Duluth, Minnesota!

We took off Monday morning with stormy looking clouds!

We made it to our campground in Duluth without trouble!  When we drove down the road to the marina/campground, we went through a tourist area and came up to the Aerial Lift Bridge.  We really weren't too sure if we fit under it!  It got under it just fine!

The bridge is the gateway between the Port of Duluth and Lake Superior and we are camped a couple of blocks from the bridge.  The bridge has to be lifted every time a boat, small or large, needs to go through the channel.  We have enjoyed watching the 1000 footers going through!  The bridge is really beautiful at night!

On Monday evening a group of us had dinner at Grandma's grill and saloon.  Ted and I had a delicious dinner of steak kabob's and saffron rice!  

After dinner we were back at the campground and a group of us enjoyed sitting on the waterway watching the ships and the bridge and talking!  

Yesterday we walked to town with Jerry and Hessie and visited the Maritime Visitor Center.  It was interesting.  You can also get a listing of the ships to go through the bridge each day, what they are carrying and the time they will go through.  We also did some shopping and had lunch.

After lunch we headed to the sightseeing boat for a 2-hour tour around the Port of Duluth and out into Lake Superior.  The deepest part of the Lake is 1332 feet deep.  Superior is the biggest of the freshwater Great Lakes with 350 miles of open water...still can't believe it's not an ocean!  The Lake has only frozen over a couple of times, but if the entire surface froze there would be enough room for every person on earth to spread out a 12' x 12' picnic blanket!  We got a lot of information, had a nice boat ride and stayed cool!  It was fun.

Last night Hessie made delicious Beef Minnestroni soup for everyone.  Several of us contributed dishes.  I made individual pineapple upside down cakes for everyone...the easy way!!!  You put a strawberry shortcake cake on a piece of tin foil, but some butter on the cake, some brown sugar, a slice of pineapple, a little juice down the center, wrap in the tinfoil and bake 20 minutes at 350 degrees!  No muss, no fuss and it came out good!  I had to make 20 of them so it took awhile but worth it!  Karen made an onion dish with onions as the only item in a sauce and baked it, really delicious!  After dinner a few ladies played cards and the rest of us just sat around talking, a fun evening!

Today Ted and I went to get the oil changed in the truck and found the auto workers on strike.  We did find a Starbucks and an RV place to get some closet door holders (they are plastic and break easily).  We were going to go to the casino after but it was pouring rain and no place to park a big truck close by so we passed.  We went to lunch with Ken and Anne Marie and had a great lunch!

Tonight we are grilling together and sharing a dish.  The rain has stopped, the sun is out and we hope it stays that way for awhile!

Tomorrow we leave here and will head back into Wisconsin.

Enjoying the ships and the bridge..."Ain't Life Grand!"