A Superior Vacation

Back from our week in Duluth on the shores of Lake Superior.

Our beach house/cottage combo was groovy.  A good hike over the dunes and we were right on the shores of Park Point - the largest freshwater beach in the world.  The decor was eclectic and I loved it - lots of little collected treasures and original art.  The kitchen was better than mine at home!

Can't go to Duluth without spending time in Canal Park.  Here are the cousins doing what the Corps of Engineers expressly forbids - hanging onto the famous lift bridge.

Of course there were campfires and s'mores.  One night all the kids and I even got the wild idea to sleep on the beach.  But the wind proved too strong and I froze my ass off and went in at 1:30am.  We Minnesotans were put to great shame when the NYC kids lasted out there until 5:30am.

I could watch these ships all day.

No trip to Duluth is complete without some time on the rocks of Canal Park skipping stones.

We had to try out the new Alpine Coaster at Spirit Mtn.  Here I am about to have a cardiac arrest. 

       

Headed Up North

Packing packing packing for our week-long visit to beautiful Lake Superior.  We're meeting Johnny C's NY Italian family there.  As I told you here, they are very different from us, so this should be interesting.    We've got a beach house almost directly in from the rainbow pictured above.

We plan to spend lots of time on the beach.  Otherwise we'll be hiking and picnicking.  What will we eat you ask??  Cuz that's pretty important in my world.  For the first 24 hours I'm packing homegrown lettuce, beans, and basil.  Also homemade pasta salad, egg salad, pesto, cookie dough, burgers, etc.  And plenty of coffee and iced tea - you betcha!

And in case you're wondering Dr. Monkey, we should make it home just before the first blizzards of winter.
See you all next week!

A Sad Cold Day

We made a very sad and adult decision today. Given our current state of financial crisis, we have canceled Spring Break in Myrtle Beach SC. We belong to bluegreen vacation club, and last October put our points in for a nice condo on the beach in late March. So the lodging is paid for, but we just don't have the cash to get there nor to continue eating each day, which is kind of important to us. We made our announcement to the kids and they were incredibly calm and reasonable about it. It's all the more crushing since we have nothing to look forward to right now but more bone-achy cold Minnesota winter.


One option is to take the kids to the Wisconsin Dells, but frankly I'd rather chew on tin foil. Just looking at the pic reminds me what it involves - gross, fat, white Midwesterners in ill-fitting swimsuits - and that's just my husband and I. It also means sharing space with 154,000 other kids and their screams, saggy swim diapers, and toe jam. And each day will entail at least one trip to the outrageously over-priced snack bar to have cranky teens sell me nachos and corn dogs. I can feel the heartburn now.

I need the ocean, I need the sand, I need the sun, I need to go barefoot, I need fresh seafood, I need warm salty air, I need grits and shrimp, I need to sleep with the windows open and hear the waves. Not this year I guess.