Days 5-12: Ann Arbor to Milwaukee
We made some changes to our route in Ann Arbor. Our plan was to pass through Kalamazoo, Michigan and Gary, Indiana on our way to Chicago. But we looked into taking a ferry across Lake Michigan when we heard that Gary might be a bit hazardous to our health and morale. So after enjoying the Lake Folk show and spending the night in Ann Arbor, we headed out for Lansing and Grand Rapids.
We set up camp in the wilderness of the Pinckney State Recreation Area. The isolated areas were all overgrown, so our only option was to clear a spot in a covered circle of trees and bushes.
We didn’t get much sleep that night. It was hot, the road was very close, and we encountered our first critter. In the middle of the night, Erin spotted the silhouette of something big passing by. It started sniffing and snorting when it detected us, but luckily didn’t feel the need to further challenge these terrified campers or browse our food selection.
The next day, we sent out some CouchSurfing requests to various folks living northwest of Lansing. We saw some nice parts of the city as we passed through, but our only stop was for some groceries at a Meijer, where we learned that our new CouchSurfing hosts were just a few miles down the road.
Trever and Natalee were excited to host us—their first CouchSurfers—at their apartment in Grand Ledge. We went out to dinner at Cancun Mexican Grill, where I ordered what turned out to be the most impressive looking Mexican dish I’ve ever seen (and very tasty, too). We talked about our new route and the ferry, and our hosts recommended we check out Grand Haven—apparently, the place where everyone in Michigan wants to be. After dinner, Trever and Natalee took us to the rock ledges that gave Grand Ledge its name. It was a long and tricky walk in the dark, so the many bike headlights we brought came in handy.
We said our goodbyes in the morning and began the 55-mile ride to Grand Rapids. Erin was experiencing pain in her Achilles tendon by lunch time, so we applied some ointment and bandages and tried to take it easy. The sun was just going down as we rolled into Grand Rapids, so we started calling motels and contacting CouchSurfers from a park downtown, with no immediate success. Across the street was a restaurant with great reviews called One Trick Pony. We decided to mull over our lodging situation over dinner.
I ordered the pecan-crusted salmon at One Trick Pony, which was the best meal I’d had on the trip so far. When it came time for dessert, the waitress gave it to us on the house, on account of the exciting adventure we were on! To make the evening even better, I got a call from a CouchSurfer less than an hour after contacting her. Ama said she’d be happy to host us at her duplex a few minutes from downtown, despite being tired and overworked during our visit.
Before leaving the restaurant, I noticed that a lot of people were checking into a place called the Lyon Street Water Slide on foursquare. This struck me as a bit strange, since it was getting pretty late. So I asked around, and learned that there was indeed a water slide set up on a nearby street. In fact, the entire downhill portion of the road was closed off just for this special two-day event, and people were waiting for up to five hours for a free ride! Interesting…
When it came time to leave in the morning, it became apparent that Erin’s tendons needed a day of rest. So, while we were visiting the water slide just to take a peek, we made the decision to take the day off and get in line!
As expected, the slide—rather, the line for it—took up most of our day. We ended up waiting about four hours for a ride, but it was worth the wait. Others seemed to agree, since it appeared that nearly everyone in Grand Rapids was there. It was a slow day followed by a relaxing evening.
In the morning we left for Grand Haven, figuring we’d kill some time before the ferry left from Muskegon. When we rolled across the bridge into town, it became apparent why Trever and Natalee had spoken highly of it. There were beautiful beaches and boardwalks, and clean, bike-friendly streets. A sign informed us that Grand Haven is known as “Coast Guard City, USA.” It felt a lot like Newport, Rhode Island, where I grew up.
Figuring it would be appropriate to order some seafood for lunch, we sat down outdoors at The Grand, a nice downtown restaurant. Our waiter, Gavin, was incredibly friendly and talkative. He was very interested in our trip and excited to tell us all about Grand Haven—he even recommended staying overnight, so we’d have time to absorb more of the city.
Still planning to catch the ferry that night, we spent the afternoon at the beach swimming and building sand castles. Lake Michigan is so big that it was nearly indistinguishable from a beach on the ocean.
While walking back to our bikes, we noticed that the beach had camping spots for tents and trailers, and it appeared to be quite a popular activity that night. For the low price of $29, we couldn’t pass it up. So we took Gavin’s advice and spent the night, setting up our tent right on the beach. We showered and then rode our bikes to the closest movie theater to catch Piranha 3D, which is just what you’d expect. The theater employees let us in for free with no reason given.
In the morning we got the best breakfast Grand Haven has to offer at the Morning Star Cafe. A quick stop at the bike shop around the corner and we were ready for our last ride in Michigan.
It didn’t take us long to reach Muskegon, but it did take a little too much effort to find the Lake Express ferry. The tickets were also far too expensive, but at this point we had no choice. As the only cyclists, we got to board first, followed by the cars. We settled in next to a power outlet so we could charge our phones, then explored the deck as the ferry left the harbor.
Upon departing the harbor at an average pace, it soon became apparent why the Lake Express is called a high-speed ferry. That thing really moves! Standing on the deck is only reasonable for a few minutes before the wind becomes so strong that it’s hard to move. We took some pictures and returned to our seats until our arrival in Milwaukee…
