Like all good things...

... my vacation in Duluth had to come to an end.

Mom and I took a walk one afternoon from our hotel along the shore towards the ship canal. These two structures mark the borders of the ship canal, where boats pass under the aerial lift bridge to enter the harbor. While we were walking, we saw the bridge go up!

We also spent one afternoon driving around town looking for the best views from higher points on the hill. We started at the Copper Top church.

From there, we had an awesome view of the shoreline

and the city!

From there, we made our way up to Enger Park. This is a beautiful spot with a golf course, a grassy lawn area, and, best of all, a stone tower that provides the best views in all of town!

This is not for the faint of heart, as it's about 6 flights of stairs, once you climb the hill from the parking lot to even arrive at the base. But, it's completely worth it!

The harbor!

 

and downtown! 

and the water! 

That night, we also went for a walk at Leif Erikson park, where there is a beautiful garden. 

 

with the lake in the background...

Then, we walked back along the lake walk at dusk. 

and with that, our trip was pretty much done. 

After we checked out of the hotel, we had time to take a short sightseeing train ride, which was the thing I was most excited about during the trip. While it wasn't a great photo-op, I would still recommend it. Who doesn't love trains?

 The train runs right along the shore, so we got to see a bit of the town...

along with the Lester River,

and the lake, of course!

when the ride was over, we loaded up the car at the Depot and headed back to the cities!

The vacation was awesome, though I have to admit I'm looking forward to things getting back to normal around here next week. Thanks for reading!