A Lake of Understanding

I thought I’d pass along a few pictures I took on my recent trip to Chicago.  Actually, though I got into the city, I was staying in Evanston, just about three blocks from the beloved Northwestern and about two blocks from Lake Michigan, both of which make for great walking days.

 In fact, one of the many wonderful things about Northwestern is that while it borders a city as huge as Chicago, with all the significant urban resources available, it has a totally different sensibility sitting on the shore of Lake Michigan.

On my wandering along Lake Michigan one afternoon, I came across a family who took  their four little kids out for a day at the beach, keeping a close eye on them so they'd be safe.  I thought their charming excursion deserved a photo.

Finally, it occurred to me that most people's perception of Lake Michigan is probably not as accurate is the reality is.  Yes, it's a lake, and yes it's one of the Great Lakes, but what does that actually mean?  A nice, calm body of freshwater you take your canoe out to paddle across or drop a line in to fish?

Well, not really.  It's called a Great Lake for a reason, and a photo doesn't really do it justice.  Nor does this 20-second video, but it will at least give a wider sense of it.  From the shore, it looks like you could be at the ocean, so vast only the horizon is viewable in the distance.  During intense storms, there have been shipwrecks throughout the lake's history, and even on extremely windy days, waves are strong enough for surfing.  This wasn't an especially windy day, though a little bit of a brisk breeze.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/11b1a3_f91c73149e4c4ab99cc4cd464d8107cc/720p/mp4/file.mp4