Tag: lake michigan

And Suddenly, The Lake Got Cold!

That’s the worst that could happen to the lake!!! At the very end of summer, no matter what the weather is, the Lake is consistently warm, often warmer than the air, and I could already feel it in the second half of August.

And then, just when I created one extra extended weekend with one extra day off, there were three days of winds and starting-and-stopping rains, and by Monday evening, the lake water was ice cold! I knew nothing about it and plunged in Tuesday morning. I boldly walked into the water, and suddenly felt something not right! It felt like mid-May, and I couldn’t stay in the water for more than 30 seconds.

When I walked back home down the alley, a car slowed down beside me, and a dad with the kid in the back seat asked me: Excuse me, I am just wondering, is the water the same frigid cold as yesterday evening? I replied that I was not there last evening, but the water is frigid indeed. He said: OK, at least I am not crazy! I couldn’t believe it – it’s not right! I agreed, but unfortunately, nothing could be done.

The next morning, the situation was the same. I asked Grandfather Google what the matter was, and he replied that the winds pushed the warm water away from the beaches, and the cold water from the depth of the lake had risen. That was understandable, but excruciating, since the days are already getting shorter, and I couldn’t believe it was possible, even with the current heat wave, to warm up this vast body of water for a second time within one season.

Still, I kept coming. On Thursday, it was not only cold, but also the unimaginable number of horseflies didn’t let me even dry myself! There were so many, latching at my legs, my sandals, and my towel, that I had to run from the beach, all wet, pulling on my beach tarp on the way.

Today, I resolved to give it one more attempt. And the miracle happened! There was a moderate wind in the direction of the shore, and nice waves were coming. First, when I stepped into the water, I immediately felt it wasn’t as cold as it had been for the past several days, though it was still cold. Then, when I walked deeper and turned my face to the waves, I suddenly felt the movement of the warmer water!!! It was coming back, not on the surface, but beneath it!

Miigwech aapiji, Michigami! Chi-miigwechwi, Gisis!

The South Trailhead

And finally, we achieved our goal of getting to the official end of the Lakefront Trail. If I hadn’t consulted Google Maps beforehand, I would never have reached it, because at the end, it becomes a tiny path and goes onto a busy sidewalk that goes around the Southshore Cultural Center.

The south trailhead looks even less glamorous than the north one which we pass each time we go biking, and it took me time to find the actual”end” sign.

Since I was busy navigating on our way to the endpoint, I only took some pictures on our way back. The view of lake was stunning!

That was probably the first time on our long trips that we took some snacks with us, because we knew we would be away from any breakfast places (at least the ones we know), and we didn’t have time for exploration; also, since it was a very hot day, we tried to get back home fast.

There was a bench with a beautiful view of the harbor, which Boris noticed on our way forward, and we stopped there for a snack.

Mission accomplished!

Also, it’s worth mentioning that the situation with the public restrooms- availability, opening hours, and cleanliness is tons better in the south portion of the train than on the north one!

Recharging Time

It was quite a week! There were some very positive things, but also some extremely annoying things, and lots of stress at work and otherwise. I started my workday yesterday really early, even earlier than usual, and was hoping to be done earlier as well, but instead, I had to work miracles for several hours, and then I stayed at my mom’s place for the switch to a new internet service provider, which also ran way later than I planned, so Friday night ended up not being a beginning of the weekend either! Today, I resolved not to look at anything work-related and to give myself a break from all my other queued activities and just recharge.

I might regret the latter part tomorrow, but today I feel great :). I started with a really long (33 miles) bike ride. The weather was perfect for biking (although it looked like I wasn’t the only one thinking that way), and even before 6 AM, it was pretty crowded on the Lake Front Trail.

Looking at the Loop from the South
Urban Prairie

Then I made breakfast and had a piece of cream cheese rhubarb pie, which I baked last night, and then headed to the closest beach (to maximize the time by the water). The water was just warm enough to be pleasant, and then I lay on the sand and listened to the waves, and there was nothing in the world except for the Lake and me 🙂

Stormy Lake

I want to say it was the worst summer weekend so far: barely 70 both days, pouring rain for half of Saturday, and strong winds both days. My friend from Oak Park visited me on Saturday; she always wants to sit by the lake, but there was no chance of that! At least the rain almost stopped by the time she arrived, and we walked to the lake to watch the waves.

Lena In Chicago

A summer weekend when Lena comes to Chicago is always special. We have some favorite activities that we do each time, and we always try something new. Here is a short summary of all our activities.

Lena arrived on Friday evening. It was not super late, and we tentatively planned to go to Jarvis Beach and even went there, but the wind was cold, and we didn’t feel like getting into the water (and even more so – getting out), so we just sat there and talked, and then went home.

On Saturday, I went for an early bike ride by myself, and Lena just walked to the lake.

Continue reading “Lena In Chicago” →

Stormy Lake

On Saturday, after Anna’s family left, I went to the beach: the air quality was decent, and as we found out, this season, it’s not quaranteed, so even a warm summy day might be not a beach day.

Saturday definitely was, and also, it was the first day this season that I could jump in the waves 🙂

Photos From Morning Biking

A Long Bike Ride

On Sunday, Boris and I planned a long bike ride with a breakfast stop at Lea. For anyone else, Boris would be considered an Early Bird, but he still does not feel that a wake-up time of 4:30 AM is normal, so we compromise :).

We left the house at 5:40 AM with the goal of going as far south as we could, so we’d be back at Lea by 8 AM. There was a really strong wind from the south, so at some point, I regretted making these plans, but in the end, I was happy we went!

Below are some pictures from the Lake Front South; each time I go there, I do not want to go back north. I wish I could fly to Monroe Harbor each time I am going for a morning bike ride, and then bike south…

Another Long Morning Bike Ride

And first balcony breakfast 🙂

The Lake In Winter

There have been a couple of sunny days since I came back, and although I am mostly working all day long, I had a couple of opportunities to walk on the winter beach and say hello to the Lake!