Tuesday, April 8, 2014

30th Birthday Weekend in Duluth

No, you didn't miss it. I haven't actually turned 30 - yet! I recently went with some very dear friends, though, to celebrate the fact that we are all turning 30 this school year. Everyone else's birthday has already come and gone, with only mine lingering until the end of April. But, don't worry - I did not let that get in the way of the celebrating!

I went with Ginny, Magnolia, Daisy and Clover. We were able to rent a cottage, located on Park Point. It's a very desirable area in the summer time, though you get a huge discount in the winter!

We left in the early afternoon on Wednesday, and arrived shortly before dinner time.
We started by making a grocery list and doing some couponing...

And then we collected this loot at Super One. Okay, maybe it wasn't before dinner when we got there - maybe it really just was dinner time. Wow!

And then, after a stop at Papa Murphy's, we sat down to this surprisingly civilized dinner!

The next few days are becoming a bit of a blur. We made a trip to Glensheen, which merits its own post. We also experienced the best of what Duluth has to offer in February...

Yep. We came home from our visit at Glensheen on Thursday afternoon, and this was what the world had to offer by the time we woke up on Friday morning. We'd planned spa appointments for that day which were cancelled because of the weather. So, housebound we were!

Well, at least we were until this machine dropped by to plow the driveway. Holy smokes! (I'm taking this picture from behind a window inside the cottage - the driveway is barely wide enough for it to drive down!)

We did relaxing activities at home...
Like eating homemade milkshakes...

We discovered an ancient Gameboy tucked in one of the drawers in the cottage, and played everybody's favorite card game!

There was also this, which defies explanation!

Once the plow came, we were able to get out and do a little. We even took a walk to Lake Superior!
We were in the snow up to our knees at points, but it was pretty awesome! I didn't realize it right away, but you might think that those bumps out ahead of us are the dunes at the water's edge.

But, on that score you'd be wrong. These bumps are actually more like frozen waves! Wow!

I think this shot gives a little more context - the dunes are where the reeds are growing! This view was within walking distance of the cottage. In the summer, while not treading through so much snow, it would take less than 5 minutes.

 As the trip came to an end, we made a craft project that was inspired by Ginny and her Pinterest surfing. We found brochures in Duluth that provided each of the images above. Ginny had collected the supplies at Michaels before we left, so we enjoyed a peaceful evening crafting by the fire. Score!

Before we knew it, our trip had come to an end. I had to say goodbye to my sweet, relaxing room and get ready to return to the grind.

Goodbye Duluth... and hello 30!