Hwy had construction going on the day before, but luckily that was all south of downtown, so I was able to head North on that road with no problems. I had found a Honda dealer in Warren – Honda Suzuki of Warren – and they opened at 10am, so I hoped I could get an oil change from them if I did a walk-in. I was early getting there so I stopped and did breakfast at Starbucks again, and waited until the proper time for them to open.
I arrived there about 10 minutes early, and waited for them to open. Once they were open I went in and talked to service about an oil change. Basically, there was no way I was getting my oil changed by them that day. Apparently they don’t have any time reserved in their day for passing touring bikes to do a quick change, and one of his mechanics was late, so I would need to wait until tomorrow at the earliest. I thought this was absurd and even offered to do it myself if they would lend me an oil pan and wrench, and I offered to pay their going rate even if I did the work myself in the parking lot in the back, but that wasn’t going to happen. I simply needed someplace to put the used oil as you can’t just drop it on the ground anymore, but no luck. Sometimes I really hate Dealers!
I went to service and paid premium prices for the filter and oil, and headed down the road looking for an oil change place. I tried jiffy lube, Valvoline Instant oil change, and a couple of others, but they wouldn’t touch a motorcycle. I finally found a small independent garage that had an open bay, and I talked the mechanic on duty to do the oil change for me. He BS’d with me the whole time as he had owned a few older Honda’s, but didn’t have a bike at the time. It took him a total of 15 minutes, and I had new oil and filter. I gave him $20 which he seemed happy with, and I was back on the road. Thank you for the Independent garages out there, as none of the chains or the Stealer were able to change my oil. Just what are bikers supposed to do anyway?
From Warren, I gassed up and got back on the road to Muskegon. You take Hwy 696 West to Hwy 96 West and that goes all the way to Muskegon. The drive across Michigan is pretty much like driving across Wisconsin. Lots of trees and lakes, and sometimes you see a town, but lots of green. I stopped for lunch in Lansing, and I made it to Muskegon by 3pm. I followed signs to the Lake Express dock - http://www.lake-express.com/ - and got in line behind cars and others to board the ferry.
About 3:30 they started lining us up, and luckily they had room for me as I didn’t make a reservation before, and they were pretty full. If I had been in a car I wasn’t sure I would have gotten on, as the driving deck was absolutely full. I paid the additional money for the “Premier” cabin, but you definitely don’t need to do that as the seating is pretty much the same in either cabin. Price to cross one way with a Motorcycle was $130, but it was a small price to pay not to have to drive through Chicago. The ferry arrived from Milwaukee about 4pm, and once it was unloaded we were allowed to drive our bikes on. There were about 8 total motorcycles on the trip, and we were in a specific part of the deck. We needed to tie our bikes down, and they provided straps for that purpose. They were pretty greasy, so if you do take the ferry keep that in mind and use your own straps if you don’t want to get dirty.
The ferry was very full and I was quite surprised at the number of passengers – apparently it is a popular service. The departure was 4:45 and we left pretty much right on time. Leaving Michigan you get a view of the shoreline and the harbor, and eventually you can’t see anything as you are on open water. The crossing takes about 2 ½ hours and the boat goes 40 MPH at the top speed, so it is very fast crossing the lake. They server snacks and beverages on board, and even had a movie.
We got to Milwaukee about 6:15pm and it was raining – remember there is a one-hour time change between Michigan and Wisconsin. I looked at the weather and it said light intermittent showers, and only for about 20 miles into Wisconsin, then it would clear up. I decided not to gear up for rain and brave it, and most of the other folks on bikes did the same thing. It was cooler in Wisconsin however, and most everyone traded t-shirts for jackets and leather. I already had mine on, so I went with that. We exited the ferry and I finally found 94 Westbound, and was on my way home.
About 5 miles into the drive it started raining – and I mean raining hard. I drove through about 10 miles of steady rain that was very heavy at times, and eventually broke through the clouds and had a break and some sunshine. The main issue was that I was soaked. My water-resistant jacket leaked like a sieve, and I had the wrong gloves on as well, so my hands were wet and pruned up pretty bad. I had some waterproof gloves along - I should have switched to them on the ferry. I stopped at Johnson’s Creek to dry off, get a snack, and change gloves. I also dried off my jacket as best I could and changed shirts so I wasn’t so cold. My pants had already started to dry in the wind, so I stuck with them.I got back on the road and decided I would make a run for the Dells. I had stayed there the first night of the trip, so the last night would work as well. It was too late to make the run all the way home, so this seemed like it would be the best bet. I got through Madison and was really feeling the effects of being cold and wet. I couldn’t wait to get to the Dells and have a shower and a meal. I got into the Dells about 9pm, and got a room at the Best Western hotel just off the highway.
I was going to eat at Famous Dave's, but right across the street was the Das Boot & Grille restaurant – German food and beer were a-calling. http://www.essen-haus.com/Dellsmenuweb.pdf. They had over 10 German beers on draft, and also a great menu, so I was a happy camper. And it was nice enough weather to be able to drive in a T-shirt, so all was good. I had several different beers and the Das Boot Sizzlers combo, which is 4 mini sandwiches in different styles – it was all good. And the bartender was great and had 100 stories of different stuff that had happened there. It wasn’t busy at all, so I heard many of them. If I lived in the Dells I would definitely be a regular customer at this place.
I got back to the hotel about 12 and showered up and went to bed. I was tired and a bit tipsy, and I slept great. Tomorrow would be the run home to IGH, and I wanted to get an early start. Total miles today was 351.6.
Final day tomorrow…
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