Parallels in geography

Thought you would be amused about the inspiration for my latest motorcycle trip. As you know, I had planned to circumnavigate Lake Michigan last year, then wimped out (too far, too urban, not enough time/money), and now the border is closed. Here’s the story:

“Lake Michigan had always been envious of her sister lakes because they all had at least one edge in Ontario. Now, increasing political stupidity and senseless violence are very worrying, and the recent death of Ruth Bader Ginsberg was the last straw. She has decided to seek asylum in southern Ontario. Northern Ontario has more space, but it’s too cold, and there are all those pesky small lakes in the way.

“In order to fit in, she had to tilt sideways, turn inside out, and wriggle around until she was comfortable. Various locations around her edge have been transformed — think of Chicago as Grand Bend, Ontario! Escanada, Michigan became Arnprior and Wilwaukee, Wisconsin shrunk to be the tiny town of Durham. But she feels much calmer now, although her waters are on the outer edge, rather than in the middle, so this is all taking some adjusting.” 

To plan this, I took a map of Lake Michigan, cut it out, and pasted it onto southern Ontario. There were various options, but my final route took me to Prince Edward County, Wolfe Island, Arnprior, Huntsville, Collingwood, Durham, Grand Bend and Port Stanley.