Duluth

Duluth is a pretty cool city. It reminds me of a smaller San Francisco. We are staying right on the water, right next to the lift bridge, so we can see boats all day. 

We woke up and had pancakes and sausage for breakfast then started walking around Duluth. They have a nice (free and air conditioned) maritime museum next to the lift bridge. We visited that and learned about the lift bridge and boating in this area. 

Then we walked on the shore while the boys threw rocks, chased seagulls and watched boats (and the lift bridge). We had a picnic lunch on the beach and the boys got their toes wet. I'm not sure how their toes ended up inside of their shirts, but they came back completely wet. 

Then on to the malt shop. 

 Here I had quite possibly, the BEST tasting malt in the world! Moose tracks ice cream and you pick 3 toppings, so hot fudge marshmallow and peanut butter it was.Yummmmmmm!  Everyone else said theirs was good, I think they should've had a malt. 

From there we walked to the trains depot. It was not a short walk, but we made it in time for the scenic train ride. 

After leaving the train depot, we thought it was a good time to eat. So on to Fitgers. This is a historic place in Duluth. The food was delicious and the beer was awesome. Mary had the apricot wheat, for those in Bismarck, similar to laughing sun's strawberry wheat, only better. 

After trying all of the beers at canal point brewery and a few at fitgers, I have decided that there is good beer in Duluth.  I really can't decide which was better. Fitgers was cheaper, so the tie goes to more beer. 

We then started walking home and had a nice view of the lake as the sun went down. The boys are monkeys on the huge rocks on the shore and love skipping rocks in the lake. 

We walked through downtown one last time then came home. 

The boys were awesome yesterday. Nate and Bennett never complained once about their legs hurting and we walked lots of miles. We were gone for more than 10 hours walking most of the time. 

Today on to the cities. Picking up Alexis and heading back to our house. We sure have enjoyed this years trip! 

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The sun will come out...

Yesterday began by waking up to a thunderstorm. This of course also meant that all if the things that I hadn't put away the night before (mainly the strollers) were wet. Always fun to pack up in the rain. 

We left hoodoo point early (early for us) and headed for destinations unknown. (If you are wondering what this process looks like, it goes like this: me: where are we going? Mary: well, do you want to go to location 1,2 or 3? Me: 1 I guess Mary: ok, let's go to 3) this brought us to the international wolf center. Interesting, and the boys had a good time. 

We learned lots and saw wolves howling (which they say doesn't happen everyday) and eating a deer leg.  The boys really enjoyed it. It rained for most of our time at the wolf center, but it is all indoors. We couldn't leave Ely without a frozen custard, then we hit the road; the LONG, Curvy, hilly road. Where did this road go you ask? Pretty much right back to where the Super 8 broke down. You might be thinking interesting, why would you go there. I was thinking the same thinking. (I am currently accepting applications for navigator.) I guess we were coming to Duluth, the one place I said we were going to avoid. 

Now that we are here, with no events enroute, it is a great place to visit! It rained for the whole drive yesterday, and of believe it or not, the fog is still on the north shore! Very dense fog. We rolled in, it was raining pretty good, I had to walk through 6 inches of water to plug our electric in, and as soon as we decided to walk to town, the rain quit and the sun came out. The rest of the day was wonderful!

We are staying right on the water, the place is actually a marina, and can see the lift bridge from our campsite. We were able to see it in operation quite a few times. 

We walked around downtown, took a (long) walk to Walgreens for a thermometer. Matthew has a little fever, but doing well.  Then we went to the canal park brewery for dinner. Of course I had every beer on tap, they are all good, and the best Reuben I have ever tasted. 

 

I don't know what today will bring, but I know it will be fun!

Lake vermillion

So we liked it so much here that we stayed another night. No pictures today, here is what we did: 

Steak and eggs for breakfast

Bike ride to town for groceries

Swim on the lake/play on the playground

More swimming/playing

More swimming / playing

Back to town for ice cream cones (the single scoop had like 6 scoops!

Back to swimming/playing 

Burgers for dinner

Fishing- no real bites (stole the bait a couple of times)

Sleep 

No clue what we are doing today :)

On the road again...

Like a band of gypsies we go down the highway, we are the best of friends, insisting that the world keep turning our way, and our way is on the road again. 

I guess I would rather have paid the gas bill, but the super 8 seems to be running better than when we started the trip. Lets hope this luck continues. 

Not too much to report; today we went to the park, went to target, played kickball and walked all around the town of Virginia, MN. Now we are at lake vermillion, about 40 miles from where we were. The lake looks very nice and I hear the fishing is good. 

I think it is the first time on the trip hat we needed AC and it feels good!

Our family is the best group of travelers, not a single complaint while we were broke down :)

Free ride

So as I said before, when it rains it pours, but for us things just work out. We are extremely blessed. This picture pretty much sums up our day. 

Some people ask how we can afford the gas on this trip, we call AAA. 100 miles towing for free! 

So the story of the day:

Not knowing where we were going, we set off this morning. We stopped for a few donuts at "worlds best donuts" (they ARE good!). Then headed off in the fog. The Super 8 was making some weird noises intermittently, so I stopped to check on things. Lets just say things didn't look good. I am no mechanic, though Mary says she is going to send me to "mechanic school" because that is one  thing I don't know. So we called AAA. While waiting for a tow, we found an awesome river and waterfall,

and visited a neat museum/heritage center. I guess it was a good place to get stuck. The tow truck people were also able to bring a car for us. So we were all able to make it here safely. When we got here the trip odometer said 99.7 miles, and we get 100 for free ( things just work out!) they are going to look at the rig tomorrow and when we got here they gave us all a root beer float ice cream bar. Yummmmm! We let Bennett spend some his money to buy a soda from the vending machine (even though we have some in our fridge) and he said, "mom: this sure has been a great day"  

Although we have had some issues along the way, I have to agree with Bennett, this has been a great trip! 

Lets hope all goes well tomorrow! We are staying the night in the gas station parking lot. We are much better off then the lady and dog in the van next to us :)

On a side note, we had REALLY good gas mileage today!

Almost forgot yesterday; 

We visited the wooden boat show, and bought a couple of things at the silent auction. Went for a long walk, skipped LOTS of rocks in the lake, and took a walk on the cobblestone beach 

We also found some time for a quick baseball game and some pizza from Sven and Ole's.  And blueberry pancakes  for breakfast :)

 

Rain, rain go away

Yesterday is always my favorite day of he yeAr! The summer solstice/the longest day of the year. This year was great as well. 

So after doing a little troubleshooting, I determined that we needed an alternator.   Luckily there was a NAPA in town (the first one we have seen in a few days). And they had the correct alternator. Problem was, even though I brought some tools, I had not planned on changing an alternator. So (again luckily) there was a repair shop next door, and they were able to do the work if I waited until noon. By 1:30 I was out the door, and didn't get ripped off! So the super 8 is back in business. 

So they say when it rains it pours, well for the past few days it seems that way, it has been raining A LOT! BUT, it everything seems to "just work out"   So right after we got the super  8 fixed, the sun came out. It was a welcomed sight. (While I was getting the work done, there was an indoor swimming pool, and Mary took the boys swimming ) 

We are very blessed. 

Normally we camp in state parks but this is "a campground" and we are 3 blocks from town. So we went and visited the shops. Had a few "Worlds best donuts" and visited the wooden boat show happening in town. The boys spent lots of time skipping rocks (or just throwing them)

As the sun went down we saw the boat parade and had an awesome dinner! We normally don't eat out while camping, but this town has got us twice :)  fresh caught trout with spinach linguine and salad, it was delicious!   

Our kids have been great travelers! Looks like more rain is in store today, I guess we will see what today brings. 

Rain, rain

IAfter our bike trip, we had a yummy supper and a campfire. We had campfire popcorn and fudge. First time we had tried the fudge but the joys loves it. 

Yesterday we woke up to rain. A good day to stay inside; so we packed up, said goodbye to coop and sandy and hit the road. 

We visited split rock lighthouse. 

The trip was very rainy and foggy. 

After the lighthouse we drove for a while and pulled over at a rest area to, well... Rest. We slept for a couple of hours and continued to grand marais. Stopped at "Sven and Ole's" for dinner. Pretty good pizza. Then we're off to find a camping spot. Unfortunately the super 8 wouldn't start! I thought the battery was dead, so I ran it off the deep cycle. Once we got to the campground, I realized it is probably the alternator.  Luckily for us, this is one of the few locations on our trip with an auto parts store. I guess I will be playing mechanic today! (In the rain) 

Thanks Rob for the recommendation of place to eat and Joel for being my on-call mechanic-by-phone. 

North shore

Another great day and lots to catch up on... 

On Monday we spent the night in Chisholm mn. Not the most exciting place. Not a state park or anything, just a campground. What was cool is the drive there and the museum next to the campground. Chisholm is in the heart o Minnesota iron mining country. So lots of mines along the way. The campground we stayed at, Mary picked mostly because they had laundry. So after resting and getting clean clothes, we visited the Minnesota mining museum. The boys cloned on lots of trucks, trains, machinery and learned quite a bit. 

After hitting the road. We came to gooseberry falls state park on the shore of Lake Superior. We are camping with Derrick cooper and his family. Last night we took a walk down to he lake. It is a little chilly but NO MOSQUITOS and the scenery is awesome. 

Today we woke up, had a pancake breakfast and took a 9 mile bike ride. The kids handles it way better then me, but we all survived.  

We found a little beach and skipped rocks and put our toes in the lake. Although it was chilly the kids loved it! 

Last but not least 7.6 mpg last fill!

The rough life- rowing, rowing, rowing

Today we woke up and had cinnamon raisin French toast. It is hard roughing it. After that we walked to the park office and rented a rowboat. Although it was overcast all day, we ha no rain and enjoyed being on the lake. At lunch time, the boys got their fishing poles but no luck. We saw some wildlife including osprey, bald eagles and some loons. 

How many loons do you see in this picture? (Hint there some real loons also)

After boating, we left and purchased some supplies and are camping tonight not too far from goosberry falls, where we will stay tomorrow. 

On the last fill, the super 8 got 7.02 mpg! Not too shabby

Sunday

Today we visit Paul Bunyan and babe the blue ox

We had a nice drive to scenic state park. It is a nice place, and Nate caught a fish seconds after throwing the line in the water. 

For those that think we are roughing it when we say we are camping, tonight for dinner we had shrimp, red and yellow peppers, potatoes and corn on the cob. For those who think this is not roughing it, we did cook the shrimp over the campfire; and it was delicious! 

Losing track of time

Happy Father's Day! Also happy birthday to my day!

Last night was pretty cool. We went canoeing and paddle boating. The boys first time in a canoe and we didn't even tip. Rob cooked some awesome kabobs on the grill and the kids had an outdoor movie! 

Even the neighbors kids came over. We had popcorn and good times. We finished the night with a campfire.

Today we woke up to blueberry pancakes and bacon and lots of Mosquitos! We are now heading out. 

 Talk about losing track of time; yesterday while we were swimming, my watch stopped working. I guess that is a sign that we don't need time on vacation!

Shooting "The Breeze"

Yesterday we came to The Breeze resort not to far from itasca state park. This is a nice area. Unfortunately the Mosquitos are eating us alive, but we are having a great time. Good dinner and campfire last night and the boys had to check out the paddle boats pretty much as soon as we got here. A person should really stay on shape all winter to prepare for this camping business. 

Today Beth and Rob made us a great breakfast, then swimming, and playing. Canoeing later! Should be a good day. The weather has been good but cloud seems to be clearing up!

The next day

This morning, Mary told me "it's kind of nice that the park is not too busy, must be because it is a Monday." After telling her it is now Friday, I realized that it is easy to lose track of time in the super 8. 

Today we took another nice bike ride, got eaten alive by Mosquitos, took the boys fishing and are now visiting the headwaters of the Mississippi River. So far a nice day, and later we will meet Beth and rob for a weekend of camping. 

Lake itasca

Today we left Fargo after a quick visit to the Ihop. Must have left around 12;30. Before leaving we filled gas to discover, almost 7 miles per gallon! Not too shabby for the super 8! We stopped along the way for some MN wild rice and arrived at 2:30 ish. First thing, a nice long bike ride. 

Lake itasca is a great place. Of course it helps when it is 75 degrees, sunny and no wind! We enjoyed exploring and the kids went swimming for a while 

Mary keeps saying this would be a great place for a family reunion (hint). Tonight the boys and I went fishing, and now the campfire!

Day one 2013

We were finally able to get out of mandan at 7ish. We had some work done and it took longer then expected. Rolled into Fargo at approximately 10:15pm.the kids HAD to say goodnight to Amy's dogs, so we kept her up then Spent the night on the street in front of Ames' house, we visited a little this morning, very good to see Ames! 

Hopefully all goes well with her baby, good to see you Ames! 

First camping trip of the year

Camping with Sara and Travis this weekend at Sibley park. Had a great fire last night. The boys had a good time even with the rain.