Corner View: What to do in the United States

There is so much to do in the USA; I wasn't sure where to start.  However, I decided to focus on one of my favorite areas---an area that is easily accessible for me living in Ohio---and that is The Great Lakes.  One summer my husband and I spent a week in Michigan and ended up dipping our toes into four of the five lakes. Every summer when I was growing up, my family went to Lakeside, Ohio on Lake Erie for Northeast United Methodist Conference.  I fell in love with Lake Erie then and it remains a favorite spot with many cherished memories.

Again, there is is so much to cover about this area, but I will just point out a few highlights along with a brief explanation.

The Great Lakes -- Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario -- and their connecting channels form the largest fresh surface water system on earth. If you stood on the moon, you could see the lakes and recognize the familiar wolf head shape of Lake Superior, or the mitten bounded by lakes Michigan, Huron and Erie. Covering more than 94,000 square miles and draining more than twice as much land, these Freshwater Seas hold an estimated 6 quadrillion gallons of water, about one-fifth of the world's fresh surface water supply and nine-tenths of the U.S. supply. Spread evenly across the contiguous 48 states, the lakes' water would be about 9.5 feet deep.

Lake Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie and Superior. To some, those names might not mean much. What's a lake when you have the ocean, someone from California might say. They can't be much compared to the Gulf Coast, a Floridian might sneer.

But anyone who calls the Great Lakes home -- or a home away from home -- knows it's near impossible to beat the breathtaking surroundings of the five lakes that touch eight states and Canada. Below check out a few of the reasons why the Great Lakes just might be the greatest ever, and if you make it to the end without seeing your favorite spot, submit a photo or memory below.

Great Lakes Map

They’re home to more than 32,000 islands

You can stay in amazing accommodation's...Grand Hotel, Mackinac Island.

• The Great Lakes have it all: the big city...
  Getty Images
  The Chicago lakefront.
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  Charming towns...
  Flickr:rkramer62
  Fishtown, Leland, Michigan.
  
  
  There's so much to explore.

  Getty Images

  Wreck of the Sweepstakes, a ship built in 1867, in Big Tub Harbour, Fathom Five National Marine Park, Tobermory, Ontario. There are at least 6,000 shipwrecks in the Great Lakes.
  
  The above is in Canada, so I looked up info on the Shipwreck Museum which my husband and I visited. A highlight of this museum is all kinds of pictures and info on the wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald which Gordon Lightfoot made famous in a song.
  

  Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum Campus

  

  Aerial View of Shipwreck Museum Campus -- Photo by Chris Winters

  The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum opens Wednesday, May 1, for the 2013 season!
  The Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum has become one of Michigan's most popular destinations in the cultural tourism industry, attracting over 60,000 visitors each season.  The museum is open every day May 1 to October 31, from 10 am to 6 pm.   Museum patrons learn about the perils of maritime transport on the Great Lakes at the Whitefish Point Light Station, an Historic Site on the National Register of Historic Places.  See the Whitefish Point Light Tower, in continuous operation for 149 years, the oldest operating lighthouse on Lake Superior.
  
  

  Speaking of national parks, they have amazing ones.

  AP

  The Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore on Lake Superior, Michigan. AP Photo/Bob Brodbeck.

  
  

  One day I will highlight Lakeside.

  For more things to do in various countries throughout the world, check out Francesca's Fuoriborgo for Corner View.

A little bit of this . . . and . . . that

Our master bedroom is coming along.

We still have to hang pictures and I need a bedskirt.

The TV is now gone and some of my precious heart containers

and angels are out.

But I haven't taken a picture of them yet.

My camera died and I CANNOT find my battery charger.

It was packed in the craziness of that Saturday morning

and has not been seen since.

I am very close to ordering one from Amazon.

Some of my grandmother's and Mike's grandmother's quilts 

are finally out, as is the quilt rack.

Here are just a few.

 Scruffy loves to climb in a window sill;
and she has plenty from which to choose.

We allow the cats out when we are with them.  Scruffy could easily be an indoors/outdoors cat, but we won't let her. George cries a lot when he's out.
(But he cries to get out, when he's in.)

 We have daily visitors to our side and back yards. They come up out of the woods and love to eat the various foliage.  We love watching them.
I imagine I'll have a different opinion if they start coming to the house and eating my flowers!

Startled. . .

going. . .

gone!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                               


Hope you have a wonderful week!  Blessings to you all!

Corner View: Evening

I left school on time yesterday

instead of several hours later;

I wanted to get home to plant a peony

a friend had given me.

It's 100 some years old

and has moved with her family 

within the state of Ohio

and outside of it.

They had six of them,

now they have five.

I was greatly touched by the gift.

After I planted it, I walked around the house and garage

taking photos of the evening shadows.

I love coming home to this place!

The peony is in the pan on the
swing.

A 'tunnel' between the lot the garage is on

and one of the back fields.

Last night was the first night in many years

that I was able to sleep with the bedroom window open---

it was wonderful!

For more corner views join Francesca and others

at Fuoriborgo.

Settled In

Notice that there are no panes in this window.

In order to get this queen sofa bed couch into the living room, we had to remove the panes.  It took 5 men to move it.

 This is the front door.  All the doors are the same size and thus all were too small.

This shows my mom's cedar armoire in its new place.

A glimpse of the chaos that reigned for the rest of that day.

Here is the window with panes back in place.

We put the cats' perch there so Scruffy especially can watch the birds.

(George doesn't use it.  He stretches out on a chest that is set in this alcove.

Here are all most of my potted plants.

I told the guys to just set them there until I figured out where 

they could go.

Most of my potted herbs are still on the screened-in back porch

at the other house.

One of these days we'll cart them down the steps,

load them up and bring them here.

The friend from high school who is now our neighbor

brought brownies for us.

I couldn't resist taking this photo.

As you can see hubby and our cats have settled in well!

 George

Scruffy

Here is the far end of the living room.

It will change eventually, but for now we have chairs for others to sit in.

Here is our dining room.  

I had forgotten about most of these items.

The Orr crock and the grandchildren photo and frame

were the only items put out in the bungalow.

That's because when I moved into the bungalow,

these items were decorating the home in Cinci.

Glass and pewter that had been packed away.

 Here is the kitchen.  It is the most 'settled' of all the rooms. Look at the lovely flowers sent us by friends---aren't they gorgeous!  Uhh, fellow bloggers, what are they?

No pictures are up

and there are still many boxes to be unpacked,

but it feels like home

and we are happier than we've been in a long while.

School is going well,

but there is so much to do.

We have paper work, data, and statistics

to do and put together.

I have my 4 syllabuses done

along with my rules (from last two years) 

and my grading and assignment policy (new this year).

My sub binder is done.

I thought I had my pretests done--

I chose to do unit ones---which was fine last year.

I've just been informed that I need full year pretests

for my data for my SLO 

(new Ohio lingo--it stands for Student Learning Objectives,

so I have to make up new tests this weekend.

I still have my unit lesson plans,

my curriculum map,

and my SLO to do.

Plus I have a class of essays  

and other misc. stuff to grade.

I thought I might get almost caught up this weekend,

until I was thrown the curve ball of the pretests.

But new teams were formed for this year,

and I have help for the first time since these new requirements were put into place.

Before I just had the other English teacher 

and she is a complete loner---no team attitude at all.

So it has been lonely and frustrating during team planning time

for the past few years.

Now I have feedback and encouragement.

It is making a huge difference.

To sum it up, I'm doing well.

I'm happy.

Below are photos of my classroom.

Blessings to you all this weekend!