Your anecdote is only the surface level. People may be spending more at shops because they expect inflation will keep going up and the things they need will just get more expensive. And they don’t expect they can save for larger purchases like housing or renovations so they’re buying lower level items while they can afford them. These sort of shallow effects might look like a prospering economy on the outside but they can mask an uglier core.
Lake Superior has the same surface area as the entire country of Austria. It even has its own climate systems. Hell yes it should count, let alone the entire lake set. They’re more like inland freshwater seas.