we woke bright and early today in detroit lakes, minnesota. we seemed to be the only guests at our hotel enjoying the free breakfast - not sure if we were the only ones up, or if we were truly their only guests on this monday morning. it was 34 degrees with the sun starting to shine when we got back on the road at 8am. our destination was duluth, and a waterfront boat cruise tour on lake superior.
during a stop for fuel around 10am (37°/feels like 30°), i received a call that, sadly, our cruise had been cancelled for "lack of interest" - awe, man! we were interested!!! but i guess we were the only ones...they offered to reschedule to tomorrow, but i told them that wouldn't work, so they initiated a full refund. so, we adjusted our plans a bit and just drove thru duluth, heading now toward the michigan border.
most of the highways were slow going at 60 mph with 35 mph slow downs thru the tiny towns, so we were happy to see i-35 for a bit around duluth. but the interstate travel didn't last long and we were back to the slower roads soon enough. at least it let us take full advantage of the crisp fall color that was nearing its peak show.
most of the highways were slow going at 60 mph with 35 mph slow downs thru the tiny towns, so we were happy to see i-35 for a bit around duluth. but the interstate travel didn't last long and we were back to the slower roads soon enough. at least it let us take full advantage of the crisp fall color that was nearing its peak show.
unable to agree on a lunch spot in duluth at 11:30am (the original plan of lunch on the cruise was no longer an option), we ended up stopping at an arby's in ashland, wisconsin closer to 1:00pm. it was very cool to see lake superior up close (actually chequamegon bay). of course, we had to take a few quick pics....
it had warmed up to 39°/feels like 34°. after another hour or so, we made it to the michigan border at 2:15pm. we stopped at a michigan visitor center for information, pit stop, and to take a photo with the welcome sign.
knowing we had a good 215 miles to our hotel for the night, we forged on along the rural highways and took in more scenery.
we decided, while driving, to detour a little and go to the mall of america before stopping for the night at the hotel. one last hurrah to take the place of our cancelled cruise adventure. being somewhat south of the twin cities, we bypassed minneapolis and took i-35e alongside st. paul. we also witnessed a pretty spectacular sunset in the process.
we reached the mall in bloomington around 7:00pm, and our main goal was to find dinner.
the girls were captivated by the nickelodean universe.
we settled for the food court where each of us could pick out our favorites.
the girls were captivated by the nickelodean universe.
we settled for the food court where each of us could pick out our favorites.
by 8:45pm, we were finally headed for our hotel for the night. downtown minneapolis was all lit up as we passed by. the temperature was back to 39°.
total day: 588 miles
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.