A sign that summer is near! Lake Express ferry moved to Port of Milwaukee, its summer home

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- It's a sign that summer is near! The Lake Express ferry has made its annual journey from winter storage to its summer home.

This year marks the high-speed ferry's 12th season of service.

The ferry left the Menomonee Valley Monday morning, April 6th -- heading for the Port of Milwaukee, its summer home.

Crews have already started preparing the ship.

"We have to test all the propulsion systems, all the maneuvering systems, all those kinds of things. It's pretty obvious that those are absolutely critical to be able to get from where we dock in the valley down to our terminal, so there's a lot of work that goes on even before we come down here," Lake Express Senior Captain John Rogers said.

The Lake Express ferry opens for service on May 1st.