CHATEAU MABILE

Our first stop in Duluth was Canal Park down near the port of Duluth. There are lots of touristy shops and restaurants there but also some really neat stuff worth seeing. We had lunch at a place called Northern Waters Smokehaus. It was AMAZING. No, it was amazingly amazing. To steal a quote from Liam (who was describing his party favors he had received at the birthday party I just picked him up from a few hours ago): It was "super crazy awesome!!" It's just this sort of deli counter where you can buy smoked fish and a few smoked meats, but they also serve about 10 different sandwiches and wraps. I had the "Salmon Garden" wrap and it was absolutely one of the best things I've ever eaten. Ever. Period. Smoked Salmon pate with cilantro and garden veggies with a little oil and vinegar all wrapped up to form a sort of spicy, smokey, lite and fresh roll of heaven. It was so good. In heaven, my fridge will be stocked with that and my Maw Maw's German Chocolate cake. Jesus will be outside boiling the crawfish. ANYWAY! We were there for less than 48 hours and I had it twice. We also got some smoked salmon and another smoked fish that was caught right out the door in Lake Superior.

Stealing some sugar in front of Hepzibah's candy shop. It was very Harry Potter to me so I had to take a picture.

This was a really cool sculpture/fountain thing. The creature in the middle is a mixture of Lakota Sioux legends and Norwegian legends I believe. Some sort of water demon/nymph. Very cool.

Hang on tight Liam!

Ms.Becky took this picture and has got to be one of the greatest pictures of Liam ever.

I know what you are thinking and YES, he did "accidentally" step in the water.

The Princess and the Fish. Perhaps I'll write that tale someday :)

Lake Superior is seriously BIG and so are the ships that travel in it.

I'm just showing the range of faces this child can make.

This picture sums up our quick little trip to Duluth for me. Serene. Relaxing. Healing almost.

Liam's 2nd favorite part of the trip was chasing the birds at the park. He really and truly believed he could catch one.

Go for it Liam!

Then reality set in...

...but he never gave up!

Liam's most favorite thing is in the background...the lighthouses!

Family photo :) You'll be seeing several of these because we had someone to take them for us!

Ignore the humans, just look at the cool aerial lift bridge. This thing is on the national register of historical places. It was built in the early 1900s and there aren't many like it in the world. We saw lots of sailboats go under it, but we there too late and too early to see the massive transport ships go through. Remember, Lake Superior is huge.

Enjoying some time in the grass while Greg and I took a stroll.

Blue skies, puffy clouds, seaside atmosphere, and cute kids...it does good things for the soul.

There's that stroll I was talking about :)