September 7-10, 2018
After hanging out in Ludington for four days waiting for the wind and waves on Lake Michigan to subside, we are once again ready to continue our adventure. Our next port, only 50 miles to the south, will be Muskegon, MI. When it's only a short run like today we get a bit lazy with a later departure time.
 |
| Lake Michigan Shore Line |
Once we maneuver out of the harbor and beyond the breakwaters the day is nice and sunny and, better yet, relatively calm based on the winds of the past few day. Seems when the wind is active for a few days it takes the lake a day or so to calm down. Our ride to Muskegon was nice, just over 3 1/2 hours. The entrance to Muskegon begins with another breakwater followed by a narrow canal that takes us past the old US Coast Guard Station. Now, it's some type of lake research facilities. The last point of interest on this canal that's about 3/4 mile long is the WWII submarine, USS Silversides. More about that a bit later.
Once we exited the canal we are now in Muskegon Lake, with about a 2 mile run to our marina . Here we plan to spend a few days because the winds out on Lake Michigan are predicted to pick-up once again to 15-20 miles per hours. This marina is again very big and there are only 2 other loopers here. Once docked and hooked up and settled in for a few days time to get the bikes off the bow and hit them with a good dose of WD-40. They just sit in the weather and rust, much worse if around saltwater!
With the bikes all lubed up, I decide to do a bit of exploring and head in the direction of the inlet we just cruised through a short time ago. The bike is working well, shifting through the gears and providing me with some much needed exercise. Exercise, something that is not as plentiful as I had planned for our Loop journey.
The first thing I come upon is the Muskegon beach. This beach is so big and flat that they have these big signs marking the various sections of the beach so as to give bathers a reference point to where they have their towel or parked the car. Across from the beach is a steady line of what appears to be a mix of summer cottages and year-round homes. Towards the end of the road it takes a turn and begins to parallel the canal that connects Lake Michigan with Muskegon Lake. My little bike ride was more or less an reconnaissance mission to check out the area and terrain, just to be sure it's acceptable with Lou Ann.
The next several days we set out to visit some of the sights in the area. Muskegon is in full preparation for a BIG Irish festival scheduled for the next weekend. One day we boarded our bikes and traveled in the opposite direction of the beach to the local farmers market down town. Lou Ann just loves these farmers market and this one was one of the biggest we have visited. About a 2.5 mile bike ride, each way, mostly along the lake front on a nicely paved bike path. Our little bike trip ended at the farmers market only a short distance off the bike path and was in full swing complete with entertainment. We walked and shopped and bought more than I ever thought we could carry back on the bikes. Have to hand it to Lou Ann, she brought some shopping bags and backpacks and was able to pack all our fresh purchases so as not to bruised anything. Have to say I felt a little like a pack mule. In the end we got back with the mother load of fresh produce and not one blemished peach! Oh, by the way, the fresh peach shortcake was wonderful especially with the homemade baked shortcakes aboard Zoey's Adventure. We lack for nothing aboard our little ship.
On another day we decided to visit the submarine Silversides, along with the museum. This WWII sub saw a lot of action in the Pacific Theater. It was credited with the sinking of 23 confirmed enemy ships and cargo ships. It was by far one of the most successful submarines during the war. We boarded our bikes, no Uber for us, and off to visit the USS Silversides. As we were purchasing our admission tickets a guided tour was just about to begin so we joined in. As luck would have it our little tour group had two former submariners. This got the attention of our tour guide and I am sure we got a bit more info because of these two. The tour began with a briefing ashore and a good guided /narrated tour aboard the sub that lasted the better part of an hour. Another bit of info on WWII subs: The Silversides was built in California, and I did not know that some subs where built in Michigan. The Michigan subs where designed to have their conning towers removed so when the sub was placed on a barge and shipped down the same river system we will cruise in October 2018. With the conning tower removed the new sub and barge could make it under the rail and auto bridges. Once the new sub arrived at its destination New Orleans, the tower was re-installed and the sub was ready for action.
 |
| USS Silversides |
With still time to kill in Muskegon, I chose to again take my bike along the bike path in the same direction as the farmer market to yet another WWII ship, USS LST 393. This was so cool, I boarded through the bow or landing ramp. Once inside I was on my own to visit pretty much the entire ship. The ship has been well cared for with fresh paint and seemingly good maintenance all provided by local volunteers. I was able to see the forward deck, command bridge, officers & crew quarters, galley, engine room and even a peek at the rudder compartment. The main inside open deck is now a floating museum dedicated to those who served aboard as well as other local service personal. Lou Ann had had enough navy ships so she chose to stay aboard Zoey's Adventure. LST for those that are interested stands for Landing Ship Tank.
 |
| Bow Landing Ramp |
 |
| Bridge |
 |
| Galley |
No comments:
Post a Comment