Sunrise on Lake Superior

Anniversary Adventure Part II

Pink Marshmallow Hiker

After bundling up and waiting patiently for Mommy and Daddy to get ready, Brianna was ready for more hiking adventures of our anniversary getaway.

As mentioned previously, the leaves had disappeared a few weeks ago but the landscape was still quite stunning showing off its pre-winter colors and preparation. 

It's hard to see (actually impossibly) in this picture, but Lake Superior is the white space in the upper right.

Brianna is a great traveler. She enjoys soaking in God's beauty as much as we do, but it's a lot easier for her to take a break from sight seeing as she simply closes her eyes and continues to plod along at a steady pace. No worries of tripping over rocks or falling down cliffs (yet) as Daddy carries her on his back. What a great travel companion!

Brianna wanted to spend the night here but I convinced her it might get a little cold with no door!

We explored the Grand Portage National Monument as much as we could with it being Sunday and it was closed. There were a few signs to read and some cool tee-pee peeking. One sign informed us the Voyageurs had to carry two 90 pound...yes I said TWO... packs 8-1/2 miles over land to avoid the high waterfall (pictured below). Wow...here I am complaining about carrying a 20 pound pack for a 2 mile hike! I'll stick to my day job!

It doesn't look very impressive here, but an informative sign said 3200 gallons flows per second. Woah.

Look closely and you can see the remains of the old 1890 log flume at the upper right. And yes, in case you were wondering, that IS Canada! I know...exciting, right?

These unique rock formations were nestled at the base of the waterfall.

The short one mile trek to see the High Falls was either paved or board-walked so Brianna was able to roll is style.

Of course I like being outside! Especially in the north woods with Mommy and Daddy!

Our day concluded with an afternoon tea at Naniboujou Lodge. I remember my grandpa taking me and my cousin Andy there when we were kids and learning the interesting history of this North Shore Lodge. You can read more about it here. It was fun to experience this place with Eme and Brianna with a relaxing cup of tea.

To be continued...

Packer Hinterland

A co-worker and I had the opportunity to see the Vikes take on the Packers at Lambeau Field for the Sunday night game. We arrived Sunday afternoon for some tailgating at a house right next door to the stadium...strange. We headed into the stadium, found our suite* and settled in for the game. The game didn't turn out that well, but it was a great day of Vikings-Packer rivalry atmosphere.

We took a tour of Lambeau (Packer Shrine) Monday morning and headed back to the Twin Cities, thus concluding our Green Bay experience. 

*A little note about watching games in suites (with a sarcastic flair). We were fortunate to be able to watch the game from the comfort of a suite. This really makes for a superior event experience as mingling with the "Common Folk" really ruins the overall enjoyment of the game. I much prefer to take an elevator to my very own (with 15 other people) private box. Upon arrival in the suite, I am greeted by the host and instructed to partake in the overabundance of food and drink. TV's are on with different games and stats so I can keep track of my fantasy football team (if I had one) and for replay viewing. After loading my plate with food I stake out my front row seat and notice the windows in this stadium are inoperable, meaning they stay closed all the time. Some stadiums (Target Field, Miller Park and most modern stadiums) provide an option of indoor and outdoor suite seats. A disappointment for sure. But feeling claustrophobic and not wanting this to ruin my experience, I start to look around at the Commoners below finding their aluminum bench seat amongst the throng of their fellow "pay-for-your-own-food-and-beer" fans. For me, a couple more trips to the food bar end my meal just before game time. The game starts and it's nothing but padded seats, a temperature controlled room, and a great view of the field...from six stories up. The icing on the cake (would have been a Vikings win) for tonight was the desert cart that rolled by our Suite 6007 just after half-time. A shot of ice cold Baily's in a chocolate "glass" was all I could muster this time around. Some days I prefer to sit in the midst of the Common Crowd to get a true flavor and mood of the game. However, on this fine Sunday evening in Green Bay, I sat with royalty.

Sharing Time With Cousins

What a fun family Sunday! While Jon was on his way to Lambeau Field, my two sisters, their husbands, their kids, my mom and dad, and Houston (my sisters husband's mentee) came over for the afternoon. We were able to carve a few pumpkins and enjoy a slightly gloomy day by taking a few pictures outside in the leaves. Let me just say it is difficult to capture a photo of four little ones who are always in motion. Notice Brianna just investigating a leaf... that's pretty much what she did the entire time! It was a fantastic way to spend a fall day. Thanks for the smiles and laughter today!

Anniversary Adventure Part I

A few weeks ago, Jon and I celebrated our 6 year anniversary! It has been an amazing 6 year adventure, with twists and turns - so what better way to celebrate than to attend Jon's 10-year high school reunion. There was a little sarcasm in that statement, but it really was a fun time. I got to see again or meet for the first time Jon's friends and Jon was able to reminisce; it just wasn't exactly how we both pictured spending our anniversary. So for our second celebration, we headed on a northern adventure a week later.

Most of the adventure was a surprise to me as Jon planned where we were going to stay, what we were going to do and the meals we would be eating. It was so much fun to get away for a long weekend and just enjoy each other (including Brianna) and the outdoors.

Friday morning we packed up and headed to N&N's to drop off Eko and enjoy a bite to eat with them before heading out for good (thanks for the yummy soup!). Friday night we stayed in Duluth. We took their skyway system down to the pier, looked around a bit and ate dinner.

Saturday, we woke up with our Brianna alarm clock and decided to hit the road as soon as we were packed back up. On the way to our Saturday night destination, we stopped to get in some hiking. There are so many hikes up north it's hard to choose which ones to do. We had fun exploring and walking in the woods at Tettegouche State Park's high falls and shovel point. We arrived in Grand Marais later that afternoon. We walked around town and capped off our evening by eating the awesome Sven and Ole's pizza. What a fabulous day!

To be continued...

Adapting to Change

This week we learned that Brianna has a Gluten sensitivity. Yup... Gluten. Neither Jon or I have allergies, at least that we know about (or might want to accept), so this news came as a little bit of a surprise. She was/is eating mainly fruits and vegetables, but we still had to take a closer eye at what finger foods we had around the house for her and make some adjustments. So far this week... a success!

Right now I'm on Gluten overload - not literally (though there are a lot of things I love that contain gluten), there is just a lot to learn and adjust to in a short amount of time. Thankfully there is a heightened awareness to gluten sensitivities and celiac disease these days, that it is somewhat easier to spot gluten-free foods without reading every label. We still have much to learn, but I would do anything to help Brianna feel better. Hurray for new challenges!

Any tips or websites that others have found useful?

Your Smile Brightens Mine

I love the changing of the colors in the fall; it's my favorite time of year. We have quite a collection of leaves, ever growing in our backyard. This afternoon, I thought I would take the opportunity for a mini amateur photo shoot with Brianna. She studied and examined each leaf, and to my surprise didn't put any in her mouth.