The Great Lakes 2000

Picture Album

Random Recollections
  • We had some standby tickets from my brother Steve who is a pilot. We decided to use them to go to the Great Lakes to visit our old neighbors and other friends who had moved into that area. We flew from Midland through St. Louis into Midway airport in Chicago.
  • Randy, Laura, and Jay were able to make the trip, but Melissa stayed in Abilene so that she could attend the junior scholars program at ACU.
  • We decided to rent a car and drive completely around Lake Michigan through Wisconsin, the upper Peninsula of Michigan, the lower portion of Michigan, across into Canada through Detroit to Lake Erie and Point Pelee in Canada, back through the top edge of Indiana, and finally back to Chicago.
  • We saw Lake Michigan, Lake Superior, Lake Huron, and Lake Erie. Guess we'll need to go back to see Lake Ontario, although I saw it on vacation in 1964.
  • In Chicago, we made it to the top of the Sears building and also went through the Museum of Science and Technology. We found some great eating and entertainment on the piers in Lake Michigan.
  • While we were in Chicago, due to construction on the major highways, we decided to take the standard roads through the neighborhood between our hotel and downtown. It worked out fine, but we were certainly out of place in South Chicago. It reminded me of the wall-to-wall buildings in a small town in Texas of the 1930s, only this went on for miles and we stuck out like a sore thumb.
  • We enjoyed going through Green Bay, Wisconsin being the Packers that we are.
  • Our friends, Leon and Beverly Hamm, live in Escanaba, MI. We had a great time seeing Escanaba and visiting with them, their son Neil, and their daughter Sally. We also got to meet Sally's new husband.
  • We got to see my cousin Lynda Panaretos, and her daughter Alexandra in Harbor Springs, MI. We almost missed them, but were glad they were able to show us the new house that they were building on Lake Michigan. It was large and looked like it would be a great place to retreat in the summer. Lynda was building a beautiful office that looked right out over the lake.
  • We were able to have a short visit with Hope Hall in Saline, MI, just outside of Ann Arbor, but were sorry that we missed Stuart who was out of town. We found a beautiful trinket shop that had stained glass windows and wonderful Christmas decorations.
  • Jay informed me during the trip that I was getting a new iPAQ Pocket PC for Father's Day. I couldn't have been happier and used it extensively for the next 3 1/2 years.
  • The vegetation in Michigan was absolutely gorgeous during the summer when we were there. We tried to see the Northern lights but were unsuccessful. I'm not sure I would want to be there during the winter, however.
  • While we visited the Hamms in Escanaba, one morning when we awoke the temperature was 37°F, and this was in June.