When is an ocean not an ocean? When it is a lake. A great lake.
Standing on the shore of Lake Michigan, watching the small waves foaming onto shore, I could see nothing in the distance but more water. Like with an ocean, the land other side of the water was too far away to see, but even I could sense the differences between the ocean and the great lake. Smell, for one. Oceans are salty and the odor of fish-scented brine is one of the defining elements of an ocean. Lake Michigan smelled fresh, which of course, it is. Another major difference was the feel of power as immense ocean waves come crashing to shore pulled by cosmic tidal action compared to the serenity of gentle waves lapping at the land edging the lake. (Oddly, some of the worst shipwrecks have occurred on Michigan Lake, making it not quite as placid as it appears.)
Still, as I stood by the water’s edge, I didn’t care if the lake were an ocean or merely an inland body of water. The wonder of seeing all that water and the way the sight made me wonder about nature and the nature of our lives, was all that mattered.
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(Pat Bertram is the author of the suspense novels Light Bringer, More Deaths Than One, A Spark of Heavenly Fire, and Daughter Am I. Bertram is also the author of Grief: The Great Yearning, “an exquisite book, wrenching to read, and at the same time full of profound truths.”)
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May 22, 2016 at 5:24 pm
You mean, Lake Michigan, right? It makes sense that Midwesterners from the Great Lakes states tend to gravitate toward Tampa Bay when they move to Florida – It’s not only straight down I-75 but it’s like a great lake to them. Just a bit of trivia. 🙂
May 22, 2016 at 6:01 pm
The Gulf is like a lake, I meant. 🙂
May 22, 2016 at 6:17 pm
Yes, I mean Lake Michigan. I don’t know how I got those words transposed. I changed them. Thank you. Good point about Midwesterners. I hadn’t realized that — it does explain the prevalence of midwesterners down south.
May 22, 2016 at 6:51 pm
I am loving your pictures and your adventures!
May 22, 2016 at 7:02 pm
Thank you!
May 23, 2016 at 7:13 pm
What always surprises me is reading of droughts in the USA, with all the Great Lakes seemingly full of fresh water I wonder how with the ingenuity with which Americans are renowned that there is ever such thing as a drought.
May 23, 2016 at 7:24 pm
Funny, but I was thinking the same thing. To be honest, I would hate for the water to be used for trivial things like lawns, golf courses, car washing. I suppose the problem is the vast distances the water would have to travel would make it prohibitively expensive. I imagine there would be jurisdiction problems, too, in that in most cases, the lakes share boundaries with Canada. But still, that is a LOT of water.
(Pat Bertram is the author of the suspense novels Light Bringer, More Deaths Than One, A Spark of Heavenly Fire, and Daughter Am I. Bertram is also the author of Grief: The Great Yearning, “an exquisite book, wrenching to read, and at the same time full of profound truths.”)
May 29, 2016 at 6:12 am
Impressive. Lakes in Britain are economy sized by comparison. But then, we are rarely short of water in other ways, so I suppose we compensate. Excellent pictures, thank you.
May 29, 2016 at 3:27 pm
Lake Michigan truly stunned me.