A Few Days in Duluth

I turned 30 on October 1st. 30 rotations around the sun have come and gone, and this is the first year that I've been able to afford to take a trip and do something nice for myself. I've been up to Duluth a handful of times in my life, but never on my terms and very rarely for more than a few hours at a time.

So...color me excited. Let's go!





We checked into the Downtown Duluth Inn on Sunday afternoon, dodging gloom and rain all the way up North. The check-in process went smoothly and our room, though incredibly small, was very cozy. We were lucky to get a corner room on the second floor - and the location of the hotel was prime - walking distance to all downtown attractions and Canal Park.



That evening, we stopped in at Canal Park Brewing for my birthday dinner - where I had a less than stellar Mediterranean Chicken Burger, two really fantastic locally brewed beers (the Foggy Jack and Joyride Antic) and a wonderfully decadent Swedish Cream dessert, complete with seasonal berries and lingonberry sauce.


This sign on the brick sidewalk was too funny not to snap a photo of...


The next morning after a lackluster "continental" breakfast at the hotel, we strolled down to the North Shore Scenic Railroad Museum and purchased tickets for museum entrance and a two hour long North Shore Scenic train ride. (While waiting in line, a yellow jacket wasp landed on my hand and scared the shit out of me. I was shaking for about fifteen minutes after that, and the couple in line ahead of us shared their story about the wife's allergy to bees.)


After the really beautiful train ride - where I took a TON of photos of Lake Superior, my boy Tyler, and the really neat train cars, we moseyed over to Grandma's Saloon.


Grandma's Saloon is kind of an institution in Duluth, from my understanding, and while definitely a bit of a tourist trap - they have GREAT beer and even better food. I had the Lake Superior Oktoberfest and their signature Wild Rice Burger. It was amazing - and I don't even like wild rice.


We went back to the hotel to regroup for a bit where I inadvertently watched about 30 minutes of La La Land before I realized what was happening and promptly switched back to the Weather Channel - where I watched Why Planes Crash. (In an ironic twist of fate - a small plane actually crashed in a church parking lot in Eden Prairie, MN the other day....)

After a bit of resting, Tyler and I ventured down Superior Ave. to Fitger's - a well known local brewery with great pub food. I had two rounds of their fantastic oatmeal stout and the pretzel bread sticks. Tyler ordered the poutine with shredded pork and between the two of us we finished it off.



Our last morning in Duluth, we drove up to Split Rock Lighthouse, which is about an hour north in Two Harbors, MN. It was built in 1909 and fully operational in 1910. The story behind why the lighthouse was built on that particular spit of land is really interesting and you can read all about it here on the MNHS website, Split Rock Lighthouse. 

After that, we stopped in at Betty's Pies in Two Harbors (which boasts the best pies in Northern Minnesota and I believe them) and then we drove back into Duluth to hit up Enger Park. There's a fantastic stone tower on the park grounds that you can climb and even though it was super windy, super cold, and super rainy - we still climbed to the top of the tower and got an amazing view of the city.


We also rang the Peace Bell - which echoed majestically throughout the park and was donated to Duluth by its Japanese sister city Ohara-Isumi. After that, we hopped back in the truck and drove the 2.5 hours back to the cities.

I had a fantastic birthday weekend and vacation in Duluth and I really hope that next year I get to go back and experience even more amazing things in the North Shore town. As a thank you to my lovely readers, here are some more photos of our amazing trip!

Duluth MN, rest area
 Duluth, MN rest area
 Canal Park Brewing
 Train Depot Museum, Duluth MN
 Split Rock Lighthouse, Two Harbors MN
 Split Rock Lighthouse, Two Harbors MN
Split Rock Lighthouse, Two Harbors MN
 Canal Park, Duluth MN
 Canal Park, Duluth MN
 Canal Park Lighthouse, Duluth MN
 Canal Park, Duluth MN
 William A Irvin, Duluth MN
 Lester River, Duluth MN
 Lake Superior, Duluth MN
 Lake Superior and Aerial Lift Bridge, Duluth MN
 Enger Park, Duluth MN
 Enger Park, Duluth MN
 Enger Tower, Duluth MN
Enger Tower, Duluth MN


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