From the pre-trip material: Locals refer to Lake Michigan as America's "third coast" for its size -- fifth largest lake in the world -- and the fact that it is the only one of the Great Lakes lying entirely within the U.S. Without a doubt, it is one of the most scenic places in the country. We'll learn more during an expert presentation.
The next morning at dawn we were passing the Michigan dunes. We followed these for most of the day.
As usual we didn't have a chance to get bored. Fred Stonehouse gave two final lectures. "Rum running and red lights" covered bootleggers and bordellos. He had some hilarious anecdotes about shocking lady librarians by asking about the red light districts of Great Lakes port cities ("We didn't have anything like that here!)." Or being shocked by other lady librarians: "Finally, someone asked. Have I got material for you!" The other talk was on Great Lakes Shipwrecks. It wasn't just the Edmund Fitzgerald that has gone down.
Although we had been keeping an eye out for other ships during our journey, we hadn't seen many. During our day on Lake Michigan I spotted two. This is the Philip R. Clarke. We also passed her sister ship the Edwin H. Gott, a 1000-footer.
Since this was our last day aboard, the staff had prepared a sumptuous tea with pastries galore. It was a beautiful presentation.
Part of the presentation included elaborate costumes for the waiters. This trio doesn't look particularly comfortable, do they?
All of the crew were delightful folks -- very friendly and dedicated to their jobs.
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