Labor Day Voyage

Last weekend David and I took advantage of the long weekend and headed North to Duluth and the North Shore.

On Friday we got to Duluth and enjoyed going in and out of the shops in Canal Park right on the shore.    We loved a new store called Fizzy Waters which had old candy from the good ole days and lots and lots of cokes (sodas) to choose from.

We were there when a few small boats were going under the bridge, so we got to see the Lift Bridge raise.  The weather was beautiful, it was really windy and almost chilly.

We ate dinner at a new brewery in Canal Park. We ate outside by the shore and then walked back to our hotel.  Saturday morning we ate breakfast down on the shore and then went into a few more stores. We loaded up the car and headed up Highway 61 which goes along the coast of Lake Superior all the way to Canada.

We drove about an hour and stopped at Split Rock Lighthouse.   Our tour guide informed us about the life of the 3 families that operated the Lighthouse back in the day.  Three men lived in their houses next to the Lighthouse by themselves in the Winter and then their wives and children would take a boat from Duluth up to Split Rock to be with their husbands for the Summer.  It was an interesting tour and unbelievable how rough of life it was.

 The building on the left is where the foghorn was housed.  You could hear the horn for 5 miles, so if the boats heard it they knew they needed to change course fast because they were too close to the shore.  The light from the lighthouse was seen 22 miles into Lake Superior and Wisconsin is 25 miles across the Lake.

These stairs are where the tram used to be when the boats would bring supplies to the lighthouse workers.

We got back in the car and kept driving for a couple hours until we got to Grand Portage, MN, which is 6 miles south of the Canadian border.  It is on an Indian Reservation and the only hotel there is the Grand Portage Casino Resort.  We stayed there that night and in the morning headed to the National Monument which is in Grand Portage.

This was a really cool part of our trip.  We enjoyed learning about Grand Portage and why it was important back in the 1700's.   I'll summarize:

The French were trying to find a way to the Pacific through the Americas and canoed through the Great Lakes to Lake Superior and landed at Grand Portage to trade goods from Europe with the Ojibwe tribe whom were bringing fur to the French.  From the 'port' in Grand Portage, the French 'Voyageurs' walked an 8 mile trail called the Grand Portage to meet Ojibwe and others to get fur from the Pacific Northwest.

David in the National Monument museum.

Grand Portage became the busiest trading post west of Montreal and the beaver fur was the most important fur the French and Europeans wanted because they made beaver felt hats (like Mr. Darcy wears) out of the beaver skin.  The French and Ojibwe had a great relationship and the place we were visiting had set up a house, kitchen, trading post, and some teepees and wigwams like it would have been back in the day.

Then of course, the American Revolution happened and the French and British could no longer come to Grand Portage on 'American Soil' so they had to make the American/Canadian border which moved 6 miles north of Grand Portage and made the Ojibwe people lose all their trading and completely took away the need for Grand Portage.  The fur trade moved 30 miles north to  Thunder Bay, Canada.

After leaving the monument we drove 6 miles North into Ontario and took a walk down to Lake Superior.

We got back in the car and stopped at the State Park in Grand Portage to see the highest waterfall in Minnesota.

We then headed back South on 61 to Grand Marais, and ate lunch at a yummy pizza place.  Then we stopped in Lutsen at the ski resort there and went down the Alpine slide.

That's Lake Superior in the background

On our way back home we stopped in Duluth for some ice cream then made it home Sunday night just in time to enjoy Labor Day by not doing a thing!

That's all!

Summer (Projects)

Our Summer is winding down here...school doesn't start til after Labor Day (it's a state law...so people can go to the State Fair...I'm not lying).  All that to say, I've been busy knitting some lightweight Summer projects for all my prego girlfriends...but first, let's rewind and I'll fill you in on David's Summer.  

David spent a week in Vail (over our anniversary) and his mom had the opportunity to join him there.  Since they were already in Colorado they decided to take advantage of that and road trip to the Grand Canyon.  They stopped in Moab, UT, and then headed down to the Grand Canyon and Sedona and flew out of Phoenix.  Don't worry, I was invited but had already been to the places they went to (minus Moab) thanks for good ole high school Chorus Tour and Mr. Jones!  Once David got back from that trip, Cantus began recording their next album over the next 5 days followed by a photo shoot with the new guy in Cantus (Tim Takach "retired" from Cantus after 17 years!).

We decided back in May to celebrate our anniversary by seeing Pride and Prejudice at the Guthrie since it's one of my all-time favorite stories (thanks to my sister for introducing it to me back in Jr. High).  Of course, I was even more delighted when we found out that Vincent Kartheiser (who plays Pete Campbell in Mad Men and is from Minneapolis in real life) would be playing the role of the infamous Mr. Darcy.  Don't get me wrong...he was no Colin Firth, but it was absolutely wonderful!!!  We were very happy with our decision to do that, and we both had seeing a show at the Guthrie on our list of things to do here.  David had been at the Guthrie earlier that week for the Cantus photo shoot and he had performed there earlier in June for a 50th anniversary Gala...you know, the one that Whoopi Goldberg emceed and Alexis Biedel (and fiance Vincent K.) went to, and T.R. Knight went to while I sat at home and ate ice cream...wow, I got off track...

Anyway, here's us at the Guthrie and here's the stage...

It was a great anniversary, and now on to my recent projects....

I enjoyed making all of these little hats and decided to the baby booties this time too.  They were so fun to make!  Let me know if you've got any babies you need a gift more and I'd be happy to make something for you!

 The blue hat and booties are for a 6-month old

 This hat is for a 1-year-old

 I LOVE this yarn!!!! This is a newborn size and 6 month size...love the pom-pom too!

Hope everyone is doing well.  We are going camping next weekend and then headed up to the North Shore for Labor Day.  I'll try to post about those trips later!

Mom Turns _ _ _ty

David and I were so excited to get to go home for mom's birthday.  Her birthday is on the 4th of July, and since it was on a Thursday, I didn't have to take off work.  We woke up really early and flew to Little Rock which was great because we got to Searcy before noon.

Robert and Emily were already helping dad in the kitchen get the birthday dinner ready.  Dad was making an awesome meal including leg of lamb, salmon, sausage, and steak with grilled vegetables.  He also made a Red, White, and blue dessert with homemade vanilla, strawberry, and blueberry sorbet. Dad invited some of our family friends over for dinner that night.  

On Friday we ran some errands, played games, and ate some leftovers.  Saturday we woke up and headed out to the farm with Robert's new inflatable kayak.  We did some fishing and kayaking and then got home for dinner.  My aunt and uncle from Dallas, came up to bring their daughter to Camp Tahkodah, and J.Cliff came over so we all enjoyed a yummy Indian meal that dad cooked for us.

*Please note Sammie Jo in her life jacket in this photo.  uh-mazing!

Of course, it was amazing to see my furry nephews!

J.Cliff dropped us off at the airport Sunday morning.  It's always hard to leave, but it's always so good to be home and an added bonus when JCG is there too!

Earlier This Summer

We were very excited when David's mom, Lynn, and her cousin Terry decided to make a trip up here for the Cantus Covers concert and David's birthday since they were on the same weekend.  I met Lynn and Terry along with 7 of my coworkers for dinner downtown before we all went to the concert.  Saturday morning we went to breakfast and the farmer's market and then got ready to go to the concert again that night. 

Sunday morning we went to church and then went to a amazing restaurant in downtown Minneapolis called The Butcher and the Boar.  David chose this restaurant for his birthday and it was delicious.  On Monday,  I had to go to work, but David took Lynn & Terry to Hudson, WI, since Terry only lacked Wisconsin from being in all 50 states.  I met them for dinner at the Blue Door for some yummy Juicy Lucy's and then they headed home on Tuesday morning. 

On Friday, David and I headed to the airport to pick up our good friend Jarrod Turbeville for the weekend.  We ate a quick lunch at Cafe Latte and headed back to the apartment to catch up.  We walked to the zoo and then had dinner that night.  Saturday morning we ate breakfast and went to the Mall of America.  On Sunday afternoon, David had a concert at the Lake Harriet band shell, so Jarrod and I packed a picnic lunch at went to the concert.  It was so good to see Jarrod and we were excited to have so many visitors this Summer.  

Fun Weekend with Family

We finished off May by having our first of 3 summer visitors.  My mom, dad, brother, and his girlfriend Emily made a trip up here for the weekend.  I picked up M&D at the airport Thursday night and we made a stop at the Yarnery and grabbed some dinner at Brasa where we were able to get some to-go food so Bobby, Emily and David would have some food when they got here/home.  Bob and Em got here later Thursday night.  David was at rehearsal until 10:30. 

Friday morning we woke up and ate breakfast at Egg & I then headed towards Prospect Park for a view of Minneapolis.  After that we headed to the Sculpture Gardens and then let Bob and Emily go to the Mill City Museum while we walked along the Stone Arch Bridge.  

We headed back to the apartment to get ready for David’s Covers concert that night.  We ate dinner at Ike’s Food & Cocktails and walked across the street for the concert in Downtown Minneapolis.  The concert was wonderful.   

 

Saturday morning we headed to downtown St. Paul to do a little shopping and exploring then to the Cathedral.  We then ate lunch at my favorite place, Café Latte.  (where we take everyone that comes here) After lunch we shopped on Grand Ave and then went to the Swedish Institute, which was really cool.  Saturday night, David had another concert, so while he was there we ate dinner at Ngon a delicious Vietnamese bistro.  We had picked up some cheese at the St. Paul Cheese shop, so we enjoyed some cheese and bread after David got home and played Ticket to Ride. 

Sunday morning we went to church and then ate lunch at Cosetta’s Italian market before heading to the airport.  We dropped M&D off then took B&E to the Mall of America.  They rode some of the rides and shopped a little before we dropped them off at the airport.  It was a great trip, and we were so glad they came.