Golf, Forrest, Golf!

I am 100% sure Forrest Gump did not engage in golf or anything we would welcome as some sort of free  engagement today. But since I had my t-shirt of the day, I figured I better share it!

OMG! It was forever ago that a I bought that t-shirt and we had our vacation in Fort Lauderdale. Not sure what to even compare it to. But I feel good that we all were smiling then and were smiling again this weekend.

It was fun to eat (and buy a t-shirt) from the Bubba Gump restaurant. That was when I also learned that "Jenny and me are like peas an carrots." I heard it in the movie. But it was definitely reinforced in the restaurant. 

Thanks, Bubba Gump, and thanks to our friends Mike and Christine for making this hot trip happen!

Stretching Our Boundaries

Remember in 1988 when Tom Hanks wished to be "BIG"? Turns out you don't even need a magical Zoltar machine to make your wish come true!

If you time it right as the sun lowers in the sky, you can stretch your 5-foot-2-inch frame to 6 feet easily. And look at those long legs going on for miles!! 

Sorry, Zoltar and fake fortune-tellers, but you've been replaced by nature.

Also, once again, I am completely admitting to being a dork. We just happen to be in the midst of a "steps challenge" at work so I am out and about much more than my usual lazy ass is used to. So I start noticing weird things like shadows. And which cows at the neighboring farm acknowledge me when I say "good morning."

You know, the important things!

It's interesting that when my sister Rayna headed out from here yesterday she was going to enjoy an overnight stay in Wisconsin Dells, less than an hour from here. On the way there she visited Roche Cri State Park down the road, which we haven't done in ages. And this morning enjoyed a boat tour of the Upper Dells. I really want to do that!

Sometimes we get so stuck in our routines, we forget to stretch our boundaries – even just a little – and take advantage of some pretty cool things close to home! Also, some dorky things. But a lot are pretty neat! 

Go forth – and stretch your boundaries!

Salute! Let's Get into Hee-Haw Mode!

It probably goes without saying that our sheltered "screen time" growing up included The Waltons, Little House on the Prairie, Lawrence Welk, and Hee-Haw. Not that there's anything wrong with that, right?

Even though my twin Raylene and I were NOT identical, we put on mop heads and trucker hats and pretended to be the Hager Twins on Hee-Haw many Saturdays.

Fast forward 40 some years and suddenly I'm about to perform in a Hee-Haw revival show!

I think I've mentioned a few times that hubby has long-time connections with some friends in Rudolph – just north of Rapids by about 15 minutes. This amazing family that he performs with the church "guitar choir" are descendants, I guess, of parents that presented the first Hee-Haw type variety show some 40-plus years ago.

Now we both are somehow a part of it.

Here are the details of our upcoming "variety show" for lack of a better description! Lots of songs. Lots of corny jokes. And plenty of throw backs to the Hee-Haw show. 

Since Jim and I are both "cast members," let us know if you want tickets!

We're proud to be a part of the new Yee-Haw production!

Special Night at the Club

When it's your turn to host book club AND it's your birthday month, you can do whatever you want. And tonight our friend Cindy went all out.

First, we normally just meet at a coffee shop or restaurant and the host (book picker for the month) asks questions and leads discussion. This time, though, Cindy had us over to her house (right across the street from me) and we had two special returning members. My friend Christine, who founded the club with me some 13 years ago, is back in town.

And my sister Rayna drove 225 miles from Up North just to be here for it. The book was that moving for her!

Our book was This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page. It tells the story of a young grieving wife whose husband arranged for her to receive a book a month for a year. Books he picked and accompanied with a letter revealing their meaning and why he felt she'd enjoy them, etc.

As someone who's lost her husband, Rayna connected with the main character, and didn't want to miss our discussion. That was awesome to have her there!

But it wasn't all sadness tonight. Far from it. Cindy fed us great food and she had all kinds of games – including BINGO, where we all were allowed to win once, then pick a wrapped/surprise book. I got Slow Dance and Rayna got Dreamland.

By the smiles you can see we all liked our winnings! So thoughtful and fun. Really sets the bar high for us other hostesses in the future! My book was last month so I'm off the hook for a bit.

By the way, my t-shirt of the day has the word "peace" in several different languages of countries where Carter's work company has foreign exchange students. He gave me that this weekend. Pretty cool. Did you know in Norway, "fred" means "peace"? Now you know.

Fred to you all – and be sure to keep sharing those great reads out there!

North Shore Sharing

We took a long weekend to go see our boy Carter and his girlfriend Mamie in Duluth. They've only been there a few months and hubby has never been there so I took the opportunity to share some of my favorite North Shore places and discover a few new ones!

Since the "kids" were working on Friday we set a tee time to golf somewhere in Duluth. 

Grand View had some decent far away views and it was a shorter course than we usually play so obviously, that means I had a better score than normal!

Thus my smile here. And hubby should have had a much bigger smile after chipping in for some birdies!

 

As we drove from there to our hotel, we just happened to see Mamie's workplace. She works at Maurices headquarters, which we all admitted a few months ago had no idea that was in Duluth!

Our home for the weekend was Canal Park Lodge – obviously located right in Canal Park for those of you who know.

This was my anniversary gift to hubby so I wanted a great experience for his first time up there. I got a king suite with a balcony that faced the lake! You might be surprised how many places are boasting a city view. If you book up there, pay attention!

So from our balcony we had a great view of the lake they call "Gitchee Gumee" and the boardwalk that runs clear from here down to the lighthouse and the infamous lift bridge.

And plenty of views of various watercraft. Though most were too far away to focus unless we hustled down the boardwalk a half mile or so. Which we did not.

This is the one side of the lodge that faces the water directly. We were on the third floor.

Jim and I ventured down to the water and realized the whole shoreline was rocks – and a lot of flat rocks great for skipping. Which is why we saw parents and kids by the dozen line up on shore this weekend while their kids "learned" to skip rocks. Jim was brave and took off his shoes and waded in just to experience the "refreshing" Lake Superior temperature. But the rocks were a bit much! Ouch.

Friday evening when the kids were done with work, they suggested we meet at Bridgeman's restaurant. A great diner with super huge proportions... and ice cream!!

I had their Peppermint Bon Bon for dessert even though I didn't have room for it!

But who can resist LARGE ice cream sizes? Not me!

This is their food truck outside the restaurant. I imagine it's wildly popular!

After dinner, the kids (I am sure that they hate that I call them that) walked the short distance from their apartment to our hotel patio. It was a great setting with plenty of tables and a fire pit for those who wanted it.

That's when it was revealed they stayed behind at Bridgeman's and got us some extra birthday gifts. I saw this hat and loved it! And they paid attention! 💓

On Saturday I had a North Shore agenda but the first stop was seeing their apartment. We loved it! A nice, spacious 2-bedroom with much more space than we've seen in previous dwellings.

Updated appliances and everything we'd want for them. But how unfair they get a dishwasher and I had wait until a good decade past that age?? Ha.

After that, I said, let's head to the North Shore. If you don't know where it is in relation to Duluth, just follow the signs!

My first destination was Gooseberry Falls State Park to see the great waterfalls I've seen a few times. There are three different levels to these falls – upper, middle and lower.

They're all spectacular, in my opinion. But is IS a lot steps whether you go up to the upper first of down to the lowest. You somehow have to get back to the parking lot!

 

Just so pretty though. And obviously a busy tourist attraction. So many people!

Sun finally came out. Sorry to make you squint, kids!

All these tree roots growing in rocks was also so crazy!

After Gooseberry, I insisted we go view my favorite lighthouse at Split Rock.

I call this one "This little light of mine." And I'll admit I'm a dork.

After that, it was natural progression to a favorite place of my sisters and me – Betty's Pies.

I had the best slice of Coconut Creme Pie and everyone else gave 2 thumbs up to their selection. Crazy how busy the place was but we could understand why. Yum!

When we got back to Duluth, we dropped the kids off and had some free time for napping or whatever. I finally walked down to the lighthouses. Probably only half a mile away, but it was hot that day.

I saw a bunch of "kids" jumping off this random concrete structure in the harbor there. Can any of you Duluthians shed some light what that is?

I thought they were crazy... then hubby captured me plunging into the freezing water because I was hot and needed some relief. Thank god this was from our balcony so you don't see too many details! 

Last evening, we found a place called Tavern on the Hill that had a little bit everything. The place is pretty big and located close to the two colleges so I am sure it's busy during the school year.

Everyone's portion sizes were huge so we'll see when I get around to finishing up my Hot Honey chicken!

Our Saturday evening vibe from our balcony was so serene. Loved it!

This morning we woke up and wondered who stole Lake Superior while we slept. Definitely could not see the shoreline or any water! Crazy!

So we changed our plans. We were going to go up Enger Tower to get a full view of the city, but we knew that wasn't realistic with the fog. So we we went to nearby Lester Park in search of a waterfall within the city of Duluth.

Well, we picked the wrong challenging hike. The "raging" waterfall was on the the opposite side of the park. But still, it was getting so warm and humid already that we decided that was OK for today.

Still pretty! Give it a chance!

Typical Duluth harbor view as we hit the road to head home!

Stopped for lunch in Bloomer at the Bohemian (hubby's heritage) bakery and diner where we've eaten before.

If you go, I found that just ONE of their "world famous" oatmeal pancakes with blueberries was enough. Depends on your appetite!

We got home late this afternoon to this crazy heatwave. We had plenty to do before our work week starts. But we're just smiling. We had a great weekend with the kids and we all found a place we wouldn't mind visiting again.

Just not in the winter.

Hope you all had a great weekend, too!