Travel

Detailed travel logs and trip journals live here. Expect day‑by‑day itineraries (e.g., our Switzerland & Italy trip) with weather notes, meals and family anecdotes, plus posts on museum visits, road‑trips and cruises.

September 11, 2021

Nice spot to watch the sun coming up over Lake Superior and enjoy my morning coffee.

Polka-dot mug on a deck railing overlooking pine forest and Lake Superior at sunrise with pink and orange sky.

September 10, 2021

We stopped at Love Creamery in Duluth after dinner at OMC Smokehouse. It was our first time trying their ice cream and we were very impressed. The Salted Peanut Butter & Jelly was amazing. We also had Nutella and Salted Caramel. 🍦

Love Creamery handcrafted ice cream shop exterior at night with customers inside and people sitting on blue benches outside

Four hands holding large waffle bowls of ice cream in flavors including peanut butter jelly, Nutella, and salted caramel, viewed from above.

August 22, 2021

We got our pottery shipment from Express Yourself Art Barn in Saugatuck today. When we finished our stuff was ready to go in the kiln. I love how everything turned out! 🤩

Glazed pottery pieces on a white counter: three painted mason jar lanterns, a stacked turtle figurine, and six colorful garden markers labeled herbs and vegetables.

Six hand-painted ceramic garden markers labeled greens, basil, lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, and oregano, with colorful root illustrations.

Finished painted pottery pieces on a white counter including three colorful lantern jars, a stacked turtle figurine, and six painted garden stakes labeled with vegetables and herbs.

August 21, 2021

Grand Rapids & Hibbing Log

Weather: Cool. Mist and rain in the morning. Cool and mostly cloudy throughout the day. “Rock’n the 50s” Escape Room at Itasca Historical Society. Lunch at Spartan Deli. Shopping: Bender’s Shoe & Sport, Bender’s Gifts, MacRostie Art Center, and The Lake & Co Shop. Barely Reality …

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August 21, 2021

Great beer flight at Boomtown Brewery in Hibbing tonight. Blueberry Wheat, Orehouse IPA, Nitro Milkshake IPA, and Enoremous Double IPA.

Four small glasses of craft beer on a slate flight board at Boomtown Brewery, labeled Enoremous DIPA, Orehouse IPA, Blueberry Wheat, and Nitro Milkshake IPA.

August 21, 2021

It was cool to check out the giant mining equipment on exhibit by the Hull Rust Mine View.

Giant yellow mining haul truck numbered 166 on display outdoors with three children standing beside its massive tires and an adult on the upper deck

Large yellow Detroit Diesel engine on display at Hull Rust Mine View in Hibbing Minnesota

Two giant excavator buckets flank a paved walkway leading to a concrete gateway overlooking an open pit iron mine.

Three kids standing inside a massive iron ore mining shovel bucket on exhibit at the Hull Rust Mine in Hibbing Minnesota

August 21, 2021

We took in amazing views of the Hull Rust Mine today. Incredibly large open pit mine. Looks like a man-made Grand Canyon.

Vast terraced open pit iron ore mine with rust-colored rock layers, haul roads, and trucks visible, surrounded by green forest.

August 21, 2021

We saw this giant Iron Man statue in Chisholm, MN today and had to stop and check it out. I thought it was awesome! 85 feet high, making it the 4th tallest in the US. Weighs over 4 tons. Had to listen to Iron Man while there. 🤘

Sign for The Iron Man Miners Memorial in Chisholm Minnesota with the 85-foot steel miner statue visible behind it

Giant Iron Man statue in Chisholm MN depicting a miner holding tools atop a stylized bundle of iron ore rails under a blue sky.

August 21, 2021

I liked this art from Clarence Morgan that we saw at MacRostie Art Center today. It reminded me a bit of the Squiggle project from ArtBlocks.

Four framed abstract drawings with colorful interlocking loops and swirls hang on a gray gallery wall under spotlights.

August 21, 2021

We won the “Rock’n the 50s” Escape Room at Itasca Historical Society in 40 minutes! Room 36!