The rest of the trip

Ok, the second half our trip was very relaxing. VERY relaxing! Oh, and I forgot to mention on Monday my mom, my sil, R and Anne, her cousin, and I went into Duluth. Canal Park is a really cool place to hang out, shop, walk the boardwalk, etc. We went to the Maritime Museum, saw a huge ship enter the canal, and watched the Aerial Bridge go up to let it through. It was very foggy, and the waves were huge, so these aren't actual pictures I took, but it gives you an idea of what we saw! Oh, and a fun fact about the Museum. Both my Grandpa Gus and his brother, Don were sailors for much of their lives and when my Grandpa died, my family donated many of his fun sailor things to the museum where they are on display! OK, so I'm not sure which things were his exactly, but they are on display there. My family is officially part of Duluth history. Cool, huh?



The Bridge Down


The Bridge Up with a ship going through



Back to Wednesday. My dad had to go back to CF for work, so before he left I got a brush up lesson on driving the ATV. I really was going to take it around the land at some point, and I did take Rachel for a ride, but I did not get on it like I thought I would. We were all pretty beat from the party and shopping, so we decided to take it easy and just hand out around the house, do laundry, accomplish nothing. At one point we officially decided we would be doing nothing so Mom and I went into town and hit the Barnes and Noble so we'd all have reading materials for our do nothing day. Have I mentioned I love to read? Well, I come by it very naturally as my whole family is avid readers and actually enjoyed spending the day reading!!



By spending the day Wednesday reading, however, we jinxed ourselves as we woke up Thursday to a gloomy dreary day. After preparing the house for the storm we thought was coming, we decided to make the most of the day and go for a drive to the North Shore (which is a scenic drive along Lake Superior.) So, my mom, the kids and I stopped at a gas station for a detailed map, and the clerk told my mom if she really wanted a neat drive we should go to Ely and maybe we'd see moose. Little did I know my mom had really been dying to see moose. So, we drove up to Ely, which is almost to the Canadian border. It really is beautiful up there....we stumbled upon a place called the North American Bear Center where they are rehabilitating bears. That's where we got up close and personal with 3 bears....Ted, Honey, and Lucky. Here's Ted....


Then we went to the It was also a place where they had wolves in their natural environment. Very cool. Now all we had to see were moose. Nope, there wasn't a museum for that! :) We drove the North Shore looking all over for them, but it was not our day. The moose were hiding. We did, however, see a wild fox, and about 6 deer (R told us they just don't have very big brains b/c they don't know to not run into the road....how true!!) Anyway, we got home about 11:00 pm with very tired kids. It turned out to be a great day!
Split Rock on the North Shore



And Friday, we packed, said our very sad goodbyes, and headed to CF. J had a birthday party to attend on Saturday, so we stayed for that, and then headed home to Kville. We had a fabulous trip, and can't wait to go again.



It's now back to reality and laundry and dishes and cooking and the uneventfulness that is our life. :) It's good to be back.



Missy