WEEK 11: ACROSS AMERICA

Sunrise over Lake Macatawa, near Holland MI. Taken by PKSenagore July, 2018. All rights reserved.

WEEK 11 RUN-WALK-BIKE ACROSS AMERICA: marks the start of Earned Runs 2018 Vacation Week August 5-12! Enjoy the week's posts that will be geared more toward vacation fun than fitness.  We hope to arrive back from our time off refreshed and energized to make the most of the remainder of August.
 
WEEK 11
Segment 27:  Ferry from Milwaukee WI to Holland MI
Segment 28: Holland MI to Coldwater MI
Segment 29: Coldwater MI to Bowling Green OH
 
WEEK 11 BEGINS WITH A HIGH-SPEED ferry ride across Lake Michigan, from the terminal in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to one in Muskegon, Michigan.  The trip takes 2.5 hours and allows travelers on their way into “Pure Michigan” (its advertising campaign) to avoid Chicago area traffic around the southern end of Lake Michigan.
 
Upon arriving on the eastern shore of the ‘Big Lake’, Michigander-speak that distinguishes this Great Lake from the many small recreational lakes in the western part of the Mitten, you will be at the far edge of the Eastern Time zone. The sun sets just before 9pm here in early August, and twilight extends the length of camping and picnicking trip days at State Park beaches even further. 
 
From Muskegon MI, you will travel through blueberry country as you move south to Holland, MI; the nearby fields will be in the height of production for the year.  This charming college and vacation town, which boasts a Dutch heritage and spring Tulip Festival, hugs Lake Macatawa and its channel to the Lake.  Humble, quaint, and stately cottages are built into graceful tree-covered sand dunes at the shoreline.
 
As the route continues in a southeast direction, it passes through farmland and around inland lakes. The most productive fruit, vegetable, and landscape plant growing areas are in this western region of the state because of the climate- moderating effect of Lake Michigan, which acts to extend the growing season longer than in inland areas. The state is third in the nation in apple growing and is a leading grower of blueberries, cherries, peaches, grapes, and other fruit. You will skirt this area and travel through farmland where dairy, livestock, and corn are also of agricultural importance.
 
On the way to Coldwater MI you’ll travel through the city that gave its name to Kalamazoo College, home of the Boys Junior National Tennis Championships since 1943. “Nats at the ‘Zoo” is one of the most important events for 16-18 year olds in the US, held in early August.
 
At the end of the week, from Goldwater  the route heads to another college town, Bowling Green, Ohio, briefly running through the very tip of northeast Indiana, also a Midwest apple growing area.

RUN & MOVE &  VACATION HAPPY!