Duluth
Got back from Duluth this afternoon... we had so much fun, but how can two days make a person so darn tired? Thank you to Grandma and Aunt Suzette for watching our little tax deductions so we could enjoy a couple days together.
And Happy Birthday to my bride! I hope you had as much fun as I did. It was wonderful to get to know you again! I'm happy to say I still like you a lot.
We stayed at the South Pier Inn in Duluth, right next to the famous aerial lift bridge. Our room was overlooking Duluth Harbor and when we checked in we got a copy of the Duluth Shipping News so we could keep track of the departures and arrivals of the huge ships coming in and out of the harbor. It was kind of surreal to see these massive 1000+ foot vessels float past your room as you soaked in the hot tub (especially after a bottle of champagne and a six pack of beer)! They would arrive at the harbor and fill up with iron ore or taconite or even coal and then depart some hours later, on their way to who-knows-where. We quickly learned they communicated with the aerial lift bridge operator by blasting their horns. Loudly. At all hours. That might sound annoying, but it was actually very cool. It was a very unique experience!
When we checked in Thursday night, we decided to go to Grandma's for dinner (home of the famous Grandma's Marathon). Afterwards we did a little shopping at Canal Park and then hit Little Angie's Cantina. They feature over 100 tequilas and (of course) specialize in margaritas. My life philosophy is: "If more is better, too much is almost enough." So I ordered a margarita that was the size of a small pond. Good stuff, but it was probably intended for two or three people.
Surprisingly, we were up bright and early on Friday and after a stop at Caribou Coffee, we were off to Grand Marais, via North Shore Drive. The scenery was just spectacular -- it is definitely one of those routes that everyone should have on their bucket list. Lake Superior and Minnesota's North Shore is just incredible. There are many state parks along the way: Split Rock Lighthouse, Gooseberry Falls, Tettegouche, etc., plus the Superior National Forest. It truly is an amazing drive.
It was a 110 mile trip to Grand Marais. The weather was cold, windy and rainy, but we didn't care.
One of the advantages of visiting places during the off season is you don't have to put up with the crowds and parking is free anywhere you go, including Canal Park in Duluth! The disadvantage is a lot of the little shops are not open until mid-May. Such was the case in Grand Marais. Very few shops were open, but the sights were awesome and we did have a terrific meal at the Crooked Spoon Cafe.
When we got home we decided to go to Grandma's Sports Garden to watch the Twins beat the Indians. We were doing fine until we decided to celebrate Beth's upcoming birthday with $5 kamikaze pitchers. To coin a phrase, "I can't believe I drank the whole thing..."
It was time to go before we were ready, but we were missing our kiddies. Before we left, we took a stroll down Canal Park and got some cool shots of another freighter entering canal and going under the aerial lift bridge:
Goodbye, Duluth. We will be back! What a cool city.
And Happy Birthday to my bride! I hope you had as much fun as I did. It was wonderful to get to know you again! I'm happy to say I still like you a lot.
We stayed at the South Pier Inn in Duluth, right next to the famous aerial lift bridge. Our room was overlooking Duluth Harbor and when we checked in we got a copy of the Duluth Shipping News so we could keep track of the departures and arrivals of the huge ships coming in and out of the harbor. It was kind of surreal to see these massive 1000+ foot vessels float past your room as you soaked in the hot tub (especially after a bottle of champagne and a six pack of beer)! They would arrive at the harbor and fill up with iron ore or taconite or even coal and then depart some hours later, on their way to who-knows-where. We quickly learned they communicated with the aerial lift bridge operator by blasting their horns. Loudly. At all hours. That might sound annoying, but it was actually very cool. It was a very unique experience!
This ship was 1,012 feet long, according the the Shipping News. This picture was taken at 6:30 a.m. from the patio of our hotel room! Notice the fog bank descending over the city.
When we checked in Thursday night, we decided to go to Grandma's for dinner (home of the famous Grandma's Marathon). Afterwards we did a little shopping at Canal Park and then hit Little Angie's Cantina. They feature over 100 tequilas and (of course) specialize in margaritas. My life philosophy is: "If more is better, too much is almost enough." So I ordered a margarita that was the size of a small pond. Good stuff, but it was probably intended for two or three people.
Yes, the margarita was, indeed, the size of my head... and I've got a big noggin.
Beth was much smarter and ordered a margarita the size of a bird bath! Our choice of tequila was Cabo Wabo Silver... yum! And I don't even like tequila!!
No trip to Duluth is complete without a visit to the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, home of the most incredible gourmet caramel apples on the face of the planet! This particular one was called Cashew Bear Paw. Hey, it's fruit -- it's good for you.
Surprisingly, we were up bright and early on Friday and after a stop at Caribou Coffee, we were off to Grand Marais, via North Shore Drive. The scenery was just spectacular -- it is definitely one of those routes that everyone should have on their bucket list. Lake Superior and Minnesota's North Shore is just incredible. There are many state parks along the way: Split Rock Lighthouse, Gooseberry Falls, Tettegouche, etc., plus the Superior National Forest. It truly is an amazing drive.
My bride overlooking Lake Superior at Tettegouche State Park along the North Shore.
It was a 110 mile trip to Grand Marais. The weather was cold, windy and rainy, but we didn't care.
One of the advantages of visiting places during the off season is you don't have to put up with the crowds and parking is free anywhere you go, including Canal Park in Duluth! The disadvantage is a lot of the little shops are not open until mid-May. Such was the case in Grand Marais. Very few shops were open, but the sights were awesome and we did have a terrific meal at the Crooked Spoon Cafe.
Beth at Grand Marais, MN. It was very windy and very cold -- about 44 degrees with 25-30 mile an hour winds whipping off the largest freshwater lake in the world. Brrrrrr! You can't see many whitecaps in these pictures, but they were huge. They are pounding the rocks in the distance.
When we got home we decided to go to Grandma's Sports Garden to watch the Twins beat the Indians. We were doing fine until we decided to celebrate Beth's upcoming birthday with $5 kamikaze pitchers. To coin a phrase, "I can't believe I drank the whole thing..."
Cheers! And happy birthday! And I think I need to call a taxi to walk us back to our hotel room... And the Twins won. Um, I think.
It was time to go before we were ready, but we were missing our kiddies. Before we left, we took a stroll down Canal Park and got some cool shots of another freighter entering canal and going under the aerial lift bridge:
Goodbye, Duluth. We will be back! What a cool city.
