Wow! Almost done! Michigan and Niagara Falls!

Can you believe it? I'm almost done with this incredible adventure! After tonight, I have only one more night on the road. Wow! When I started, it felt so huge with over 8 weeks of travel and now I'm almost done. I am damned proud of myself, not just because I did this on my own but that I kept my energy and enthusiasm up the whole time. I only took 2 days off where I didn't drive or seek out adventures. I averaged over 230 miles a day!

Yesterday I left Illinois and made my way up into Michigan to see the west coast. My good friend Jahn is from Michigan and she raves about this beautiful state. My first glimpse of Lake Michigan when coming around Indiana and up into St. Joseph was beautiful. It was a hot and hazy day but you still get an idea of how massive the lake is. 


I then headed down to the beach to dip my toes in the lake. 


 I stopped at the classic carousel for a quick ride before heading down to the lake.



It is so strange walking a hot, sandy beach along a lake. Other than the lack of salty sea air, it totally feels and looks like the ocean!


After hanging out and wading in the cool water, I drove up to Saugatuck, a quaint town on the coast about an hour west of Grand Rapids. 


It's a harbor town with a beautiful beach and a fun downtown. I could see myself staying in this area for a vacation.


I spent the night in Grand Rapids and drove to Buffalo today. I drove through Canada so I could come across the Niagara area with a stop at the falls.



 I walked along the water with the rapids roaring by on the way to American Falls.






 I then walked all the way down to the back side of American Falls and then Horseshoe Falls.






 Can you see all of those people getting drenched by the falls?!






What a wonderful last scenic stop on my return home! I had been here before but in November many years ago. It was quite invigorating!

Tomorrow, I continue my drive east and am hoping to make a stop in Cooperstown with a night in Springfield before driving home on Friday. I have about 600 miles left to drive. I've got this!!!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

I did it!!! Final blogpost!

Image
You all know what it's like to come home after a long trip. This was a LONG trip! I really didn't miss home that much because, really, what's the point. I knew I was going to be gone for over 8 weeks and I put my energy towards being truly present wherever I was. I'd say it was when I crossed the line into the midwest (with only 5 days left) that I let the thoughts of home sneak in. I am so happy to sleep in my own bed. Why do so many people have extra firm mattresses. You might as well sleep on the floor! I'm so happy to cook my own meal and to walk around barefoot! Sigh! 13,031 miles (a palindrome), 30 states, 25 National Parks, countless hairpin turns, crazy elevations, defying my fear of heights, a multitude of conversations with people from around the world, local brews and food and endless beauty. I am so incredibly fortunate to be able to take such a trip. I worked hard to save the money by working 2 jobs, took the summer off for the very first time, pla
Read more

Planning a Cross Country Trip - Oh the decisions to be made!!

Image
It's the middle of May and I'm finally done planning (well, pretty much) a bucket list trip around the United States. I'm doing it! My plan, as of right now, is to take around 8 weeks this summer to drive from Portland Maine ALL the way to the other Portland (and beyond) and back again. Now, I don't plan on making this a straight shot. I'm doing the southern part of the U.S. first, up through Utah, over to California and up the coast of the Pacific Northwest. Then I'm driving the northern route back. After it's all said and done, I will have driven about 13,000 miles in my little Kia Soul through 34 states and into Mexico and Canada for some added spice. This is what it looks like so far. Now I know you east coasters are wondering why I'm skipping all of those wonderful states on the right side. There are two very good reasons for that. First, I'm been in every state on the east coast and the whole point of this trip is to finally get to state
Read more

Baseball Hall of Fame - My last scheduled stop on my Portland to Portland Bucket List!

Image
I "discovered" baseball when I was around 12 years old. I babysat for a family and they lived in the boonies so they got very few television stations. One station they did get, for some reason, had baseball. Once the kids were in bed, it was something to do so I started watching baseball. It didn't take long before I was hooked. I remember Dwight Evans, Carlton Fisk and Carl Yastrzemski! I so remember Fisk hitting that home run in game 6 of the 1975 World Series! When I was dropped off at Emerson in Boston in 1979, I walked out of Fensgate which sat on the edge of Kenmore Square. My room faced the CITGO sign and I could hear the cheers of the crowd at Fenway. I waked to Fenway and bought a bleacher ticket to the next day's day game. It cost me $5!! I'll never forget walking up into the park and catching my first in person look at the perfect field and the Green Monster! I was WAY up in the bleachers but there was no security so I walked right down
Read more