Top two photo courtesy and property of Matt Delejewski - Matt exploring a shipwreck
Adventure traveler Matt Delejewski seeks escape underwater in Chicago's Lake Michigan. Everyone has a reason for needing a stress reliever. Whether it is a bad boss, boring job, stressful job, or just looking for excitement, everyone is looking for a release. For educator Matt Delejewski, it is a class full of spit wad throwing young men that pushes him to the brink. He loves teaching, but anyone who works with kids or has them know that they can test your patience.
Many people seek traditional means of escape like a drink at a bar, a movie with the significant other, or a favorite TV episode. Mr. D. enjoys these pursuits, but he finds underwater in Chicago's Lake Michigan his true inner peace. There are no loudmouth kids underwater in Lake Michigan and if there was he would not be able to hear them. All that he hears is the eerie high pitch sound of his oxygen apparatus bubbling and giving him breath in these serene, peaceful, and mystical green waters .
I asked Matt what drew him to the sport of scuba. He told me that he first became interested in scuba while snorkeling on a cruise in the Caribbean. The seeds for his interest in the sport have been festering in him since childhood. As a child he wanted to be an astronaut, but he now finds himself a teacher, but the pull for adventure was still in him. The next best thing to exploring the solar system is our other world that lies underwater.
When people think of scuba diving they usually think of exotic places like the Caribbean, Indonesia, or Hawaii, but in fact there is a very active scuba community here in Chicago. Chicago's Lake Michigan may not be the Caribbean, but there are many interesting ship wrecks that can be explored, some right off the Chicago coast.
If you seek escape and want to check out another world, no need to blast off to Jupiter or even travel half way across the world for Australia's Great Barrier Reef as there is plenty to explore right off the shores of our great city. Whether it is an escape from work, home, or a group of spit wad throwing adolescents, that escape can be found right at our doorstep in the depths of our great lake.
Check back in the following weeks for articles on how to start scuba diving and how to get certified as well as information on one of the most exciting wrecks found right outside the shoreline of Chicago.
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Comments
Interesting article. Lake Michigan obviously can be as much as a dive location as the ocean.
Lake Michigan looks like a fun place to dive!
Thanks AdventureRob for reading. Not many think of the Great Lakes as a great diving destination. There may not be a great reef out there, but there are a lot of interesting shipwrecks to explore.
Maybe no loud mouth kids but can you see wide mouth bass?
Lake Michigan has smallmouth and largemouth bass. More peaceful seeing a largemouth bass than hearing a largemouth kid.
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