Lake Erie, ON

My Watermark is Lake Erie, Ontario.

I share with many people the idea that my best loved memories include water.
Going to the lake, seeing the ocean, paddling on the creek, exploring a marsh. I love water! My Watermark - that truly changed and enhanced my life - like no other experience - was in Lake Erie.

I spent 23 hours (and 36 minutes : ) suspended in water swimming from Erie, Pennsylvania USA to Long Point, Ontario Canada. My 'big swim' was a fund-raiser for the Long Point Biosphere Reserve, an volunteer organization dedicated to sustainable living on our planet.

Touching nothing 'solid' for that long, really does something to your soul. As kooky as it might sound, that day I became part of Lake Erie. This water experience, at age 49, gave me a major life lesson that was extremely powerful. I came to shore with an incredible "knowing'' that nothing is impossible to a willing heart.

In return for what I had the privilege of gaining through my Watermark - my intensified strength of spirit, my increased confidence, my passion for all things 'water' - I hope to take hold of any opportunity to give back to 'my' Lake Erie. I have been inspired to learn, to speak up, to become involved, to try to make a difference.

My Watermark is my life's inspiration.