Friday, June 3, 2011

The Trip North

When you drive out of 90 degree heat, it's hard to fathom you'll be shivering in just a few hours. I contemplated this as I packed my bags to go to the North Shore over Memorial Day weekend. I stuck in a sweater, but only after going back and forth on whether I *really* needed that sweater.

I did.My family came to visit over Memorial Day weekend and we headed to the North Shore for a site-seeing trip. The weather left much to be desired. Most of our views of Lake Superior were shrouded in fog and sometimes rain. We drove up to Duluth and stayed in a place called the Inn on Gitchee Gumee, which means "big lake." The place was full of Big Woods kitsch, with birch bark beds and North Woods decor. The innkeepers were charming and made us breakfast one morning. While the first night was rather cramped because of space (all 7 of us in one small cabin) I am proud to say we all made the best of it and took it in stride.

The area is truly beautiful. State Parks dot scenic Hwy 61 all the way to Canada. Since the weather was crummy, we wound up staying in the car more than we would've liked....and we wound up driving all the way to the Canadian border. My grandparents are the rest-stopping-est people I know, so we stopped at Visitor Centers and Rest Stops along the way. When we got to the Visitor Center at the border, the clouds parted and the sun shone. Two bald eagles flew across the river overlook and landed in a big tree to just chirp at each other. It was a nice moment.

Besides taking in the foggy scenery, we stopped at shops along the way and went on a lake cruise to see the Duluth Harbor and Lake Superior. Jack was very well behaved, despite the long time we spent in the car. The one time we ventured out to check out a lighthouse, by the time Dave and I had Jack bundled up.... the rest of the crew was climbing back into the car, declaring it too cold and windy to be outside. That's what happens when you expose Arkansans to a cold, wet 40-degrees and windy kind of day.

I didn't bat an eye when I learned they'd also packed an electric blanket for the trip.

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