Looking down on Duluth from the revolving restaurant atop the Raddison Hotel

Yep.  On Friday afternoon Barry and I motored westward through the Upper Peninsula, Wisconsin and into Minnesota for a weekend get-away.  We were headed for Duluth, Minnesota, located at the westernmost tip of Lake Superior, halfway between Minneapolis/St. Paul and the Canadian border.  As some of the old-timers around here might say, “We go Duluth.”

Aren’t you surprised to discover my husband and I actually vacationed together?  We don’t often travel together.  Since this blog started I have been to Florida, New York City and my hometown of Yale, Michigan, without the fellow.   I’m the traveling fool; he’s usually half-way reluctant to leave home, but always has a good time once we’re traveling.

This trip proved no exception.  We had an awesome weekend! 

Statue of interlocking hands with bird of peace atop

We really splurged.  Usually we travel very inexpensively, but this time we opted to stay at the Raddison downtown.  We really wanted to stay downtown (where all the action is, you know) but all the hotels were booked or too expensive.  We almost decided to forget it, but Barry said, “We’re celebrating your birthday…let’s splurge!”  So we did.

My birthday isn’t for a week or so.  But he’s going over to Isle Royale for a fishing expedition soon, so we did a pre-birthday outing. 

The foot bridge from the convention center toward Lake Street rises to let boats through

We must have walked ten to twelve miles in the forty hours we spent in this port city.  The city boasts an incredible skywalk system which leads walkers across expressways, roads and buildings.  My legs still ache.  Always remember to bring two pair of shoes when you visit cities.  Once a blister starts to form, switch shoes.  It works. 

Duluth is a major world port.  It welcomes over 1,000 ocean-going and Great Lakes freighters annually.  We were lunching on salads at Grandma’s on Saturday when suddenly people started running toward the shore.  What could be happening?  One of the bridges rose and stayed in upright position for a long time.  We decided to scurry down and see about the flurry of activity.

People lined up along the boardwalk, cameras in hand, breathless for...

The Edgar B. Speer

Oh, dear, I have way too many photos for one blog.  We shall have to divide this up.  But here’s a preview of some of the things we did:  ate out at magnificent places.  Ate out at more magnificent places.  We especially liked a kind of natural foods hippie-place called “At Sara’s Table” where we ate breakfast Saturday morning.  And Saturday night’s Thai food was out of this world.  We had the cutest young waitress named Danielle who is studying something like graphic design at the university there.  If you ever visit Duluth be sure to stop at the Thai Krathong restaurant.  Oh yum.  You will not regret it.

We also visited the Maritime Museum, the Aquarium, and the Omni Theatre.  The Omni Theatre showed a presentation about the Mysteries of the Great Lakes.  Mostly it was about the Sturgeon.  The Sturgeon is a pre-historic looking bottom-feeding fish which can grow to maybe seven feet long.  It’s like a gentle shark, without teeth.  Actually this fish has no bones, so if you catch one, handle it very carefully and let it drop gently back into the water.

The sturgeon have been going extinct, and this program taught us about the efforts underway to save the spawning grounds of this huge fish.  The Native Ojibway revered the sturgeon.  And after this weekend, so do I.  Barry said he always did.

Underwater in the aquarium world. Perhaps a salmon in the forefront.

Until tomorrow then!