"The Third Coast," Ted McClelland

[deangreenhoe]

Probably easier to quote from the slipcover since I'm no doubt biased concerning the subject matter and by the fact that the author was born and raised in my area of the state of Michigan:

"In the spring of 2005 Ted McClelland loaded up his car and set off on the Great Lakes Circle Tour in an attempt to define and reclaim Third Coast culture - a culture unique to the Americans and Canadians who live along the Great Lakes' shores."

"Suspecting that Americans living along the Great Lakes have more in common with their Canadian neighbors than their Southern countrymen, he embarked on the three-month-long trip around the lakes to answer the question, 'Is there a Great Lakes culture, and if so, what is it?'

Weaving fascinating snippets of local history into his wry and revealing travelogue, McClelland creates a rich, warm portrait of the region he loves, finding, 'as much romance in these waters as in the Mississippi, the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic, or the Pacific.'"

In case you were wondering, it's a 9,600 mile journey to trace the shoreline of the five Great Lakes by car. Even though I've already done the majority of it on the installment plan, reading the book gave me the urge to put this on my list of "some day gotta dos" in the form of one singular adventure.

There are some good laughs along the way, a lot of local quirks that we who live in this region take for granted that might entertain those who do not, or have yet to visit the region. On a personal level, it was kind of fun to stumble onto a book with a real character or two that I've encountered on an informal basis.

Final quote: "The magnificent lakes and the people who populate their shores, McClelland concludes, 'comprise a nation within North America, as surely as the South.' His name for it? The Freshwater Nation."

I hope you get a chance to give it a read.

[susanliber]

That def sounds interesting!! I know I enjoyed my short visit there. I will have to look for the book. Thanks Dean