Trip to Duluth

We took a trip to Duluth with Kurtis, Jolene and the kids. Our hotel was pretty much terrible. 
But the one thing we enjoyed was the hotel restaurant on the top floor. It slowly rotated 
around as you ate so you could see everything around you look out at Lake Superior.

Duluth, MN

We went on a boat tour on Lake Superior.

We saw several enormous lake freighters that carry cargo.This picture may not 
do it justice for how massive it was!

Jacob and I

Hannah and I

A lighthouse with our adoring fans waving us off as our boat set sail.

We decided to go to Spirit Mountain. Here they have Timber Twister Alpine Roller 
Coaster. You can seat 1-2 people per cart and basically roll down the tracks controlling
the speed with your brake lever. The more weight, the faster you go. Jacob and I went 
down together twice. I was a blast! There were times I was certain the cart was going to 
fly off the track...but we someone made it out alive.

One of my most memorable experiences was when Jacob and I visited 
Glensheen Mansion. I'll let the website do the explaining...

"A hallmark of extraordinary design. A businessman’s enduring legacy. A showcase of diverse interior styles. But at its very heart, a family home. Welcome to Glensheen, the historic Congdon estate. Along the shore of Lake Superior, a 7.6-acre expanse of wooded land enfolds the 39-room Jacobean Revival mansion that is Minnesota’s premier historic site. The interiors of the mansion have endured, boasting nearly all of the same furnishings and décor that graced the rooms when estate was completed in 1908. Even the formal gardens and naturalistic landscape retain much of their original design. Here, visitors are given a fascinating look at life in an affluent family home from the turn of the last century. "

This was the carriage room where all the horses, buggies, and old cars were kept.

The gardens and grounds were beautiful. I guess when you hire someone strictly 
to care for the grounds and have separate living quarters built just for them you can 
expect a beautiful yard.

The main house is 27,000 square feet and has 39 bedrooms. If you look closely enough  you 
can see me as a tiny speck amidst the backdrop of this gigantic house.The house was very 
advanced for the time. There was even an alarm system if break-ins were to occur, and a 
special buzzer under the dining room table that called the cooks and house staff if help was 
needed. There were also a number of gardens and even a boathouse right on the lake shore.