I Will Race You To the Waterside

Thursday. June 16, 2011
  Today was the best day.  We got up early and drove to Two Harbors, MN.  What's there you ask?  Lighthouses!  Our first stop (well, after my stop at a gas station to use the facilities), was Split Rock Lighthouse!  I went there with Kaleb when my niece Ana got baptized, but Kaleb was only six months old, so he doesn't remember it.  I really love Lake Superior.  I don't know why but bodies of water make me really happy.  The ocean is my favorite, but lakes and rivers will do the trick, too.  If I believed in zodiac signs and that stuff, I would say it's because I am a water sign.  Maybe it is.  Maybe I just appreciate the beauty and power of water.  I really love the sound of the waves on the shore and the way it moves.  I should learn to swim.
   After Split Rock, we drove to the lighthouse in Two Harbors, too.  I've never been to this one, so it was a treat to go and see it.  It's not as big, but it is still beautiful.  Lighthouses are really ingenious.  The idea of something out there to help keep sailors safe is just nice, and makes me smile.  Lighthouse keepers really took their jobs seriously, and I think that is comforting.
  We stopped in Duluth for dinner at Grandma's Saloon and Grill.  It was a great place, and can only be found in Minnesota.  There are a few of them around, but only in that state.  They have great food - a little something for everybody, and they are very family friendly.  I loved the kid's menu.  It said something like "If you are really good you can have dessert!"  We didn't get dessert.  Zach cried.  Literally.  He's a little old to be crying like a three-year-old just because he didn't get dessert, but this trip is revealing to us just how spoiled our children really are.  They just expect to get what they want, and when they don't, it's not always pretty.
    But it was still a really good day.  Nobody can spoil this vacation for me.  Nobody!  Not even the fact that it has rained every day since Tuesday!  I love rain!  Bring it on!

 Father/Son make a face for my picture!

 This is such a great post card!

 This was our tour guide at the Lighthouse.

 It wasn't raining at the lighthouse.  It was more like misting.  Which I thought was cool.

 Split Rock Lighthouse and its Keeper.  In the mist, it looked kind of eerie, but it was so awesome!

 The mechanism.

 The lighthouse keeper.  He was explaining that this stove would not have been in the lighthouse while the lighthouse was working.  It was put in to help tourists keep warm after the lighthouse was closed.

 This is the light.

 What a nice pantry!  It's bigger than mine.

 One of the children's rooms in the Keeper's house.

 This is a keeper's uniform.

 Heading down to Lake Superior!

 Split Rock Lighthouse as seen from the shore of Lake Superior.

 Can you see why I love it there?

 Another reason why I love it there.

 Throwing rocks in Lake Superior.

 The waves.

 Two Harbors Lighthouse.

 Kaleb in the Pilot House.

The view from the window at the top of the tower.

Kurtis chasing the kids around in the grass.  Good times.

We ate dinner here.

 Michele and her family checking out the menu.

 I wasn't kidding when I said he cried.

Their menus are so cool!

 I just loved this tug boat in Duluth.

 This bridge is really cool.  Apparently when boats come by, it raises up on both sides instead of opening up in the middle and lifting up.  It's one of a kind.

 Skipping rocks in Lake Superior.  Kurtis got six skips with one rock.  Impressive.