I'm doing a little bit of catch-up on the blog. Things have been crazy the last few weeks as the weeks tick down to Sweet Pea's arrival. The to-do list doesn't seem to be getting any shorter, and much to my dismay, days have not gained hours. One can still hope...
Anyways...Jeromy and I enjoyed a little getaway to Duluth recently. We had a great time. The trip came about a few months previously. We had talked about taking a nice vacation before we started having kids (Puerto Rico was the hope), but then along came Sweet Pea, and the timing and money just didn't happen. Arg.
While I was busy lamenting on the fact that Puerto Rico wasn't in the cards (and further, that we likely will not have a "nice" vacation for quite some time), Jeromy suggested that we plan some sort of other trip. We threw a couple of possibilities around...Door County, Decorah, Galena, IL, etc. and ultimately settled on Duluth.
We go Up North often, usually ending up somewhere in the Grand Marais area, but haven't spend much significant time in Duluth (the last time was for Grandma's Marathon in 2005), but the weekend was mostly focused on running. Imagine that. :-)
So we booked a moderately-priced hotel room (we decided not to shell out the extra money for a lake side place) for Memorial Day weekend (which was also my birthday weekend). The plan worked out well..I only took Friday afternoon off (which I had planned anyways because of a doctor's appointment), and Jeromy didn't need to take any time off. Given that we both had Memorial Day off, we got a nice 3-night getaway. A far cry from a week in Puerto Rico, but we'll take what we can get. :-)
We left Friday afternoon, after dropping Luther off at "Grandma and Grandpa's" (thanks, Mom and Dad), and got there around dinner time. We settled into our room, before seeking out dinner at a local Irish pub.
On Saturday morning, we had a boat tour scheduled. We were disappointed, because the weather was not the greatest - cloudy and chilly. However, soon after the tour got started, the weather took a turn for the better! The clouds rolled out of the air, and the sun came out. It was still a bit chilly - but perfect for the North Shore! We were excited to bask out in the sun at the front of the boat, and enjoy the tour (despite the awful narration by the tour guide).
When the tour was over, we enjoyed lunch - I had a delicious sandwich from Amazing Grace cafe, and Jeromy had a smoked fish sandwich from another place...yum! After that, we poked around Canal Park, hit up the Maritime museum, and the shops, and spent some time relaxing by the lake...perfection! We enjoyed dinner at Pizza Luce, and then relaxed for the evening back at the hotel.
Sunday was my birthday! We started with brunch - at Pizza Luce (yup, that's right...two meals at Pizza Luce within 12 hours!). The weather was so-so...overcast, but nice enough to take a drive up the shore. I had to laugh, because I used to dread "Sunday drives" growing up...but a lazy drive up the shore with my best friend/husband was perfect! We made a few stops - Split Rock lighthouse, Gooseberry Falls, and a few shops in Two Harbors. I had a great birthday with Jeromy - it was just so nice to spend some time together in one of our favorite places! It was fun to have some time just the two of us - but we definitely spent a lot of time talking about how much fun we will have bringing Sweet Pea Up North! It was crazy to think that the next time we are back up there will be as a family of three!
Once we got back into Duluth, we went to Fitger's - one of our favorites - for my birthday dinner. The funny story of the night came when Jeromy mentioned to the waitress that it was my birthday. He asked if they do anything special. She said they'd be happy to give me a free pint of beer. Arg! The torture. Although I'm not much of a drinker, I have been finding myself missing beer as the weather has been getting warmer. Jeromy explained to the waitress that I was pregnant, and she graciously offered a free root beer instead. Delicious!
On Monday, we enjoyed a lazy morning in the hotel (actually, all of our mornings up there were lazy...it was great!). The weather was crummy, which helped make it easier to head home. We made a quick stop at the Great Lakes aquarium before heading back to the Cities. Unfortunately, we were REALLY not impressed with it. The cost was high for what we got out of it... it was kind of cool seeing all the fish from the Great Lakes, but the otters were not out (which we were most excited about), and there just wasn't enough to make it worth what we paid.
All in all, we had a great time away. It was fun to spend more time in Duluth, great to have time just the two of us, and reflect on all that is to come, and fun to be able to celebrate my birthday with a little trip! Can't wait to bring Sweet Pea up there before too long... :-)
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