Road Trip

   C and I are taking a little trip. Last year we went to the North Shore with Sarah and Dean. We had such a good time that we decided to do it again. This time we'll be on our own. One of the benefits of working part time is that our weekend is whenever we want it to be. We were able to easily make a reservation.
   We packed up the car and headed out. We took I 35 E and headed north toward Duluth. It was a nice drive. It was cloudy, but not rainy and just the right temperature. I brought my knitting as usual. I'm working on knitting T-shirt yarn into thick ropes that I can sew into a basket. I managed to knit one ball of T-shirt yarn while we were driving. I like doing things like that because it makes me feel like I'm being productive.
  Another thing I decided to do was text my new friend, Carolina, while we were travelling. She and her husband and daughter just moved to Minnesota a few months ago. One thing I have been trying to do is educate her about her new home.
   The first place we stopped was Gooseberry Falls. We walked to the upper falls where I got a few pictures. I like climbing on the rocks by the falls. The are flat. Unlike last year, they were also dry. (It rained that day we drove up last year.) There are as series of small falls that are very pretty. What's also fun is watching all the other people who are enjoying the falls. The are shallow spots where people walk through the water. There are also a lot of dogs. Some of them walked placidly with their humans. Some of them froliced a bit and looked like they were having a good time. I took some pictures and sent them to Carolina.
  Our next stops was Split Rock Lighthouse. We took the tour. Our guide was really good. I was especially impressed at the fact that he was able to answer questions very fluently. We had been on the tour last year, but it was still good to go on it again. I walked into the light house and up the stairs to where the light actually was. Lighthouses have always fascinated me. I'm amazed by the physics that allows the lens to make the light brighter than it really is. I'm amazed by the fact that someone had to clean the lenses and the windows fairly often. The lighthouse originally burned kerosene, the soot must have been awful. Later the lighthouse had a 1000 watt light bulb installed. I looked at the gears that keep the lens rotating. Attached to those gears is a large weight that has to be rewound every couple of hours.  I missed Sarah. Sarah is an expert on light houses. She would have had a wealth of facts to share about the light house.
   We decided to do to the Temperence River next. On the way there we saw the turnoff for the Palisades. We stopped there. It very picturesque. There are more flat rocks to climb on. I would have climbed on them, but it makes C nervous when I do that. There is a lovely panoramic of Lake Superior. I took a picture of it with my cell phone camera, but it just didn't do it justice. I stood on the rocks while C went around taking pictures of all kinds of thing. Last year Sarah and I climbed on the rocks and talked. It was a good conversation.
   Temperance was the next stop. I wanted to climb further up the trail, but C was a little scared. There are some places where the trail is narrow. C didn't feel comfortable going any further. Oh well. I did get a few nice pictures.
   The next stop was our hotel. We stayed at the same place we stayed last year. This year Dean and Sarah were not going to be staying next door. The hotel keepers remembered us from last year. They seemed to be doing well. They were slowly making changes to the rooms. Our had new pictures in it.We took all our things out of the cars and made ourselves at home. We were going to meet some friends at Sven and Ole's  pizza.
   Sven and Ole's doesn't sound like the name of a good pizza place, but it is. I was pleasantly surprised. We ordered a "garbage" pizza. It was really good. It had the right amount of cheese and the sauce and the toppings were perfect. I was also pretty hungry. We had a good visit with our friends who had spent the day four wheeling on the back roads around the area.
   Tomorrow we'll enjoy breakfast at a place we've been to before. Then we'll decide what to do. There are a lot of places to go and things to see. For now, it's time to go to bed......