Days 47 & 48 - Ludington

Thursday
We left Frankfort before dawn, following a line of fishing boats that looked like a string of pearls ahead of us. After enjoying another brilliant red sunrise, we skirted around a hundred or more drifting fishing boats and cruised by countless dunes sculpted from the sand along the east Lake Michigan shore. As we passed Big Sable Point Lighthouse, we were in 2 to 3 foot waves that frustrated my attempts to snap a photo that wasn't crooked or blurred.
We arrived in the busy Ludington Municipal Marina early in the afternoon under warm, sunny skies. The marina is on Pere Marquette Lake and is adjacent to the dock of the Badger, a car ferry that crosses to Manitowoc, Wisconsin.

Friday
This morning, our faith in people was reinforced when a marina employee knocked on the boat and said he had found my camera near where we'd locked up our bicycles last night. He put it in the shed for safe keeping, then looked through the pictures to see if he could identify the owner. Apparently, he recognized a part of Osprey in one of the photos. I would have been heartbroken to have lost that camera!
There must be a fishing tournament going on. The marina was nearly empty when I woke. When the boats started coming in, men lugged obviously heavy coolers to the crowded fish cleaning area. A string of rainbow trout of various lengths was hung nearby.
I was thrilled to find a laundry facility here at the marina. I haven't been able to do laundry since Sault Ste. Marie! There were only 2 washers and one dryer, which took 1 - 1 1/2 hours to dry a load, so it took me all morning to finish, but there's a pleasant lounge with books and magazines and TV to help pass the time.
Later, Bob and I hopped on our bikes to browse the town and restock our library at the used book store.
I took Riley for his last walk of the day as the Badger got underway to the accompaniment of bagpipes from a lone piper on deck. Riley and I continued on to admire the sculptures and listen to the music of an accordion at a nearby park.