Good times need to be shared. I've got one for you. I have just
spent five days vacationing in
Duluth, Minnesota, with two
Writer House friends. First of all, in leaving Houston, the whole
world changed (may be exaggerating a little bit) but going
from our
August 100 degree murky hot to a marvelous
79 degrees cool in Duluth is nothing
to sneeze about.
Blue sky, blue lakes,
granite rocks, and masses of
green
trees--August is the time to visit northern Minnesota!
One of my companions' sister lives in Duluth (and on a lake)
which gave us an opportunity for a rare, trouble free adventure.
Carole knew the places worth visiting and the
way (and back!)
getting there. I'll let
the pictures below take you with me as
we visited Gooseberry Falls, Glensheen Manor,
Split Rock
Lighthouse, Duluth Rose
gardens, the Canal Bridge from
Lake Superior, Jay Cooke State Park and Richard Bong military
museum. The marvels of pontoon boating follow.
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| Gooseberry Falls |
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| We'd never have an August evening fire in Houston. |
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| Glensheen Manor |
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| Duluth Rose Garden |
Who doesn't dream of floating on a lake with a cool breeze,
fantastic shore scenery, good company and a glass of wine?
Thanks to Ted Sexton, dreams can become true and with
an encore. The first cruise was a pontoon tour around
the lake with all the oo's
and ah's I could muster. Loons
scattered ahead of us. Thoughts of my childhood
family
fishing trips to Minnesota caught up with me. In the reeds
I wondered if there were bass or
a stray northern pike
waiting to be caught.
I saw a couple of points where
walleyes would haunt. I could see myself casting into
the reeds
with a red and white spoon lure and have
the thrill of a strike.
The encore was even more special. The families that live
along the shore once a
year tie their pontoons together in
the middle of the lake and party. We were in luck, the party was
scheduled for the Saturday we were there. Picture yourself
here and wish you were with
us.
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| No Caption Needed |
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| Getting Ready to Party |
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| Whee |
Most special for the trip was meeting and getting to
know
the Sextons. They took us in as family
and
we met their children and grandchildren giving us
a glimpse of northern family
life. It had been a
long time since I stood around a piano and with
others harmonized church hymns, How Great Thou
Art and Abide With Me.. A severe storm two
weeks before
our arrival had obliterated a great
many trees--the Sextons losing twenty four
on their
property. Despite the
devastation, Carole's porch
flowers were vigorous and beautiful and chipmunks
and birds frequented the bird feeder, sometimes
tormented by hummingbirds.
No story can give justice to the pleasure we had
visiting
the north shore of Lake Superior. A
special thanks to Ted, Carole, Erin, and Angie
Sexton (and their families) and to
my fellow
travelers Meg Lelvis and Connie Gillen.
Frame Graphics: Rose Nuernberger
Pictures: Meg Lelvis
