Weekend getaway

 

When I was growing up, my family used to take "weekend getaways", mostly trips to the cities to take in an 'event' (ie: sporting event or something of the like). I fondly recall the excitement of packing up for a couple of nights snuggled into a hotel room, exploring this great state.

 

Over the past several weeks, we started talking about taking a trip to Duluth to see the fall colors and really "do Duluth". Something we haven't yet done with the kids. In each previous trip north, they've only ever experienced the waterpark in Duluth, never even making it down to Canal Park!? Crazy, I know. And with the fall colors in full view, we couldn't miss the opportunity!
The entire drive, we commented just how pretty the scenery was: reds, golds, even green. It was simply gorgeous. Too bad the kids had their noses stuck in a DVD and barely looked up to see what we were pointing at. (note: we are very blessed to have a DVD player....Sidney wouldn't make it 20 miles without constant whining if it weren't for the distraction of a movie. Even with one, she still whines.).

 

Our first stop was Canal Park.

 We grabbed some lunch and then stretched our legs after the 2 1/2 hour drive north. The girls were so excited that the bridge was being raised (twice) and we had a chance to see both a small fishing boat and a really really really big one head out on the lake. 

They had a great time climbing around on the rocks, walking out to the light house and chasing birds. It was a chilly, cloudy day so we all bundled up in our winter gear.

 

We found a lovely chocolate/gift shop and Sidney scored a peanut butter cup the size of her head :) She's still working on finishing that thing; a nibble here and a nibble there, that girl is like a mouse.

 

 

After a trip down memory lane, showing the kids where Ryan went to college, seeing 2 of the 5 homes he lived in, and exploring the UMD campus a little (we were amazed at all of the new buildings and newness of it all), we headed up to Enger Tower.

When we travel, Ryan and I always look for the highest possible location, because let's face it, the best views are often from above. And when the colors are turning, it is mesmorizing.

 

Lincoln happened to fall asleep somewhere on our drive, and so, in the spirit of family time, I bundled him in a blanket and carried him up the 90+ steps to the top of Enger Tower. It was very very breezy so I didn't stay on the upper level long before heading down to take cover on another level. The smiles on the girls' faces in this picture tell me that they were having a wonderful afternoon.

 

And the smiles on these boys too :)

I'm so in love with this family of ours and so thankful to be able to take these weekend getaways, snuggled up cozy in a hotel room.

 

 

We ventured down to Fitger's for dinner and explored various shops while we waited for a table (30 minute wait for dinner at 4:15pm!). 

Lincoln is in love with standing, and prefers to stand no matter where we are. So he stood near some railings while we waited, and then stood in the booth while we ordered our meal. He caught the attention of every pedestrian on the sidewalk and many even pointed, waved and smiled a big 'hello' to our cutie.

 

 

On Sunday we were all very excited for our day, having seen pictures and antcipating some real family fun on both an alpine coaster and a zipline. The girls are both tall/old enough to experience this fun and we were giddy to be able to join in the fun. The tracks are such that you begin and end in the same location so it worked perfect for half to go on a coaster and the other half to wait with Lincoln.

 If you've never been on an alpine coaster, we highly recommend checking it out! There are only 4 in the United States (we've done alpine slides before, but this was way faster, up to 26 mph! And much longer).

Here's Ryan and Regan as they wrapped up their first ride.

 

Sidney and I were both pretty nervous. While we waited to get the green light, we talked about how fast (or slow) we wanted to go. There's a single seat belt strapping me in, and one for her too. Each car goes alone, meaning we aren't hooked up in a train like this picture shows. Instead, it's just the peacefulness of your car and the scenery around. If only I could have taken pictures and drive at the same time!

We took the kids down 3 times and did the zipline once (cool, but just too short in everyone's opinion). I went down fairly slow the first time, and am so glad that I did, because the view of Lake Superior from the side of the 'mountain', is like no other.

Simply breathtaking.

We sure had a lot of fun and it was a weekend getaway to remember. I have a feeling we have a lot of them in our future as we work on exploring this great state as a family of 5!