North Shore Romantic Getaway!

In honor of our 6 month anniversary (it's been 6 months already?) Yup- September 17 was "the day" we started going out so March 17 would be 6 months. A discussion started a few weeks before cause we were getting tired of spending each weekend in Rochester doing the same things and not having enough things to do. So it was decided to venture out of Rochester for an extra long weekend. Jordan had only been to Duluth one other time and I had been up there with my family many times but not by myself. Even though it was still winter, we still wanted to go and see what Duluth had to offer in the winter time (and found out there was plenty of things to do).
After a 4 hour car ride, we arrived in Duluth and our first stop was Thompson's Hill which over-looks the entire Duluth area and Lake Superior. Took pictures and got maps and information. Then we headed down to Canal Park to see the bridge that goes up and down, walk around the museum and see Lake Superior. The lake was beautiful at this time of the year (half the water was frozen and half was open).
After eating lunch at the "Amazing Grace Cafe", we headed down the water-front to see the Great Lakes Aquarium. Annah's favorite part about the aquarium was seeing the different kinds of seahorses. The seahorses wrapped their tails around the plants at the bottom and they blended into their background. We also saw many different kinds of fish, an eagle, wood ducks, turtles, small reptiles and even got to pet a sting-ray!!

Mid-afternoon we left the city of Duluth and headed north on Highway 61 to find our lovely Cove Point Lodge. (See pictures below)
The Cove Point Lodge was a big log cabin--a rustic, Norwegian-style complete with a jacuzzi and a lake side view of Lake Superior. Located just outside of Beaver Bay, it was the perfect location for us to just spend time with each other and not have the distractions that a big city would have had. The dining room was very spacious and had windows facing Lake Superior. On Saturday night we had a salmon dinner with green beans and asparagus and we each has a glass of champagne! It was delicious! On Sunday morning we had breakfast at the lodge, which was an unusual breakfast since it was a Scandinavian-style breakfast consisting of pickled herring, a cucumber and onion salad, tomatoes, salami, cheese, hard-boiled eggs, muffins, coffee, tea, fruit, and juice. It was very nice!

On Sunday we drove up to Grand Marais and walked out on the rocks in the frigid air, surrounded by snow and the frozen lake, out to a Coast Guard mini lighthouse tower and we took some pictures. It was fun, but it was really windy and cold. We then drove around town until we found a little coffee shop called "Java Moose" were we got some coffee and warmed up.

We then began our excursion to several of the State Parks in the area including: Cascade River State Park, Tettegouche State Park, Temperance State Park and Split Rock Lighthouse State Park. We stopped for a hike to the waterfalls at the Cascade River State Park and it was somewhat difficult to hike on the snow and ice, but the weather was pleasant and we were able to take nice pictures of the scenery and the mostly frozen waterfalls. At Tettegouche State Park we decided to go snowshoeing, since the Cove Point Lodge provided snowshoes free of charge. Neither of us had been on a long hike with snowshoes and it took us a little while to figure out how to put on the snowshoes properly, but once we got the hang of it we found snowshoeing to be both good exercise and a fun activity to do. During our snowshoeing escapade, we traveled somewhere between 2 to 3 miles and it took about an hour and a half. We also saw a little bit of nature outside, including this Grouse (Spruce Grouse?) and it was kind enough to let us take some pictures! Overall, this was a fun experience and we would both like to go snowshoeing again someday!

Dinner was at a little place called "Betty's Pies" it was located just outside of Two Harbors. Jordan's mom wanted a mug that said "Betty's Pies" because her name is Betty! Jordan had eaten there before and liked their Rhubarb pie. Hung up on the wall was the "pies of the day" they were still selling. As the pies got sold, they took each flavor down. Unfortunately, as we ate, we watched as the rhubarb pie we wanted got taken down and that was no longer a choice. So we settled for a blackberry and peach pie. Later, on Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern on the Travel Channel, Jordan saw the host of the show stop at Betty's Pies and eat one of their specially prepared Sauerkraut pie. Next time we'll have to try the Sauerkraut pie!!

We also stopped at the Split Rock Lighthouse and took some pictures and looked around, but both the lighthouse and the visitor center were closed. It was fun but once again the wind made it colder! During our drive throughout the day we saw 203 deer along the road and there were even some out of our room at the lodge when we got back.

On Monday we had to drive all the way back and Annah wasn't feeling well, so Jordan tried his best to help take care of her. The Duluth Trip/Six Month Anniversary was an awesome experience and we are both looking forward to our One Year Anniversary to see what kind of trip we go on then!