Tacking a fun trip onto a work trip is often difficult to work out, and even though we've done it a few times, it's not my first choice. However, had Chris not had to go to Minnesota for work, I'm not sure we would have planned a trip there just for fun. We all really enjoyed exploring Minnesota, and so I'm very thankful that we made it work!
We woke up on Thursday, July 2nd in Mankato, Minnesota, but quickly loaded up and headed north to Duluth where we had planned to spend a few days. At this time, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota was going through some serious political unrest (including protests, riots, looting, burning of businesses, etc). We wanted to avoid this area as much as possible, so we chose a route to Duluth that was a bit longer than driving through Minneapolis/St. Paul. However, we were able to see some beautiful scenery on our way to Duluth, and felt it was worth it to try and be as safe as possible.
On our way to Duluth, we stopped for lunch at McDonald's and ended up eating in the car due to the lobby being closed. Between slow drive-thrus, bathroom breaks, and our detour, we didn't make it to Duluth until 2:00pm. This is was quite a bit later than what we had planned, but that's just how traveling goes sometimes!
Our first stop once we arrived in Duluth was Canal Park. We were eager for the kids to see Lake Superior, the cargo ships, and the Aerial Lift Bridge. We were able to park the van and walk all around the park in the beautiful sunshine and warm weather.
Brenson, Brooke, Brecklyn, and Bri in Canal Park
Sadly, the Lake Superior Maritime Visitor's Center was closed due to COVID restrictions. That was disappointing, but we glad to get to enjoy watching the lift bridge in action,
as well as see various ships coming in and out of the canal.
Bren was very interested in the mechanics of it all!
Brooke, Brianna, Brecklyn, and Brenson in front of the Lake Superior Canal
Lake Superior!
The kids couldn't get over how big the lake is.
The kids had never seen a lighthouse in person before, so they were quite excited to get to walk down the pier to a lighthouse!
Brecklyn, Brianna, Brooke, Brenson, and Daddy
Brooke and Bri
Brecklyn and Bri
Brenson and Bri
Amazing view of Lake Superior!
Momma, Brecklyn, Brooke, Bren, and Bri
Brooke and Brecklyn at the lighthouse
Even though it was the middle of summertime, we were not expecting it to be hot in Duluth. But, it was! It was about 90 degrees this day, and we were feeling it since there is virtually no shade at all in Canal Park. Just after taking the photo below, we found some water and a little shade to revive ourselves.
Once we felt refreshed, we were ready to walk across the Aerial Lift Bridge. There is a protected area for foot traffic along one side of the bridge, but each time a car crossed the bridge it moved quite a bit. Two of the children thought this was great, while the other two were pretty frightened.
The view from the Aerial Lift Bridge was gorgeous!
The girls wanted to stick close by Daddy while walking across the bridge!
Bren didn't love the bridge, but he was trying to appreciate the experience.
It's certainly difficult to capture the size of the bridge in photos, but it felt massive when we were standing on it!
Brianna, Brecklyn, Brooke, and Brenson
After all the walking and unexpected heat, we decided an ice cream treat was in order! We made a stop at a cute little ice cream shop on our way back to our vehicle.
Brianna asked me to take a photo of her with ice cream and send it to Grampy, haha.
Yay for yummy refreshments!
We also did a little bit of shopping before returning to our vehicle. The twins thought this moose was too fun!
Since we had walked across the Aerial Lift Bridge, we decided we should also drive across it. The Park Point neighborhood on the "other" side of the bridge was lovely.
The kids all preferred driving across the bridge, although Chris and I liked walking better.
After leaving the Canal Park district of Duluth, we got checked-in and moved-in to our hotel. Then, it was time to find some dinner. Eating and dinnertime was an ongoing challenge during this trip as so many places were closed or open for carry-out only. We generally try to avoid chain restaurants on trips, but this time we were just happy to find some place open for dining in. We ended up eating at Outback Steakhouse (which is random because we pretty much never eat there). The food and service were both just ok, but we were thankful to have a place where we could eat in the restaurant!
Brianna, Daddy, and Brecks
Brooke, Momma, and Bren
The next morning (Friday, July 3rd), we got up bright and early and took North Shore Drive north to Gooseberry Falls State Park. When planning our trip, I had read that we should arrive as close to opening time as possible as the parking lot fills quickly during the summer months. Our plan was to get there at 9:00am (opening), but we were about 30 minutes behind schedule. The parking lot was almost full when we got there, but thankfully we were able to park and head in to the park.
The visitor's center was closed, but the trails were open!
Gooseberry Falls State Park is known for its waterfalls and water access, but we really enjoyed the trails and foliage. The trails were a little congested in spots, but we felt safely distanced from other hikers. Many were wearing masks on the trails, but we chose not to wear ours.
Brooke, Brecklyn, Bren, and Bri on the trail
Normally, we aren't shy about asking others to take family photos for us. However, people are being very cautious right now, and we noticed that many people aren't even making eye contact with others. This is sad to us, but we decided to respect others' need for space and not ask that anyone else take photos for us. The scenery was amazing, though, so we have several selfie style family photos!
We let the kids go barefooted on the rocks and put their feet in the small pools of water. They discovered quickly that the water was COLD despite the warm sun.
Brooke and Momma
We were all fascinated with the giant trees. We have lots of trees in our area, but most of them aren't the size of the ones we saw here!
Brooke in a tree
Brecklyn in a tree
Bren and Bri in a tree
Brenson, Brooke, Momma, Brianna, and Brecklyn
The sun was brutal, haha!
We saw lots of people swimming, but I'm not sure how they could stand the cold water. Our kids didn't even ask to get in!
All the falls lived up to the hype!
Brenson, Brooke, Brecklyn, and Brianna
Bren and Momma
Brecklyn and Brooke
We had packed a lunch this day, thinking we'd be able to find a place in the park to eat. However, all picnic tables were closed and all the places the trails led to were fairly busy. We decided to leave Gooseberry Falls State Park and continue north on North Shore Drive to *maybe* find a beach we could eat on.
Just a few miles north of Gooseberry, we found a parking lot that had a trail that led to a beach. We decided to give it a try! The trail was wooded and just beautiful!
So much pretty foliage to enjoy
After a short walk, we came to Iona's Beach. We had to clean our shoes on some brushes before walking out onto the beach, and the beach was not what we were expecting.
It was a rocky beach, but the views were amazing. It was moderately busy, but we were able to find a spot away from other people and have a picnic.
Momma and Brecklyn
Yay for picnics in beautiful scenery!
While the rocks were all very smooth, walking on the beach was not easy! We all took off our shoes to get our feet wet and discovered that standing and walking on the rocks was difficult and a little painful.
Bren, Brooke, Daddy, Brecklyn, and Brianna
The water was freezing, but we had to get a pic of our feet in Lake Superior!
Brianna and Momma
Momma and Brianna
Despite the water being cold and the rocks being uncomfortable, the kids loved playing at the beach.
Brooke, Brianna, and Brecklyn
Brens
Brenson, Brooke, Momma, Brecklyn, and Brianna
Love adventuring with my babies!
Family selfie!
Lake Superior was so clear and blue and truly just gorgeous!
After some time on the rocky beach, we ventured back down the path to another area. You can see in the photo below how clear the water is.
The trail from the parking lot to the beach area was just lovely.
We had booked a special surprise that afternoon in Duluth, so as much as we didn't want to leave the beach, we needed to head back south on North Shore Drive in order to make our reservation. We did make a few stops on our way back to Duluth to soak up the scenery and enjoy God's beautiful creation.
Right after the photo below was taken, our no-fear girl Brooke disobeyed and got dangerously close to the edge of the rocks. One misstep and she would have plunged right into Lake Superior. Chris quickly grabbed her up before she could move any more and that startled her. There were some tears and some stern words and a swift swat on the bottom before we loaded back up in the van to move on down the road. No one can say that traveling with kids isn't an adventure!
Brianna and Daddy
Once we got back to Duluth, we let the kids know that our surprise was that we had purchased tickets for a train ride along the shore of Lake Superior through Duluth. They were very excited!
The North Shore Railroad had really limited their seating for their train tours (and weren't allowing any kind of snack or drink on the train), so we were in a train car with just a few other families. That was nice as it allowed us to move from side to side on the train as the scenery changed.
Brianna, Brooke, and Momma ready to go!
We had been asked to keep masks on until the train began moving. I don't really understand that, but we were doing our best to comply.
Brianna was more excited than she looks here, haha.
Brecklyn and Brenson
Even though it was basically the same scenery we had just seen driving, it was more fun to see it on a train!
Brooke and Brianna
Brenson and Brecklyn
The kids got super excited when they recognized the Aerial Lift Bridge from the train!
Although the experience was a little different than what it would normally be due to the pandemic, we really enjoyed the ride and are thankful we were able to do it!
Brianna, Brenson, Brecklyn, and Brooke
It had been quite a day, but before heading back to our hotel, we stopped for dinner at a Mexican restaurant. The food wasn't great - which was disappointing - but at least we didn't have to eat it in our hotel room! The kids had all fallen asleep for a short time on our way back to our hotel, so they were refreshed and ready to go for the evening. Chris and I were tired, but we took the kids to the hotel pool for some play time and they loved it.
Brenson, Brianna, Chris, Brecklyn, and Brooke
Even with COVID restrictions and many things being different than what they normally are, we really had a great day. We were grateful for each day and looked forward to what the next day would bring.
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