The view from Canal Park has always been a favorite!This summer Mark and I decided it would be fun to get away for a few days and take a vacation together as a family. We threw out lots of ideas, but ultimately decided to stay in Minnesota and go to Duluth for a few days. Mark took a whole week off, which left us with ten glorious days up north and three days by Lake Superior.
We stayed at the Edgewater, which turned out, surprisingly, to be a lot of fun. We were a bit worried because earlier this summer Anthony refused to go to swimming lessons and wanted nothing to do with the water. Turns out, though, he is quite the water bug and even got brave enough to go do the kids' water slides by himself as well as jump into the pool for me to catch him. He loved the lazy river, as did I, and we both giggled as daddy "drove" like he was stuck in rush hour traffic on 94.
All of this, however, almost didn't happen. When I was checking in there was no reservation for the Hanson Hat Trick at all. (Darn Internet!) Luckily, I had printed off my confirmation number with reservations dates, room and (great!) rate information. Somehow everything got screwed up when I made the reservation online and they didn't have a room available for us at that rate and for those dates. Joe, the great college kid, helped me out and we actually did get a room; however, I would highly recommend staying in their newly built facility. The old part was a bit moldy, falling a part and "interesting"... Lucky for them we're pretty easy to please.
I had my heart set on taking a long walk along Lake Superior and ending up in Canal Park. While we were in Duluth temperatures never went past 55 and it rained most of the time, which made that idea impossible. I'm thankful the weather cleared up enough that were were able to drive down to Canal Park so that Anthony could see all those white birds, watch the bridge lift up, see sail boats and throw some rocks into the lake. He had a great time and the hours flew past as we spent time exploring and having some cheap family fun.
The absolutely highlight for Anthony, though, came later when we took a train ride up to the Lester River on the North Shore Scenic Railroad. We decided to take the shortest train ride because we weren't sure how well he would do, but it's clear that we could have continued up the North Shore to Two Harbors and he would have been fine. He LOVED everything about the train and was completely enthralled with the entire experience. I enjoyed it as well and loved the history that was shared regarding the trains and Duluth area, but nothing could top watching Anthony's joy. He still talks about that train ride and can tell anyone who is willing to listen what color the train was, etc. etc. etc. I highly recommend doing this with your family if you're ever in the Duluth area. On the ride up we saw lots of wildlife while on the ride back we were able to stare out at Lake Superior. It was quite the experience.
Overall, we had such a great time. I am so thankful we are able to do things like this and spend time together as a family.
We stayed at the Edgewater, which turned out, surprisingly, to be a lot of fun. We were a bit worried because earlier this summer Anthony refused to go to swimming lessons and wanted nothing to do with the water. Turns out, though, he is quite the water bug and even got brave enough to go do the kids' water slides by himself as well as jump into the pool for me to catch him. He loved the lazy river, as did I, and we both giggled as daddy "drove" like he was stuck in rush hour traffic on 94.
All of this, however, almost didn't happen. When I was checking in there was no reservation for the Hanson Hat Trick at all. (Darn Internet!) Luckily, I had printed off my confirmation number with reservations dates, room and (great!) rate information. Somehow everything got screwed up when I made the reservation online and they didn't have a room available for us at that rate and for those dates. Joe, the great college kid, helped me out and we actually did get a room; however, I would highly recommend staying in their newly built facility. The old part was a bit moldy, falling a part and "interesting"... Lucky for them we're pretty easy to please.
I had my heart set on taking a long walk along Lake Superior and ending up in Canal Park. While we were in Duluth temperatures never went past 55 and it rained most of the time, which made that idea impossible. I'm thankful the weather cleared up enough that were were able to drive down to Canal Park so that Anthony could see all those white birds, watch the bridge lift up, see sail boats and throw some rocks into the lake. He had a great time and the hours flew past as we spent time exploring and having some cheap family fun.
The absolutely highlight for Anthony, though, came later when we took a train ride up to the Lester River on the North Shore Scenic Railroad. We decided to take the shortest train ride because we weren't sure how well he would do, but it's clear that we could have continued up the North Shore to Two Harbors and he would have been fine. He LOVED everything about the train and was completely enthralled with the entire experience. I enjoyed it as well and loved the history that was shared regarding the trains and Duluth area, but nothing could top watching Anthony's joy. He still talks about that train ride and can tell anyone who is willing to listen what color the train was, etc. etc. etc. I highly recommend doing this with your family if you're ever in the Duluth area. On the ride up we saw lots of wildlife while on the ride back we were able to stare out at Lake Superior. It was quite the experience.
Overall, we had such a great time. I am so thankful we are able to do things like this and spend time together as a family.
Cheese! I still get a kick out of his new smile that he's developed this summer. He really liked these two characters, but not as much as being in the water. On our last night there he went down the yellow slide 17 times in a row. Lots of times he was getting splashed with water, but nothing was deterring him from having fun. He would wipe his eyes, look at me for reassurance and then take off again.
The bridge was a lot of fun to watch go up and down. We were bummed, though, that a big ship didn't come through. He would have really loved to see that!
Throwing rocks was as fun as always especially when daddy plays with you too!
"What are we doing here?"
"I get to go on that?! YAY!" Anthony definitely had a permanent smile on his face when he realized that was the train we were going to get on.
He was very serious at first...
But he ended up having a great time!The funniest moment for Mark and I was when we smelled something "interesting" radiating from our little guy. The train had stopped so I brought him to the bathroom to change his diaper. To my surprise, though, there was nothing. Within moments of walking back and having a seat the smell persisted. We were a bit baffled until Anthony declared that he wasn't pooping, but rather he had gas. I believe his exact words, very simple and serious, was, "I have gas, Daddy". This sent us into a fit of laughter. What a goofy little boy we've been blessed with!
1 comment:
I'm in love with his new 'cheese' smile... it is better than nothing at all! I'm so glad you guys were able to get away and have a good time in Duluth. The train ride looks like a lot of fun and something I'd like to go on in the fall!
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