We finally did it!
We have now seen all the Great Lakes.
It was a brisk February afternoon, and the wind was chilly coming off the lake. We missed the ice storm that covered the lighthouse in a dress of frozen water, but that did not matter. We had finally arrived at the last lake for us to see.
We live in Orangeville, Ontario. It is right in the centre of South-West Ontario and has three Great Lakes, all within a couple of hours’ drive. Lake Ontario is one that we have seen a lot. It is the shore of Toronto – a place we visited many times, and when we would travel along the major highway 401, it follows Lake Ontario for much of the distance.
Lake Erie, surprisingly, was only first seen by us a couple of years ago. We would see Lake Superior before, which is considerably farther. Georgian Bay, which is part of Lake Huron, is a place we have visited often. Lake Huron proper was only seen also a couple of years ago when we saw our first waterspout when we were looking for driftwood and waiting for the sunset.
With the exception of Lake Michigan, all the Great Lakes can be seen from the Canadian side. I did not envision us seeing the final lake, ever. That is, until we got our passports! Then it was a matter of time.
It was winter. A winter event was happening in Grand Rapids that my wife wanted to visit, and Grand Haven was only an hour away. The temptation to see the final lake was too much, so we went.
The wind was fierce, the water was cold (we got our feet wet so we could say we had been in each lake now), and the moment was real. It was shared by a surprisingly large number of other people braving the winds.
It is a small thing. All lakes look alike. But for us, this was special. Neither of us knew that travel would be so enriching, and seeing something like a sandy beach of a lake we thought we would never see really touched both of us. It was a beautiful moment shared with a beautiful wife.
