Aug 26th - Sep 2nd, Manitowoc, WI

It was a sixty mile trip across Lake Michigan. We chose our weather carefully and had a beautiful crossing.

We stayed in Manitowoc a week, mostly waiting for my brother and family from MN to arrive. They had leased a condo in a nearby town.

The highlight was when we all went to the Wisconsin Maritime Museum. The tour is aboard a World War II submarine named the USS Cobia. The USS Cobia is a National Historic Landmark and memorial, and is only one of 16 American World War II submarines displayed in the United States. The USS Cobia had the capability to submerge in 35-45 seconds. Resembling a huge metal fish, the 312 foot submarine is now moored along the Manitowoc River, adjacent to the Museum.

This outstanding Museum was recently made a part of the Smithsonian Institute, and offers something to please all ages. Twenty-eight submarines were built in Manitowoc. Today Burger Boats still builds mega yachts of a hundred feet in the city.

On Sun afternoon, my sister-in-law and niece toured the West Lake Gardens.
This was the West family who owned the Manitowoc ship building company in town for many years. After the War, they built heavy construction equipment. It is located right on the shore of Lake Michigan and the flower gardens were simply fabulous.

Lovely Ludington Photos

Ludington was a favorite stop. Sometimes I can't decide just why I like one port better than another; sometimes its easy.
Ludington has a wonderful park near the marina. The one tribute is to the "Badger," one of the coal driven car/people ferries that is still operating from Ludington, MI, across Lake Michigan to Manitowoc, WI.
Another bronze tribute is to the men who have gone to sea for many years to pursue their dangerous vocation of fishing.
And the third bronze tribute is to the timber industry that was more significant in years past in Michigan.
The neat thing about all of the parks in places where we visit, is that people really USE them. Families are together, many people are out walking their dogs and many of them bicycle.
Ludington has to be #1 in terms of the number of sport fisherman. We've never seen so many in one place - and they were usually right in the middle of a harbor entrance!
The morning we left to cross the Lake, there must've been close to a hundred small
boats at the entrance and not too far out. Fishermen do not have the right of way but we find that they are only focused on fishing so we have moved out of their way several times to avoid a problem.

Days 81 - 84, Aug 22nd - 25th, Manistee and Ludington

Manistee, MI, is on the Manistee River on the Lake Michigan shore. It's another quaint town, very proud of its heritage. The river channel with smaller boats on both sides isn't very wide.
One afternoon while sitting on the sundeck, chatting with our neighbor, we looked up
to see this "hu-mongus" freighter coming up the river! He barely had room and we know that he had VERY LITTLE water under him because chart depths showed in the low 20's.
It was a 580 foot freighter hauling coal. It was a sight to see how the Captain maneuvered the huge boat around the bend with little clearance and then under the lift bridge. Note the small boat in the 2nd photo to get a perspective on how narrow the channel was!