Presque Isle, that is what the French call ‘almost’ an island. A piece of land that jets out from the mainland but does not quite form an island. This almost an island has become part of our travel routine every summer. The engineers have made rock piles all around this piece of land to prevent the island from washing away. And it seems to be working. When I sit on the beach it is hard to tell the difference between this only ‘sea shore’ in the state of Pennsylvania and the southernmost island in the U.S., Key West, Florida. They are both surrounded by a huge body of water and have sandy beaches. The invasive species of trees in Key West that compete with the palm trees must have originated in the Presque Isle region. Besides the oak, maple and acacia trees growing out of the sand on this beach 100 miles north of Pittsburgh there is another tree that grows in Key West and is just as successful growing in both places. This tree has what looks like grey bark and heart shaped leaves. This tree is so prolific that in Key West they have to bull doze and burn them to give the palm trees a chance to grow. In Presque Isle they make for good shade on the beach to rest under between swims. Lake Erie is so big that you can’t see Canada from shore you have to take a boat ride a long way out before you can see that big country. Swimming in Presque Isle is different too because the lake is fresh water and you are not as buoyant swimming here as you are in the ocean. The waves on this lake can be just as big as on the ocean. Every year we wonder why we don’t get up here more often. The dead walleye that wash up on shore are picked at by the sea gulls. This is one of the few places in the world where they did not allow any development of hotels and restaurants. There are no buildings, it is a natural paradise. Birds and small ponds are plentiful on this ‘almost’ an island. All the hotels, bars and restaurants are in the town of Erie which is not far away. The visitors here are all mostly from Pennsylvania, Ohio and Quebec. Where in Key West there are people from all over the world. Of all the things I own the one thing that I have gotten the most use out of is my scuba mask. I have worn that thing in a lot of lakes and oceans. The lake water is good for what ills your skin might have, rashes and what not. The fresh water hydrates the skin unlike salt water that tends to dry it out. Since they did not put any buildings here you can walk the whole beach. There is also a huge bay on the mainland side of the (island) that is very calm and many people sail there. A lot of people fish from shore on the bay side too. On the mainland we stopped by the campground where my buddy Captain Bill whiles away the days between his fish charters on the lake. His place is high up and you can really get a feel for how big the lake is by viewing it from this high point. We usually eat light during the day and hit one of restaurants in the evening for dinner in the town near the lake. We try to walk to the restaurant to walk off some of the calories from eating the walleye and lake perch that is on all of the menus. I did notice at one restaurant that they are able to sell the farm raised salmon cheaper than the locally caught fish. The local fish is really unique here because you cannot buy it away from the lake even in Pittsburgh. You have to eat it to appreciate it. So on any given day after coffee you can rollerblade, bike or hike the entire ‘almost’ island paradise. And then swim until the water takes your soul. When my body hits the water I no longer have any desire for anything. I no longer want to figure out how the world works or what I need to do to get what I need or want. The water takes me to a place where I blow the wad I let it all go. I let the fish teach me how to live. I think this a simple physiological reaction from being in cool water, you are expending so many calories the blood sugar drops and you feel euphoric. Lack of calories in the body is linked to ecstasy. And the after affects last so much longer than anything else even long after you get out of the water. Even drinking beer in this state takes on a whole new meaning. The alcohol goes straight out of the pores and you get a different kind of buzz. I know that I have written about this before but I am trying to figure out what is going on internally and physiologically from this. It is almost Zen like when the body exerts itself to a certain point that you take on an intense focus and outlook. It is very similar to building something. When you finally decide to build that wall or replace the furnace in the house. It is going to require a pretty big commitment on the body and mind. Especially if you want to get done in a reasonable amount of time.