Duluth - planes, trains and automobiles

Auntie, Evie and I at Gooseberry Falls

Mommy and I made a quick trip to Minnesota last weekend so she could interview at some of the region's top hospitals for jobs starting next year. Our first stop was a quick 25-minute flight from the Twin Cities to Duluth, Minnesota. Auntie Annie, Grandma Jojo and cousin Evie drove up to meet us. We got a MustSeeDuluth pass ($34pp) and spent the weekend exploring the city. On Saturday, we took the Vista Fleet Harbor Cruise to learn about the Port of Duluth-Superior, the largest and busiest port in the Great Lakes and the farthest inland freshwater seaport in North America, averaging over 38 million short tons of cargo and over 1000 vessel visits each year. It ranks in the top 20 by tonnage in the US - just ahead of Seattle (#30) and Tacoma (#28) - and does so in only 9 months! Tugboats and Coast Guard icebreakers keep the shipping channels open as long as possible but big winter storms can be devastating for these heavy ships, as was the case in Edmund Fitzgerald, which vanished in 1975. All the big ships must enter the Duluth Ship Canal beneath the Aerial Lift Bridge, an icon of the city. There are some ships that are too big to enter the locks along the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway and only transport goods on Lake Superior. Other ships pass the 16 lock sets to the Atlantic Ocean to carry goods (coal, steel, etc.) to Europe and beyond.


We enjoyed some delicious Mac 'N Cheese at the Lake Cafe before nap time at the Sheraton Hotel. Mommy and Auntie went shopping while Grandma stayed back to "babysit" and take a nap with us. However, our slumber was cut short because we had reservations for a 3P.M. North Shore Scenic railroad on the old Lakefront rail line. Originally constructed to ensure the timely delivery of supplies, materials and personnel to the rapidly growing settlements of the Vermilion Range during the iron ore boom in the early 1900s, Wealthy families from Chicago and other major Midwestern cities enjoyed the splendid train rides to their summer homes in the area. The girls enjoyed hiding behind the seats and exploring the 1918 train car. The train ride started and ended at the old Duluth Union Depot that has been turned into a multipurpose building and houses eight different organizations, including the North Shore Railroad Museum, St. Louis Country historical society, Duluth Art Institute, and Minnesota Ballet. Saturday night we drove up along Old Highway 61 to Superior Shores Resort where we ate a king prime rib the size of your head! Mommy said she had repleted her iron stores for the next month and could return to Seattle and resume her seafood and vegetarian diet.

The Northern Shore Railroad

Sunday we headed to the Great Lakes Aquarium where the girls got to see a few river otters and lots of fresh water fish. They had a fun tree house with a slide that they played on and a giant set of water tables made to resemble the Great Lakes with locks in between them and boats to play with. Then Grandma, Auntie, Evie and I headed up the North Shore to Gooseberry Falls while Mommy prepared for her interviews. The rest of the week I hung out in the Twin Cities with Evie. Mommy got to meet her cousin Molly's new adorable baby, Elly Hallman, otherwise she was very busy meeting with lots of people to talk about moving back to Minnesota after she's done with cardiology fellowship. Fingers crossed! Theo says he wants to live behind Auntie Annie and Uncle Eric, just like Chris and Angela who live behind us.  We'll see!
We are headed to the awesome Blue Mountain Retreat on the Olympic Peninsula in two weekends with Theo's PEPS group - 14 adults and 12 kids under 5. Can't wait!

Not happy about the horns

Hating the horns

Tug boats

Running in a 1918 train car

1950s train car

I thought I lost her but she was hiding between the seats!

Evie and the big fish

No tides here, just waves from Lake Superior on the beach