BOUTIQUE CRUISING
THE GREATEST OF LAKES
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in north- eastern North America on the Canada-US border. Consisting of Lake Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on earth by surface, coming in second by volume behind Russia’s Lake Baikal. They have a total shoreline near 10,000 miles, with more than 350 species of fish, and provide drinking water for in excess of 40 million people. Lake Michigan is the only Great
Lake entirely within the US; the other four, referred to as Border Lakes, share shoreline with Canada.
“God Bless America,” sung by legendary American songstress Kate Smith. More highlights to come: An optional excursion took us on a tour of the Military Academy at West Point. Located 50 miles north of New York on high ground over- looking the Hudson River, West Point’s historical significance, buildings and land- marks are so noteworthy that its entirety is a National Historic Landmark. All on board eagerly awaited our entry
into the Erie Canal, the 363-mile path into America’s interior that began with a
92 WORLD OF CRUISING I Spring 2012
turn of shovel of dirt in 1817. Eight years later, the canal was ready, allowing the country to expand and take advantage of the rich farmland and natural resources of the West. Today, the Erie Canal is open only to small recreational vessels, save for Blount vessels that are precisely designed to fit through the canal’s dozens of tight transit locks and under the lowest bridges.
House descending hydraulically to the deck below. With that, we time-travelled back to an era when 60 miles between towns meant a day’s journey rather than a short automobile jaunt. A Blue Heron stood at water’s edge while osprey dived for dinner as we passed through rural countryside en route to the centre of towns along the way. We followed the Canal’s route roughly
A
half way, exiting via the Oswego Canal into Lake Ontario, one of the Great Lakes that cover 95,000sq miles of the country’s interior. Following overnight stops at the cities of Oswego and Rochester, New York, the Welland Canal deposited us into Lake Erie, the smallest of the Great Lakes, to dock at the city of Buffalo. There, most on board opted for an excursion to the spectacular torrents of nearby Niagara Falls, but I spent the day
s we approached the first lock, everything on the top deck was removed or folded flat; the Pilot
exploring the architecturally and histori- cally rich city, unexpectedly stumbling across the Anchor Bar, birthplace of what are known throughout America as “Buf- falo chicken wings” but here are simply called “wings” – spicy, messy, incredibly delicious. At dock in Cleveland, Ohio, I spent a
happy afternoon taking in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. On Lake Michigan, the largest of the Lakes, we spent a day on tiny Mackinac Island, where naught is heard but the clip-clop of horses’ hoofs; motorised vehicles having been prohibited on the resort island since 1895. And then Chicago, the grand finale of our voyage, with a complete day at our disposal. While many left by bus for the offered tour of the Windy City, I took advantage of the city-centre docking to step into this most walkable of big-city downtowns. Sky- scrapers were on my mind; Chicago is the only metropolitan city in the world where one can see examples of the 19th
century
starting point of skyscraper architecture and follow it to the present day.
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