Vacation, part 1

We started our vacation this year with a 30 minute torrential rain storm.  So much so, that Brent pulled over on the interstate (and he's the kind of confident driver that doesn't do that).  When the hail started, I handed the kids their blankets and told them to put them in their lap.  A little overprotective, yes, but after the hailstorm we suffered in 2009 any hail makes me think of that August day.  The storm passed us and we continued north to our vacation destination - Duluth, Minnesota.  I did wonder what the rest of vacation was going to bring when we started off with such yucky weather.

(this is the weather we drove into)

We stopped at Tobie's in Hinckley, MN, for some delicious breakfast rolls.  Oh my.  If you are ever north of the Twin Cities, it is a must stop restaurant.

After arriving in Duluth, one of the first scenes from our hotel room was this:

Our hotel was right along the boardwalk on Lake Superior and the horse carriage rides were a popular tourist attraction (not for us country folk, though).  But it was sure neat to see -- the kids stared out the window to watch.  

We walked the couple of blocks to the main attraction of our trip to Duluth - The Tall Ships Festival.  

The Aerial Lift Bridge is a major part of the Canal Park skyline.  People can drive and walk on this bridge.  The uniqueness comes from the fact that the 390 foot bridge can be raised in about three minutes to allow for ships to enter into the canal.  

We were able to get up close to one of the working ships as they were docking.  

These are working ships - the people that sail them do it for a living, hobby and/or education (as students).  There were nine ships that came to Duluth.  One of the ships that was planned on being there was struck by lightning en route to Duluth.  Could you imagine being in the open water and being a huge vessel that gets struck by lightning.  Oh my!  

The scope of these ships - those three masts are on one ship!  

There were re-enactments of 1800s lifestyles on the grounds, too.  

This boy was making potatoes.  

*We were looking forward to heading north for cooler temperatures.  We didn't anticipate it being unusually cool at home while we were gone.  The Duluth temperature on our first two days was 56 degrees.  You'll notice a lot of jeans, sweatshirts and jackets.  We really enjoyed the cooler temps!