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.

Corner View: Architecture

Nine years ago my husband and I celebrated our fiftieth birthdays

with a trip to Ireland.

Some of you have already seen my Ireland photos.

However, I decided that some of the finest examples of architecture

in my photo collection were from Ireland.

Therefore, I am showing these photos again.

A humongous home that became a Catholic girls school and is now open to visitors.

The next three are of a church in Dublin.

This next photo shows the charming stone homes

 that are an integral part of Ireland's architecture.

They may not qualify as stunning to some,

but the attention to detail in these humble abodes

are stunning to me.

It is late and my mind is foggy, so the specific names of these buildings and places

are shut away in a back room in my brain.

I apologize for not giving more detail.

Next up are photos from my hometown.

The town is on the National Historic Register as a Victorian Village.

I have shown this house before also.

It is across from the home where I grew up.

I considered this my dream home. 

I introduced it on my blog here.

I was thrilled when it went on the real estate market.

I posted reasons why it was my dream house here

 and the reasons why it wouldn't work for us, here.

Here is another home we looked at.

But it was up for auction without a clear title.

Our lawyer advised us to leave it alone.

We complied.

These two photos are of our Gay 90s Museum.

It is a stunning example of Victorian architecture

--at least for us small town folks!

For more views from around the world,

please check out Francesca's place.