Crossing Lake Michigan on a Ferry
Written 2-28-96
During the years 1975-1985, we crossed Lake Michigan four times on the ferry from Ludington, Michigan to Manitowoc, Wisconsin, or vice versa. Only one of these trips was truly enjoyable. The water was calm all the while and we experienced a beautiful sunset. The other 3 crossings were anything but delightful.
On one such crossing we had a pouring rain and a raging thunderstorm follow us all the way across the lake. The crossing took four hours, but with this ever-present storm accompanying us, it seemed twice as long. The relentless wind kept the ferry rocking, and with its rocking, all the unoccupied chairs on deck were sliding uncontrollably from one side to the other. The eating and snack facilities were all closed, and the passengers remained in their chairs for safety.
I had been told that one way to beat seasickness was to pick an object and focus on it for the duration of the storm. Since I happened to be sitting right in front of the clock, I singled it out and stared at it for four hours. If you want time to pass quickly, do not stare at the slow-moving hands of a clock for any length of time!
My sister Norma was on the ferry too, as she had gone with us to visit a daughter in Toledo, Ohio. She had no problem with seasickness, so I sent her in search of my husband who hadn't been anywhere in sight for the past hour. After making the rounds on both decks, she reported that she had not found him. This concerned me, but being unable to leave my spot, I tried to ignore her report. After all, he had crossed the Atlantic on the Queen Mary after the war, and had always prided himself in the fact that he had not gotten seasick. Could it be that this short trip of four hours had gotten to him? However, after some time had passed, and he still didn't show up, she made the rounds again.
When she returned this time, she had found him sitting on the upper deck, outside, but out of the rain, with his cap pulled way down over his eyes to keep out the lightning. He was too sick to find us, but stayed where he was, hoping that the fresh air would make him feel better. At least he hadn't been washed overboard!
The four hours finally passed, and we arrived at Manitowoc about 12:30 A.M. We still had to drive to Wausau, a distance of 130 miles.
Since Lloyd hadn't recouped from his nausea, and could never stay awake at night anyway, I was elected to drive home. Norma sat up in front with me and he crawled into the back seat and went to sleep.
I was not too concerned about driving since it was late and there was very little traffic. We had not gone far when we met a car and I had to dim my lights. That's when the trouble started.
We had a new car and I had not driven it at night. The old car had the dimmer switch on the floor, but Lloyd had shown me where it was located in this car, -on the steering wheel. He also showed me how to operate it. In my panic, I turned on first one directional light and then the other. The approaching car came closer and closer and finally went by me, and I had not yet found the dimmer switch. It didn't take long before he turned around and the wailing of the siren brought me to an abrupt stop. It was the traffic cop, of course, thinking he had stopped an intoxicated driver. Lloyd was embarrassed to wake up and find that I had been stopped by a police car, and that I had forgotten how to dim the lights.
When I explained my predicament to the policeman, he could see how frightened and shaken up I was, so he didn't give me a ticket. He suggested that I had better practice before driving at night. How was I to do that when I didn't have to dim my lights for anyone during the day? Who would expect that the first car to approach me would be a traffic cop? After that experience, I never forgot again how to dim my lights.