We got up preparing for a relaxing day. We had until 3:30pm to drive 38 miles, so we took our time and had a leisurely breakfast at Bob Evans.
From there we drove to the Holland Bowl Mill. Steve had been there 4 years ago and was anxious for us to see what a unique place this was, The company was founded in 1906 and developed the process of making nested bowls from one block of wood. In 2017 they started to offer free tours of the bowl making process and opened a retail store. The tour was fascinating and unbelievable how they could make bowls and other things from the logs. Of course, we all bought something to bring home!
I wanted to see Holland's "Big Red" lighthouse that was built in 1870. It's Michigan's most photographed lighthouse and connects Lake Macatawa to Lake Michigan. We got directions and thought we knew where we going, but the GPS took us to a private club instead of the park. Lee made the comment he thought we should skip it and go on to Muskegan just in case anyone had car trouble, so off we went.
We think Lee must have had a premonition because as we traveled down highway 31 and only 30 miles from Muskegan he drove infront of us and pulled over in a wide turnout. His clutch pedal connecting rod had broken. As the guys were trying to figure out how to fix it, a nice young man, Jared Murr, stopped to see if he could help. It was determined the piece needed to be welded to the shaft. Jared led us to a Chevy dealership just 1/4 mile up the road in which Lee could drive to, but they couldn't help. Then Jared suggested we drive across the highway to Village Motor Sports. Here several young men that worked in the shop came out to see why we were there. We told them the problem and after 3/4 of an hour, Lee's car was fixed and we were on the road again.
Once again, we felt God's presence in this all. The turnout was large enough to be out of the traffic, Jared came within minutes of us being down and Village Motor Sports was not only less than a 1/2 mile away, but they willingly welded the part for only $40.00! We just don't believe we are that lucky. We believe in a God who's watching over us!
We arrived at the Muskegan car ferry in plenty of time and as always drew a lot of attention and amazement at how far we have traveled. The Lake Express ferry was smaller than the USS Badger and faster. It only took 2 1/2 hours to cross Lake Michigan to Milwaukee, WI.
From the Lake Express dock we navigated through the city of Milwaukee. I have never met such nice and helpful people in cars! We were confused on where to turn while sitting at a red light. The woman in a car next to us rolled down her window and asked if she could help! She was in the correct turn lane and we were not, so she said to turn first and she would wait to go. All four of us turned in front of her and then she caught up and asked if we needed more help! We didn't, so she moved on. Next a car full of teenaged girls rolled down their window at a stoplight and asked where we were from, where we had been and where we were going, laughing and smiling all the while. As we continued to drive down the street more people than I could count honked and waved at us. If I didn't know better I would have thought I was as if we were in a parade!
Finally, we found our way to the Comfort Inn and Suites in Gemantown. Exhausted from all the events of the day we will
have a good nights rest for tomorrow's drive home.
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