Hello, blog friends. I am back home and using my computer since I realize something went crazy wonky when I used my phone instead! :(
Instead of Mother Superior, I have a Sister Superior – as in one who finds healing powers from the shores of Lake Superior!
As I mentioned last week, a civil trial that was supposed to provide some closure for my sister Rachel was called off last minute. Since I had taken the week off to be her supportive wing man, when she said she needed an escape to the North Shore, I said let's go!
I picked her up in Luck around noon on Sunday. Since we knew rain was predicted Monday and Tuesday, we decided to get our "outdoor viewing" opportunities done on Sunday. So we went past Duluth and up to Gooseberry Falls.
And the falls had so much more water flowing compared to when Jim and I were up there visiting Carter in July.
As we walked back to parking lot I realized that when I am walking with someone using a cane that we walk much slower – but also have time to observe more.
Like we both spotted this leaf with a heart-shaped hole! That was awesome.
Then I'm like, Rachel I see another heart! Well that wasn't quite as natural but definitely crazy within 5 minutes of each other!
After the park, we headed down to Two Harbors (on our ultimate destination of Duluth). When we were there in July, all the road construction prevented us from seeing the lighthouses there. This time we got lucky.
Very cool to see since the lighthouses were in "working mode" and shone their lights!
Also, it was by pure coincidence that the day after (last night) there was a huge fire there in their gift shop area. We did not touch it!!
Something we hadn't taken into account was that as the first day of Daylight Savings Time, the sun was going to set before 5! We bypassed our favorite Betty's Pies in hopes of driving up on our rainy Monday. We found out later it's only open Saturday and Sunday in the off-season. Dang!
We didn't have much sun during the day Sunday, but it came out in time to set!
By the time we got back to the hotel, it felt like it was 10 p.m.! We decided to walk half a block to the Canal Park Brewery for a quick bite.
Walked back to the hotel on the boardwalk and were reminded there are lots of "fall colors" in Duluth.
With the time change and walking (plus driving) all day, we were ready to call it a day at 8:30 p.m.! Way too much to adjust to in one day!
And trust me, we were prepared to be snowed in (or something) for days. For the record, we never touched any of these!!
Monday morning the view from our balcony illustrated the exact weather – cold and windy! At some point we decided "Do we sit in this hotel room all day or put on our rain gear and chase a waterfall?"
We chased a waterfall – or two. When we were in Duluth this summer, Jim, Carter, and Mamie and I hiked around Lester Park to find a decent-sized waterfall. Unfortunately we were in the wrong side of the park so I made sure Rachel and I could find it.
Pretty awesome!
After that we did a little shopping and parked in a "stakeout" of sorts waiting for an ice cream place to open at 2 p.m. Even though we were soaking wet and cold, a friend of mine recommended this place so we waited (for 6 minutes that felt like 20, ha).
Excellent homemade ice cream. I had a carrot cake concoction and Rachel had blackberry something.
For our Monday evening, I finally got to see two of my favorite sights on the North Shore – Carter and Mamie.
So great to see them. And we had an excellent meal at Sir Benedict's Tavern on the Lake. I was adventurous and had a Cuban Pork sandwich which was carnitas topped with an avocado spread and sriracha and pepper jack cheese. So good. I might have to change my opinion about avocados.
It was just so nice to see them and catch up!
We checked out of the hotel today but since it was a late checkout (11 a.m.) we hit the hot tub/whirlpool first since we were still chilled to the bone from yesterday's many outings in the rain.
When we did finally check out, we hit up Voyageur Donuts (upon the recommendation of Carter and Mamie) and it was soooooo delicious!!
I dropped Rachel off in the early afternoon and headed home. We had jokingly talked about being some of the few sisters that didn't have tattoos. I said maybe I'd start with piercings – as in my ear holes closed years ago.
So I stopped into Claire's at Oakwood Mall in Eau Claire and asked to be re-pierced. At first I was going to get two holes in each ear. Then I chickened out. But I have one on each lobe done.
Of course Jim was skeptical when I said I have some piercings to care for. I don't even want to know what he was thinking or hoping for.
I'm just grateful for time on the North Shore to help my sister keep her major concerns at bay. So nice to not think about anything else! 💗
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