A beautiful morning in Minneapolis. We took our second shot at a Hampton Inn Suites free breakfast and this one came off better than the previous attempt in Des Moines. Today, we tasted Canadian bacon, scrambled eggs with ham and cheese, plain scrambled eggs and a juice machine that offered all favors. Waffle irons all worked and the carb offerings were normal. Much better effort, but still a crappy substitute for the gourmet fare of yesterday.
We left the hotel and made our pilgrimage to IKEA, arriving just after their opening at 10:00. We toured the floor, searching specifically for dining room table chairs for our upcoming dining room makeover. We sat on a number of models and picked some choices to mull over. Once we make a final decision, we will take a larger vehicle to the Kansas City store for pick-up in the coming weeks. We picked up a few items and proceeded to check-out. We packed our purchases away in the car and we decided, it now being 12:30, that we should step into the cafeteria for our obligatory lunch of Swedish meatballs, mashed potatoes and gravy, mixed vegetables and lingonberry sauce. As loaded back into the car for our afternoon run-up, we realized we had spent hours in IKEA and spent less than $100, lunch included! Amazing.
We used the hated interstate system to blast out of the metro area, but then found our way to the state and county roads of our preference. We cruised through the towns of Wyoming, North Branch, Cambridge, Pine City, Sandstone, Bruno, Kerrick, and Ducette. We stopped at scenic overlooks and marveled as we moved from agricultural fields to pine and birch wood forests. We stopped for a gas up and car wash, contemplated a stop at a yarn and knitting store in Quarry City (we didn't) and pulled into our Duluth destination around 5:30, again timing it for the evening rush - we are good at this.
Our hotel destination is the South Pier Inn; this establishment sits at the end of the Canal Park entertainment area, just under the aerial lift bridge. This bridge guards the entry way from Lake Superior to the port area of Duluth. During the season (now) the bridge lifts on the hour and half hour to allow all sized vessels through. We walked back across the bridge to Grandma's Grill and Saloon for a hamburger, onion rings, a local beer and fish and chips. Good food and a good walk. We returned and sat on the edge of the bay enjoying the view and retired around 9:00; another good day on the road.
