This post is a bit tardy…but better late than never!
A few weeks ago Gigi, Papa and Auntie B ventured north for a family vacation complete with good food (as always), water falls, a light house, Lake Superior, Grandma's half marathon and a flood!
On our way north, we stopped at Gordy's for a bite…per Guy Fieri’s suggestion. The food was delicious…maybe not the best pre-race meal…but delicious none-the-less!
Once our tummies were full, we headed to Duluth. Gigi and Papa secured bedtime for little ones at the hotel while I joined the runners in our group to pick up their race packets. The experience of packet pick up was nothing short of ‘greatness’…complete with fantastic people watching…shoe demonstrations…and running apparel clearance out the ‘wazoo’!
We hit the sack after packet pick up…that is for about an hour and a half. Our littlest nugget decided to have her first sleep-less night in about 6 months the night before C’s run. Both C and I tried and tried and tried to get her to settle in…to no avail. Poor C caught the hotel’s shuttle bus to the starting line just after 4am with about 1 hour and 45 minutes of total sleep…I applaud his attitude as he took off with more a happier heart than I would have had!
Gigi, Papa, the kiddos and I headed towards the course a couple hours later…with a little more sleep under our belts. Gigi made special signs for the kiddos to hold…
B couldn’t decide if he liked the crane holding the flag or watching the runners better!
We only got to cheer our favorite runners on towards the end of the race as the course hugs Lake Superior’s shoreline which prevents pretty much all spectating.
You would never know by C’s smile or stride that he’d had as little sleep as he did!
The area around the finish line was like a party…it was so fun to watch all the runners and their ‘fans’ rally and enjoy the beautiful morning. We celebrated their finish with none other than Caribou Coffee…maybe not the best post run beverage but nice for those of us who felt a little sleepy 
.
Auntie B & C in front of ‘Grandma’s’…
The entire group post race…A and B were troopers as they simply sat in their stroller and took it all in!
B was sure to tell C about all the things he saw while he watched him run…
One can really work up an appetite while watching (and running) a half marathon! In effort to satiate our rumbling tummies, we found a great little hole in the wall breakfast café up the ‘hill’ in Duluth. Everyone would agree…this may have been one of the better breakfasts we’ve eaten in awhile!
After breakfast, we headed back for long (and needed) naps. After waking up a little more rested we headed to Canal Park, down closer to the harbor and water to get dinner. To our amazement, Grandma’s (the restaurant that hosts the marathons) had available seating! The hit of the meal was wild rice soup, one of Grandma’s specialties.
After dinner, we enjoyed a walk down the canal to see the famous Duluth lift bridge and a light house. The rain that fell while we ate left some fantastic puddles that made B’s little boy heart quite content and happy!
Little A enjoyed the puddles from the comfort of C’s arms…
Oh, to get into his little head and see what he is thinking about!
The next day, we headed a touch further north to Two Harbors where we settled into a sweet little cottage and enjoyed some good family time.
As always, B was quick to help in the kitchen. Auntie B was sweet to accept the help .
Little A enjoyed every chance she had to be held…and was all smiles as she enjoyed giving and receiving ‘sugar’…
We were able to celebrate Father’s Day while at the cottage. B helped Papa and C open their gifts…
Later, we headed to Gooseberry Falls for a family-friendly hike. C was gracious to allow us to take the ‘easy’ and more traveled trails…as you could see his heart simply eyeing the more challenging and less traveled trails down closer to the river.
Glimpse of this year’s Christmas Card?
These two continue to revel the truth that they are two peas in a pod…B wants to be just like his dad and C is gracious to allow B to keep up and answer B’s myriad of “Why?” questions.
Our ‘hike’ caused our tummies to rumble, yet again. This time we landed at another North Shore favorite…Betty’s Pies. Our lunch was fantastic…and the wild rice burgers exceptional…but the pies were truly incredible!
Notice the daily pie list behind little A…
We all (the adults) decided to choose one flavor that sounded good and then pass the slices around the table to provide as much of a sense of the pie goodness as possible!
Of course, the pie goodness wasn’t complete without a good old cup of coffee!
After lunch, Gigi and Papa graciously manned the cottage during naptime while Auntie B, C and I stretched our legs (and tried to burn the pie calories off) by taking a bike ride.
Stretching our legs was a success…though the calorie burning may have barely broken even as we found this quaint little candy store to try out.
Just look at this place…most of the treats are made from scratch from mid-April through Late October!
The little store also sold seeds for these beautiful flowers…something that the North Shore roadways are peppered with.
After finding candy treats, we walked across the street to a sweet little café along a river. This boat and silly friend kept us company as we sat and enjoyed our candy and the sweet company!
After returning our bikes and enjoying a delicious dinner at the cottage we ventured outside to enjoy a campfire complete with coffee and s’mores.
Little A snuggled in with Auntie B…
While B was quick to get help from Gigi with making a s’more…
Sitting around the campfire together was a great bookend to the day…
And the view of Lake Superior was beautiful!
After the kiddos headed to bed…this group enjoyed playing dominos…
We were thankful to have had the beautiful weather that we did for our hike and fire as the next day’s weather was a little more soggy. The rain didn’t keep our spirits or desire for ‘adventure’ at bay…as we headed out to explore Split Rock Light House.
B loved being able to walk and keep up with the group…
While little A enjoyed the comfort of the baby carrier…
The view from the top of the light house was beautiful…
B seemed pretty captivated by the old house and keeper’s quarters…
We enjoyed brief moments of sun before the rain really started to fall…
After exploring, we found another local eatery to enjoy some warm wild rice soup at before heading home for naps. A was thrilled about lunch…
After lunch the rain continued and continued and continued. So much that we got out to watch the waves and water level increase…
Even B got in on checking the water…again, wanting to be just like his dad!
After dinner, we headed to the pool for some fun as our campfire spot from the night before had turned into a puddle.
The night wouldn’t have been complete without bubble baths and popcorn…
It was rather cozy as we tried to watch the NBA finals through the spotty coverage as we listened to the rain fall.
The next morning, to all of our great surprise…we discovered the roads to look like this…
Seriously! A full blown flood! We weren’t aware of the vastness of the rain or flood since we’d been ‘off the grid’ for a few days.
After consulting the map (yes, B was quick to help with directions) we found what we thought was an alternate and drier route south towards home…
To our disbelief, we found this!
This photo was taken from the passenger seat of our car…no, we’re not a boat following a boat…this is the highway!!!
After being re-routed by the Department of Transportation 3 times as a result of roads and bridged being washed away…we headed north about 2 hours and then west and then back down to the Twin Cities.
Our drive home would have typically taken 3 hours…it took almost 8!!! B didn’t seem to mind our crazy detour…in fact, I think he enjoyed catching up on his sleep (I just love that he has his legs crossed in this photo)!
Unfortunately, Gigi and Papa missed their flight home due to the flood debacle. Fortunately though, it meant one more night together in our neck of the wood…which B soaked up and relished in greatly!
The next morning, we said our goodbyes to Gigi and Papa before enjoying a fun filled day with Auntie B in our neck of the wood.
We took her to one of our favorite pancake spots, where B very ‘politely’ taught her how to drink milk and water out of multiple glasses…
And enjoyed dinner alongside Lake Harriet…it was delicious!
Whew!
What an adventure…we were blessed to be able to pack so much fun and so many memories into the amount of time that we had.
We treasure the time that we have together…and so enjoyed the chance to explore the area around our new neck of the wood with such special people.
Gigi & Papa…thank you for making our trip and time together possible. May your hearts be blessed!
Happy Trails!
Be blessed.
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