Our third coast

Our country has two coasts, right? There's the Pacific and the Atlantic. So what is this huge body of water that is so big it gives the impression of being an ocean?

This is Silver Beach on Lake Michigan, one of the five Great Lakes. The Great Lakes form the largest group of freshwater lakes on earth, containing 21% of the world's surface fresh water. The lakes are sometimes referred to as the North Coast or "Third Coast." Traversing the shoreline of each of the lakes covers about 10,500 miles (17,000 km), roughly the distance of almost half the earth's equator. (Wikipedia)

The afternoon we enjoyed here was a reminder that you don't have to live on a "coast" to be able to enjoy the beach. In fact, the water here was warmer than our southern California ocean—and had the advantage of not being salty.