Exploring Duluth With Still Another Cousin!

My sister Susan and cousin John and I were supposed to pick up John's sister, Annette, at the Minneapolis Airport on our way to Duluth last week, but her flight was canceled, and so we headed up there without her. She would rent a car and join us the next day. I really like Duluth - it is located on hills overlooking Lake Superior, and is filled with old Victorian homes, not to mention some great places to dine. We had dinner at the Tavern on the Hill, a very lively restaurant and bar, just across the street from the University of Minnesota Duluth (a hockey rival of my dear old alma matter, the University of Denver, no less). As I was driving back to the hotel, I took the photograph on the left, which shows what great views many homeowners have from their neighborhoods. Of course, Duluth is the coldest city in Minnesota, and so perhaps, like Nebraska, it is not for everyone, at least in the winter.

Cousin Annette was not going to arrive until 1:00 P.M., when we planned to hike into the family property south of Herbster, Wisconsin (which was definitely not the highlight of the trip. More about that later). Since it was such a warm and pleasant morning, we decided to do some sightseeing before Annette arrived. We traveled the length of Skyline Parkway, which crosses Duluth along the tops of those hills, drove down to Lake Superior via Seven Bridges Road, and stopped to walk for a bit on a beach on Park Point Península, where I took the photograph on the right of Cousin John.

The next day we returned to another beach on Park Point Peninsula with Cousin Annette, and as can be seen in the photograph on the left, it was a bit on the stormy side. The weather forecast was for rain and strong winds all day, but happily, although it was gloomy until just before sunset, the rain, for the most part, held off, and we were able to do sightseeing the entire day, finishing with a nice dinner at Bellisio's Italian Restaurant and Wine Bar, located at Canal Park, the entertainment district for Duluth. All in all, a very good day.

Looking at the photograph on the right of Lake Superior, you can understand how the Edmund Fitzgerald could disappear under Lake Superior without a trace. And believe it or not, despite those waves and the cold temperatures, there were surfers on the beach at Park Point Peninsula. At least they were wearing wet suits, but still, the weather up here must make a lot of people go crazy. Very friendly people, but crazy none the less. It takes one to know one, right?