Two weeks ago, a bunch of us Moms packed some clothes, and way too much food and drink into a couple cars. We were heading for Tofte, Minnesota, to spend some quality time with each other and Lake Superior.
My car load made a stop at a new-to-us winery in Harris, MN to check it out. We had a pleasant wine tasting and lunch on the back deck while a pizza oven gave off delicious aromas nearby. North Folk Winery has earned a second visit.
It was a pleasant drive to Duluth, were we found out the Wisconsin contingent was just 10 minutes ahead of us. We made plans to meet at Super One in Two Harbors. Then the sky started amazing rounds of sun showers that followed us to Tofte. The skies were bright blue with clouds, the sun shining, and we were getting a downpour. It was both the most ridiculous thing, and the most awesome thing to experience.
Later in the early evening while we were having supper, there was a very long lasting rainbow on display over the Lake Superior. It would fade a bit, then come back strong. I think it was 30 minutes before it finally disappeared from sight.
We did see some sights the next day in Grand Marias. The lowlight of the day was an absolutely horrible wine tasting at a winery near Lutsen. We had been here three years before, and it was OK. But the wines and ciders we tasted (which between all of us, was the entire menu), were truly awful. We won’t be heading back there again.
We had a hangout day while waiting for the rest of the crew to drive up from The Cities. They made their own trip to Grand Marias and over by the Canadian border. When we all were together, there was a lot of eating, talking, drinking, and singing happening. It was so nice just to BE for a while.
Parts of vacation were no vacation for me — our internet and phone service had gone out in my part of the city three days before I left. I was trying to manage long-distance, getting some action out of CenturyLink while keeping the family calm-ish at home. That was not fun at all. I’d rant to my friends, pound on CenturyLink via texts and Twitter, and attempt to get some attention through their god-awful non-customer service phone tree. I did try to keep a lid on the ranting, and I usually had a drink slid in front of me by a friend to relax me. Coincidentally, our internet and phone service came back 15 minutes after I arrived home from the trip. Yes, I got a refund.
“The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” is an integral part of our trips to Lake Superior (https://youtu.be/PH0K6ojmGZA). We sing the song. We “look for the boat”. We insist it’s the ghosts of the sailors doing things when the lake is acting up. If you’re a Minnesotan of a certain age, like me, you actually remember the storm that took out the Edmund Fitzgerald. The storm cause havoc as it roared like a hurricane through the Twin Cities. It only got worse as it headed north for Lake Superior. Those poor sailors never had a chance.
The night before we left, there was a large thunderstorm complex coming through Thunder Bay, Ontario. We watched the evening light become an eerie purple, green, and yellow. Later, lightning flashed through the skies. When the storm finally came across the lake to us, there were torrential downpours for two hours.
The next morning, the lake was in an uproar, with choppy waters, and large breaking waves, somewhat shrouded in fog and lake mist. It was breath-taking. A crew of us walked down to the lake to take pictures before finishing our packing and heading home.