Sailing the Great Lakes

The five Great Lakes sit astride the US/Canadian border and are the largest freshwater lakes in the world and contain 1/5th of world's fresh surface water. Spread evenly out across the USA, the water in the Great Lakes would cover the 50 States to a depth of 9.5 feet.

For a special anniversary, we decided to explore by a small cruise ship and then venture into the cheese heartland of America, Wisconsin. On this trip we were fortunate to see friends and family as well as take in sights of North America and make multiple border crossings!

Here's our ship, the Victory I, docked perpendicular to a large retired lake freighter (now a museum). Yes, we had a real mixture of weather as you can see in the photo.

The highlights of our trip were not the ports visited, but transiting the canals - done either at night or as it would happen in the rain or both!

mail delivery by ferry & put-put cart

We saw old friends, traveled to the Toronto Islands in Lake Ontario, and watched the planes buzz our ferry on their descent. Toronto has some fun architecture too.

Yes, there is a real dog playing in dog fountain

First night on the cruise we traversed the Welland Canal's 8 locks; locks 4-6 are stair-cased. Oddly, we were the only ones watching our journey through the locks from 2-4 am

the 'Flats' - gentrified banks of the Cuyahoga River

The locks took us into Lake Erie and on to Cleveland, much improved from the days when I lived there. We discovered some hidden gems I didn't know existed as well as dining with an old colleague in 'The Flats.'

clever linking of new and old
 buildings at Art Museum

Next we docked in Windsor, Ontario although going to The Henry Ford Museum, as in Detroit the ship previously was met with border control/police in full riot gear - not passenger friendly. Our highlight was the Ford Factory Tour seeing the making of the F-150 pick-up truck - although no pictures allowed. 

Model A

Henry Ford collected everything (remember this when we come to Alex Jordan in Wisconsin - an explosion on the Victorian curio cabinet) - his museum is overwhelming, not to mention the 1800s recreated village complete with steam train and craft buildings.

Fuller Dome house - a failed idea for a Model T of homes

Now in Lake Huron, we visited the Ojibwe Cultural Foundation for Native People's in Little Current before transversing the Soo Locks into Lake Superior and back out again.  The Hoop Dancer was amazing.

Rain greeted us at the tourist destination of Mackinac Island, Michigan - a place without cars, but 500 horses.

Infamous Grand Hotel
& lovely gardens

In Chicago, we were met by my sister; never mind the port was an industrial one with high security. After a day of relaxation, we changed transport mode onto an Amtrack train to St Louis and the 'zone of totality' for the eclipse.

What can I say - amazing to see all the people come out for it, the sky never turned black but a blue dusk colour with a 360 sunset glow at the horizon and the crickets + birds chirped like mad, got quiet and then chirped again.  Although some declared it to be 'life changing,' I didn't find the eclipse that dramatic an experience.

On way back to the train we visited the Route 66 Highway museum - yup they have one!

Creativity for ugly hotel roof 

Converting to car, we took a road trip through Wisconsin, visiting more friends in Lake Geneva and eating sweet corn on the cob along with'cheese curds' which squeak when eaten. 

My goal was to see Frank Lloyd Wright's Talisen, House on the Rock and the Wisconsin Dells - places I had heard about when young - before having a spot of German food at Mader's in Milwaukee.

Wright's Taliesin

Jordan's Garden sculpture repeated many times

 Frank Lloyd Wright liked the idea of entering into a small space that then surprisingly opened into a expansive space - think low ceiling entry into cathedral ceiling grand hall.

Although not contemporaries, he and Alex Jordan of House on the Rock shared this and the desire to build spaces to showcase the Wisconsin countryside.  Neither was really a home - Wright more of a compound and Jordan more of an exhibition space. Both are simultaneously intriguing and weird!






Jordan, having selected his building sight on a favourite scenic rock overlook, in later life obscured the glass windows with blue Plexiglas to showcase his collection of Tiffany lamps - odd to say the least.

Wright collected and incorporate Japanese art into Taliesin, Jordan did likewise at House on the Rock, but then went much further to collect . . . well just about anything from ship miniatures, dollhouses, circus models, guns, aviation artifacts and built a Victorian street scene. Frankly it is exhausting to tour through all the 'stuff.'

Infinity Room at House on the Rock

Infinity Room from the inside

all instruments automated to play via a coin box

Alex Jordan also had a massive number of musical instruments which we automated to a variety of carousels, but not with animal figures, but made up creatures. One cannot describe it!!

We had also stopped by a small cheese making facility, the International Crane Sanctuary and visited the natural beauty of the Wisconsin Dells - also know as an amusement park area. And it was home to Hurricane Irma!

 

Milwaukee Art Museum

Grey Crowned Crane