June 23, 2008 - A trip to Duluth

Well, this is actually from 2 weeks back, but I am a bit behind in my blogging.

Duluth is a beautiful city on the shore of Lake Superior. It is a favorite of Michael. He loves Canal Park and is always enthusiastic about a trip to the North Shore. We usually take his best friend, Christopher with us and they have a wonderful time.

We decided to try the surrey bicycles this time. It is a nice way to see the lake, get a bit of exercise - ok, a lot of exercise if you are carting 110 pounds worth of shrieking, giggling girls - and not end up carrying girls who want to run and play in the water. It was a beautiful day, but I wouldn't recommend swimming in Lake Superior. Even at the hottest point of the summer the water is icy cold.

We rode to the end of the park, out to the lighthouse, under the Lift Bridge - we even got to see one of the very large ships go under the bridge and the back to the rocks on the shore. Randy and I pedalled the traditional surrey bike and the boys each drove a roadster model. It was a beautiful day. Both Caelia and Lera loved going so fast, with the breeze blowing in their faces. They weren't particularly thrilled with the helmets however!

After our bike ride, we went to the park to chase seagulls and play and climb amongst the rocks. The rocks provide protection for the shore from Lake Superior. The wind blows all the time and the water is very rough. Lake Superior is one of two or three (I can't remember at the moment which) lakes which have riptides. The other one that I know of is in Russia. Michael would be willing to spend the whole day climbing amongst these boulders. He always finds treasures - rocks and pieces of debris - that have washed up on the shore or been dropped by other visitors.
Caelia and Lera spotted the horse-drawn carriages and became very excited. This is kind of expensive but really enjoyable and informative. Our driver had lots of wonderful trivia about the area (she was the one that told me about riptides). Lera had 2 firsts this day - first bike ride and first carriage ride, I think she enjoyed both immensely. Our driver allowed Caelia and Lera to take the reins for a little bit. Lera wasn't sure about this, but Caelia was very pleased. Caelia loves carriage rides. She sits up very tall, smiles at everyone she sees and does the best "parade wave" that I have ever seen. My brother, Brandon, was Mr. Columbia Heights and taught her the wave when she was about 3 and she has been doing it ever since.