Being locked out of vessels of knowledge

So next we went in search of the SS Meteor.  The last whaleback freighter that isn't sunk.  It did run aground at one point or another, but they moved it to Superior and cut a big hole in it and made a museum of the vessel.

 Unfortunately for us, it was the off season, and the place was locked up.  So we took pictures of the outside.  

And went to Enger Tower, where I locked us out of the minivan.

Luckily for us, the sliding door didn't lock right away. And we crawled in and unlocked the front seat.

Aquarius

I should at some point finish these posts about the trip to Duluth and if I do it before a month has past, then that would be even better.

These are pictures from the Duluth Aquarium.  Which was actually a very interesting aquarium in that all the tanks were freshwater.

They have a bunch of Sturgeon and trout.  HUGE trout.  See the guy swimming by the trout?  

Also, being able to change ISO so easily is awesome.

not a greek drama

I would like to start off by saying that the movie was very suspenseful, well developed, and mortified me.  We just watched Straw Dogs, that old movie with Dustin Hoffman when he was like 12.  

According to Imdb the movie had an "unprecedented amount of onscreen violence."  

It was 

all it needed was a chorus

and wings

GAHHHH!

Lake Walk

The lake walk started beyond our hotel and continues down to the lift bridge.  

A nice little jaunt, but still covered in ice and snow in places.  And water the rest of it.  I kept trying to find places to step on the snow and filling my shoes with slush.  Have I mentioned I love wool socks.

Also by the lift bridge is Grandma's.  When I was growing up we would stop there for sandwiches and they were good.  When I was in college, Grandma's opened a location in Fargo, and it was also good.  

But time passes.  And when we went there on this trip the meat was over done and overall blah.  For the same amount of folding money a couple can get 2 beers and 2 sandwiches at Grandma's OR walk to the other end of the Lake Walk and eat in Fitger's brewery pub thing and get 6 beers and two sandwiches that tasted better to begin with.

We have a new place to stop on our way to my Grandmother's cabin.

Look at the big anchor. And then I sneaked another picture of Shannon!

ice ice everywhere and not a drop to drink

Ice was everywhere! We were planning to do a bunch of biking in Duluth, but the trails we would have used were either covered in rotten snow or flooded.

I don't like riding on rotten snow, it isn't predictable, and with narrow tires... pththth

This breakwater thingy looked more like a half sunk boat than a half-sunk building.  

When we arrived in Duluth we stopped at the rest area/visitor center at the top of the bluff, to use the facility's pamphlet racks.  

It was also mind-blowingly bright out, notice the squinting. Also very clear.

The drive up was great.  The roads were clear and the winds minimal. 

Interestingly, all the pamphlets about Duluth and Superior were hidden under the counter in the visitor center. So we had to ask for every piece of paper.  But if we had wanted information about the Twin Cities or Madeline Island it was everywhere, even in my raccoon wounds.

Duluth sounds really cool.  Like a thousand chandeliers being smashed gently.  Some of those slabs are as big as volkswagens, and some no bigger than my thumb.  wham wham wham!

Doh!

So now it has been more than a week since we got back from Duluth and the post andpictures is growing to epic proportions.  Homer will feel crowded.

Returning I didn't have to throw a spear or string a bow. But there was a mountain of poo in the cat's box.