Saturday, March 2, 2024

Back up plan and Wisconsin sausage & cheese

Back in August, I posted about how the historic car ferry S.S. Badger had to abruptly end their 2023 season of crossing Lake Michigan.  This week they announced their season will open June 14th which is about four weeks too late for us.  They have hopes that they may be able to open earlier, so we won't cancel our hotel reservation in Ludington quite yet, but we have decided to look into other options for getting back to the Wisconsin side of Lake Michigan without having to go through Chicago.

We are interested in the S.S. Badger because of the historical factor, but we aren't interested in back-tracking 8 hours around Lake Michigan.  There is another car ferry service about an hour south of where the S.S. Badger crosses.  It is a faster crossing (2:30 rather than 4:00) and it lands in Milwaukee, about 45 minutes south of where we planned to spend that evening.  It also costs about $100 more.

I did our due diligence in looking at what there might be to see and do if we back-tracked and just drove, but lodging was slim pickings and there are things I wanted to see and do on our original route.  The faster car ferry service leaves from Muskegon, Michigan, so I checked hotels in the area and found a comparable one to where we were planning to stay in Ludington for a little less money which would help offset the extra expense.  And we would still get to see and do things on our original route because we would still be able to go through Ludington area.  The cancellation policy is two days prior while the hotel cancellation in Ludington is one day prior; but y'all know me well enough by now that I will have made a decision before we leave home.

A bonus for taking the faster car ferry.  By landing in Milwaukee, we might be able to take a short detour to Usinger's for some delicious sausage  and pop in next door to the Wisconsin Cheese Mart.  

In 2011, DH and I spent several days in Milwaukee while he attended a work conference.  During his free time, we got to see and do a lot of things in Milwaukee as we were staying downtown. One of our favorite memories was walking down to Usinger's and the Wisconsin Cheese Mart to pick up a variety of meats and cheeses.  We brought several home for gifts; DH wasn't happy with having to carry it through the airport, haha! 

But if we end up being able to take the S.S. Badger, we won't make a stop in Milwaukee.  And while I will miss the nostalgia of going to Usinger's, DH reminded me that they do sell their sausages in stores.  And while getting the link for Wisconsin Cheese Mart today (and checking that they would be open on the day of the week we would be going through), I found that there is a WCM in Madison, Wisconsin, and it's open on the day we'll be there!  So one way or the other, I expect to get some cheese!

~ Cindy D.





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