Farewell Duluth

 Friday, September 30

I was up earlier than Bob again. I hopped in the shower and then while my hair was drying was playing around on my iPad. Our hotel room looked out over the parking lot but I could see the sun was coming up and it looked like a nice day.

I was wishing we had a view of the lake when I happened to remember that there is a live webcam pointing at the canal. I logged in and saw a BEAUTIFUL sunrise behind the lighthouse! Bob was still sleeping and my hair was wet, but I didn't care. Putting on real shoes would take too long so I slipped on my Crocs, grabbed my camera and out the door I went. 

The sun was starting to get a little higher in the sky, but was behind a few clouds which gave everything a golden glow. Within just a few minutes the sun popped out of the clouds and the sky became bright blue but in those minutes I managed to get a few photos. These are probably my favorite for the whole week!

Back in the room I went online and checked the Duluth shipping schedule for the day. I was excited to see a ship was scheduled to arrive between 9:00 and 9:30. That gave us time to get some breakfast and get packed up beforehand. 

Sure enough, around 9 am we saw the ship, the Joseph L. Block, headed towards the canal. Lots of other folk were anticipating the arrival as well. We watched as the bridge was raised the full amount to allow the ship to pass underneath.

Seeing the ship at such close range made me realize just how HUGE it was, and hearing the horn blast made the experience even more exciting! 

After watching the ship, we checked out of the hotel and began the drive home. As we did a week earlier, we broke up the driving by spending a night with one of our sons in the Minneapolis area and returned home on Saturday. Another successful fall road trip is in the books!

For now, there are no other travel plans for 2022, but Lord willing we have plans for early 2023! 

A Day in Duluth

 Thursday, September 29

Click here for a video of our day in Duluth!

Comfy beds, cool temps, black out curtains and being extra tired made for a great night's sleep! Even so I was up about an hour before Bob. I appreciated having a couch in our room so I could sit and read on my iPad without bothering him.

Once Bob was up, we walked down the hall to the lobby for breakfast. The meal was mostly served by hotel staff which made it a little more Covid-friendly and cut down on waste I'm sure. To begin we were handed a tray and asked if we wanted any juice, fruit cups or yogurt. Next was a hot line where two ladies served scrambled eggs, sausage patties and warm cinnamon rolls. Do-it-yourself waffle makers were also available. One of the better hotel breakfasts that I've had.

After eating we went out the back door of the hotel which put us on the boardwalk. We followed it down to the causeway and walked out to the lighthouse. 

Looking back at our hotel from the lighthouse.

Bob decided he wanted to walk across the lift bridge so I sat on a bench enjoying the view until he got back.

Bob walking towards the bridge. The Maritime Museum is on the right.

Bob waving from the bridge.

See that pink spot in the center of the photo? It’s me!

Next to the lift bridge is the Maritime Museum and they were just unlocking the doors at 10 am when we arrived. We began looking at the exhibits on the lower level. At one of the exhibits we were concentrating on reading the description when someone next to us spoke. Turned out it was a couple that we knew from home! 

When we reached the upper level, I stopped and visited with the guy working at the information desk. I was sorry to learn that there were no large ships expected to arrive or depart on the schedule for today. I was also disappointed to learn that the ship we had hoped to see arrive in Two Harbors yesterday was rerouted and came into the Duluth harbor around 7 pm last night. Unfortunately we missed it because that was when we were waiting for a table at Red Lobster. 

View from the upper level of the museum.

The museum has an extensive exhibit on the ship, the Edmund Fitzgerald. The ship sank in Lake Superior during a terrible storm in November 1975 (immortalized in the song by Gordon Lightfoot.) All 29 of the crew members perished when the ship went down.

Displays showing ship cabins from yesteryear. 

Reading about the ship wreck inspired me to find an old photo from a family vacation in Michigan when I was a young girl. While visiting the Soo Locks, we watched as the Edmund Fitzgerald went through.

The Edmund Fitzgerald going through the Soo Locks in 1967. My dad and younger sister are in the lower right corner of the photo.

We went back to the hotel to get the car and drove to Hawk Ridge. Located on an elevated ridgeline in Duluth, the location provides a perfect spot to witness the raptor migration in the fall. When we arrived, cars were parked on both sides of the road for quite a distance and a large group of school kids were there as well. Naturalists are on site during September and October to educate the public and do bird counts. We took our binoculars and went hoping to see hawks, eagles, falcons, etc. but saw nothing but a couple of robins. At least the view looking over Duluth to Lake Superior was exceptional. We found a bench to sit on and just enjoyed the warm sunshine. 

This photo is so misleading! Hard to comprehend just how high above and far away we were from Lake Superior. The whole city of Duluth is between me and the water!

By 12:30 the clouds were starting to build and I was getting hungry. We had our cooler in the car with our picnic fixin's so Bob suggested we eat at Enger Park where we planned to go next. I plugged the address into my phone and started following Google's directions. To get down from the ridge, our route took us on a road called Seven Bridges Road (which I have since learned is the title of a song by the Eagles!) The road zigged and zagged and repeatedly crossed Amity Creek. Each of the river bridges was constructed out of stone and quite beautiful.

I had Bob stop so I could get a photo of one of the bridges and we discovered that the creek below was tumbling down the rocks in a cascading waterfall. After spending the previous day searching for waterfals, discovering this one accidentally was a bonus!

There were a few random trees with color, but most were still green.

Seven Bridges Road dumped us out in a residential neighborhood.
Aren’t these hydrangeas incredible!

Enger Tower is also on a ridge overlooking Duluth, but on the opposite side of the city from Hawk Ridge. It was around 2 pm when we arrived. The sky was getting darker, but we pulled out the cooler and food bag and spread out a tablecloth on a picnic table to enjoy our lunch. We had barely put a bite in our mouth when it began to rain. 😒

Quickly we grabbed everything and went back to the car where we raised the tail gate and set up our makeshift picnic. By the time we finished eating, the rain had stopped and we were ready to explore the park.

The classy way to picnic! 😄

The park has paved pathways leading through several gardens. We were so busy looking at the plants as we were walking that we didn't notice the revolving sprinkler. After avoiding the rain, we both got sprayed. 😮 Bob enjoyed trying to identify plants in the garden using an app he has on his phone. 

The sprinkles (from the sky) were beginning again when we got to the Enger Tower so we ducked inside and started climbing...and climbing...and climbing. At the top (once I caught my breath) the view was incredible (although it was so cold and windy up there!)

Enger Tower

View of lift bridge from Enger Tower.

After our long wait for a table the previous night, I wanted to plan something quicker for dinner. Our three adult sons are all avid canoers who make frequent trips to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA) in northern Minnesota. Their go-to spot to eat on the way is the Northern Waters Smokehaus. I checked their website and made two discoveries...the restaurant was literally right across the street from our hotel AND it closed at 4 pm.

It was 3:38 when we got back to the hotel and we went directly to the restaurant, just barely making it in time. I decided the leftover shrimp linguine alfredo from Red Lobster would be plenty for my dinner so Bob just ordered a sandwich for himself. Per the recommendation of our kids, he got the Cajun Fin sandwich. The description from the website:

Although you can go inside the restaurant, Bob ordered his sandwich to go from the walkup window outside. There were a few tables on the adjacent patio where you could enjoy your food on a nice day.

The restaurant is located in an old warehouse that has numerous shops and places to eat.

Bob wanted to explore the area on the other side of the canal. It was too early to eat so the sandwich went into the cooler in our car. After crossing the lift bridge we found a place to park and walked down onto the long public beach. Bob did some beach combing for driftwood sticks (to use as handles for pottery spoons he makes.) I took off my shoes and tried to see how long I could keep my feet in the water. Not long...it was freezing!!!

Back at the hotel we ate our respective dinners in the room. Bob had to text our boys to let them know how much he enjoyed the Cajun Fin sandwich! My shrimp linguine had frozen solid in our small room fridge, but after a little extra time in the microwave it was also excellent!

We watched the evening news as we ate and it was heartbreaking to see the devastation from Hurricane Ian in Florida. Bob has a cousin who lives in Fort Myers and we were concerned about them. (Update from the future: the cousin made it through the storm with only some damage to their landscaping. Her daughter, however, lost pretty much everything and will probably have to rebuild.) 😢

We should have hustled a little more to get outside after eating because my goal was to photograph the lighthouse during golden hour. The light was fading fast, so I started shooting fast. We hung around the canal and enjoyed the nice evening and watched as the sun set.

Sun setting behind our hotel.

A few sprinkles fell and a tiny rainbow appeared above the lighthouse!

The bridge raised slightly to let this boat enter the harbor.

The two of us grabbed a cup of green tea in the lobby as we walked back to our room. Bob enjoyed watching "real" TV (we cut our cable service several years ago) and I sorted through photos and worked on my blog notes. 

From checking the shipping schedule, it looks like there "might" be a chance we will get to see a large ship come into the harbor tomorrow before we leave Duluth. Stay tuned!