Geography Lesson

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Geography Lesson

I'm planning a girl's trip with my daughter. Last summer we went to the Chesapeake Bay and it was fantastic. But this year, she's chosen Mackinac Island in Northern Michigan.

I knew approximately where the island was located and really didn't think much more about it. I reserved lodging, talked to Deena about what we might do while we're there, visited websites and sent for brochures.

But I didn't get a map.

Deena was studying a Wisconsin map to figure out the best way to get there. She's the navigator while we drive, so she needs to have a basic route figure out. But the map only included part of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. I told her, "It's just past the edge of the page, so we'll just continue on this road a bit and we'll be there."

She really wanted to see the whole route, and I couldn't find the atlas. So she dug out an old hard-cover topographical map from the 1970's and started turning the pages. A couple minutes later, I heard her from the other room.

"So we're going to see Lake Huron?" she asked.

"No, we'll be on Lake Michigan," I responded, hardly paying attention.

But she was convinced, so she showed me the map. "See, Mackinac Island is on Lake Huron."

I've traveled to all fifty states and at least 14 countries. I'm a master player at "Carmen Sandiego." I've probably BEEN to Mackinac Island, though I don't remember it (much to my mother's chagrine.)

And I didn't know that Mackinac Island was on Lake Huron.

So I guess we'll be visiting two Great Lakes, rather than one. And we'll be driving at least an extra two hours to get there. Good thing she's thorough!

We decided on this location a year ago, long before the bombers decided the bridge would be a great target. We'll proceed with caution, and then we'll have another social studies lesson - the one about bombs and terrorists.


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