Duluth

Went road tripping today up to Duluth (and beyond). While there I wish I could have live blogged it. Lots of fun and strange moments. I'll explain. No, is too much, I'll sum up:

• We got on the road about 8a. I'm not sure how this happened and frankly I doubt it ever will again. The biggest jot of credit goes to the FP Gal.
• While driving I got a call from Heidi. She started with 'Is there something you'd like to tell me?' and then proceeded to ask me if I'd won the Powerball. Nope. Someone else.
• Ten minutes later Mom called to ask if I'd won the Powerball. I had to tell her no too. Both of them heard of a Powerball win and immediately thought of me. This sounds like the prelude to an intervention.
• Right around 50% of the road from here to Duluth is under construction. Roughly 80% of the roads in Duluth are under construction. (This is only a slight exaggeration.)
• We made plans to meet Carrie at a park in the city. Neither of us really know Duluth well so we decided to find it first and then pick up some picnic food for lunch. After picking up some subs, Relia quickly announced that she needed to go potty so we made another quick stop. DF thought this was wildly unacceptable. He needed out, out, out of his chair!
• Back to the park and child emancipation. Chester Park (named for someone Mr Chester) had both a very tall slide and a real live working merry-go-round. Later we took our eyes off of DF for a moment and he quickly climbed half way up the slide ladder. He has no fear.
• Relia made a true friend there named Ellen. They seemed like soul mates and it hurt to break them up and say goodbye. Ellen informed me that 'her mom is named Leah, her dad is named Jason stinks-a-lot because he farts long into the bedroom'. She is the only girl that I've ever met who was as stranger friendly as Relia.
• After we parted with Carrie and her kids we went to the French River to throw rocks in the lake. This is an FP Gal holy spot and the rest of us enjoy it too. I skipped a few stones but Relia showed me satisfying it can be to cannonball one of the big uns. Guh-Loosh! DF loved being able to throw rocks but has a maximum distance of about eight inches. The lake was pretty safe from him.
• Next to the Scenic Cafe. There was a short wait for a table so DF got his first M&M. He didn't know what to do with it at first and kept handing it back to me. Finally I popped it in his mouth. He decided it was pretty good. I think he just might be willing to try some more.
• The pies were good but the kids were pretty restless. We traded off chasing DF around the restaurant. He stole hearts everywhere we went. Relia made more friends with a family that had finished eating and were playing catch. She doesn't have an ounce of shyness.
• Back to Duluth proper and Canal park. We threw more rocks in the lake. Relia discovered that throwing handfulls is more satisfying than one at a time. We walked down to the lighthouse and back. Also wandered through the museum. Tried to feed the seagulls but a couple of other kids were too busy chasing them away.
• On the road again. We planned to stop somewhere for dinner and then make our way back home. Road construction limited our options and before we knew it we were done near Sandstone. Took a chance that they'd have something and ended up at a small town restaurant. Which was good!
  
• DF wandered all over the place. The waitresses loved him and the other customers didn't seem to mind too much. By this time we were all exhausted. We expected the kids to drop off pretty quickly.
• Which didn't happen. Lucky for us there were no meltdowns. Relia told us a ghost story about a kid who opens his door on Halloween and lets in a skeleton. At the end she said, 'And it turned out to be . . . cousin Will!'. Funniest thing I'd heard in a long time.
• Finally home and kids to bed. The trip to Duluth is always a long day. And always worth it.