| Around Lake Michigan |
| In September 2006 we decided to visit Chicago, a city we had heard a lot about but had never been to. And since we would be driving we thought we should see more of the Mid-West and continue around Lake Michigan. Well, it turned out to be a wonderful trip. |
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| What a great city Chicago is. We just loved it. It has wonderful architecture, beautiful parks, interesting public sculptures throught the city, lots of museums and it's all walkable. Or you could do what we did one day and take a Segway Tour. That was a blast. |
| The Tribune building |
| Picasso's Horse |
| The Bean |
| The skyline from Lake Michigan in the sun |
| Low clouds hanging over the city |
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| After leaving Chicago we headed north through Wisconsin, stopping at Green Bay to take a tour of Lembeau Field and enjoy dinner at a restaurant inside the stadium |
| Continuing north, we drove to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. We had read about the Pictured Rocks National Seashore on Lake Superior and decided that was our next destination. It was certainly a good move. We enjoyed the beautiful scenery and learned so much about the Great Lakes. Did you know that this coast freezes for 8 miles in the winter and the water is so cold that bodies never float to the surface when someone drowns. |
| At Whitefish Point we toured the museum that houses the bell of the Edmund Fitzgerald. |
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| At Sault St. Marie we watched these 1000 foot freighters pass through the locks on their way around the lakes. Ships this size are too big to pass through the Welland Canal by Niagra Falls so they spend their entire life sailing the Great Lakes and never seeing the ocean. |
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| Our next stop was Mackinac Island, a lovely spot that features Victorian homes, horse drawn carriages and the famous Grand Hotel, where we had lunch and rocked on their immense porch. |
| Mackinac Bridge, connecting the upper peninsula with the mitten of Michigan |
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| Then it was on to the Ford Museum near Detroit. What an amazing place this is, like a mini Smithsonian but not really small. It houses some of the most fascinating things American, like the rocker Lincoln was sitting is when he was shot and the bus Rosa Parks was riding when she refused to give up her seat. You can't imagine what you can see here. We think everyone should visit this museum. |