Heading North (Duluth Trip)

 To say that we had been looking forward to this adventure would be an understatement.  We had been talking about it since Christmas because, well, it was a gift from Santa Claus himself!  You see, when he left our presents for us he also stuck a little note on the tree promising us a family get away to Duluth sometime in the Spring.  I love things to look forward to.  So we put it on the calendar and waited as patiently as we could.  Here we are on the way.  Sometimes for a treat I will squeeze myself into the back seat to ride with the kids.  They love it and so do I...for awhile. 

 Aunt Krissy if you're reading this please notice that we are still having lots of fun with the magnetic airport.  I am proud to say in two years we are only down one plane.  Really folks, that's amazing. Smile.

First stop: Lake Superior Zoo.  Lots of new animals to see like the kangaroo pictured here.  The weather was cool but nice and it wasn't crowded.

Sister loved every minute of it and spent a lot of time running. 

 And of course we had to stop for a ride on this cute little train.   I took the kids and Best stayed back with the lunches and stroller.  They both loved it, but it was the bumpiest ride I've ever been on.  They didn't seem to notice. 

 We were the only passengers so Peanut got his choice of seats and picked the caboose!

 After we had thoroughly investigated the outdoor attractions, we headed inside for the nocturnal house and insect world.  Both very cool.  So was this giant gorilla that Peanut was hoping could be his souvenir!

Then it was time for our private animal encounter.  This was what I had been most looking forward to since I learned about the trip.  (It was a surprise for me to on Christmas morning!  Best,  I mean SANTA knows me pretty well). 

 It was really neat.  A zookeeper brought 4 animals and showed them one by one to the kids, explaining and answering questions as she went.  She was so kind and encouraged them to touch the animals and really taught us all a lot! 

 Above you see Sister getting to pet Millicent the turtle, and below is Peanut bravely getting to know Wesley the snake. 

The giant millipede didn't have a name, but he was fascinating.  All those legs working together.  Even I touched him, although I declined to hold him because I was...ahem...too busy taking pictures... 

 

Below you see Bugs Bunny.  It dawned on me that Peanut probably doesn't even know who "Bugs Bunny" is...I will have to fix that!  But this Bugs was really cute.  He hopped around and was definitely Sister's favorite.  Our Zookeeper, Ms. Melanie, taught us a cute little poem about determining if an animal is a carnivore or herbivore.  It goes: "Eyes in the front, born to hunt.  Eyes on the side, born to hide."

 After the zoo we headed for the hotel.  We stayed at a hotel with a waterpark in it and it turned out to be great.  Best got us a suite with 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms and it worked out perfectly.  Here you see Peanut's room.  Yes, he had the biggest room all to himself complete with private bath and ocean view. It was the first time in a hotel for either kid and they did fantastic.  Since we had an extra bathroom that's where we put Sister's pack n play crib and even she had her own room!  Both mornings we were there I snuck into Peanut's room extra early and we watched the boats go by out the window in our jammies.  He is such great company.   

 As for dining, the first night we hit up the waterpark and then ordered pizza back to the room.  The next morning we had breakfast at the buffet in the hotel.  We all loved the blueberry pancakes the best!  Sister was the main attraction at breakfast.  In fact she charmed the hotel guests everywhere she went that weekend.  She loves to talk to people and smile and wave.  Her joy is infectious.

 We had both a boat ride and a train ride scheduled for Saturday but neither was early in the morning so we had plenty of time to explore the harbor.  We did some shopping, got coffee, saw the light house and walked along the pier.

We also went to the Maritime museum where Peanut became fascinated with the model ships.  They were very cool.

 Our boat ride was first and again we had great weather.

The guide on the boat was great and gave us lots of history and fun facts about this aerial lift bridge, the boat, and what we were able to see of Duluth from the water.

I spent most of my time wrangling this one here.   There were 3 decks on the boat and we visited each multiple times.  But again, she loved it and so did he.  We ended up on the lowest deck at the very front of the boat.  I forget what boat lingo is for front, but it was the best view I thought.

Here we are on the train.  It was fun too.  The depot that we started and ended at was the same one we had gone to for the Christmas Express (click here to read about that adventure!)  It's always fun to explore the big old fashioned train cars and several were open for us to climb up and explore.

That night back at the hotel Peanut and Best hit up the waterpark again while Sister and I played in the room.  She loved the balcony and also just walking the halls and meeting other hotel guests. They were both asleep both nights by 8 o'clock, although the first night we had to wake them up close to 10 when some kid pulled the fire alarm.  Ugh...but it could've been later, colder, etc. so really we got lucky.  ESPECIALLY when we went back inside and they BOTH went right back to sleep!  The second night after the kids went down I snuck down to the hot tub and relaxed a bit, then brought some ice cream for Best and I up to the room.  The next day our only scheduled activity was the Aquarium on the way out of town so we stayed at the hotel in the morning and used our free arcade tokens that came with the room.  It was fun and I can't believe how old Peanut looks in this picture with his hat on backwards.  yikes!

 The hotel also had mini golf and the weather was great again so we played a round. Here is Peanut after his first HOLE IN ONE!  That's right, his first put on the first hole went right in!  So exciting!

 

Giving the thumbs up that we are all packed and ready to go.  He loves to give thumbs up and I think it's so cute.

 Our last attraction: The Duluth Aquarium.  It is a freshwater aquarium and I was surprised at how big it was and how many different things there were to do.  I was drooling over a great art exhibit that I unfortunately didn't think to take any pictures of.  Behind this giant fish at the entrance was a wall of water and both kids were fascinated with that. 

 

Great views of the lake.  Peanut knows the names of all the great lakes and when he says them he ends with "...Superior, that's the biggest."  Ranking things is very important to him.  He often mentions that he is bigger than his Sister...I guess he thinks we might forget.

Looking out from the tree house fort in the kids play area.  There was a boat to fish from complete with poles and life jackets, a tree house filled with books and toys, and a very cool twisty slide!

 Peanut's favorite part by far was the giant water table with dams and boats, bridges and waterfalls. 

 And peek a boo puppet show was a hit with Sister.

 

On the way home Peanut again wanted to listen to his headphones so Best and I suffered through some quiet time as we drove (wink) but soon I heard some snoring and turned and saw this.  We let him sleep until we stopped to eat and when I woke him I asked, "How was your rest?"  Well, he was adamant that he had NOT been asleep and even after I showed him the picture he refused to concede, stating, "Well that is me, and I am asleep in that picture, but that is not today!"  Ha ha!  So we just agreed to disagree and he did some more "not sleeping" on the last leg of the trip.  Sister too. 

 

 I know my opinion is biased, but I truly don't think any kids could be better travelers.  They were happy in the car, slept well, and loved all the sightseeing.  I'm glad because we've got lots more planned.  Hope you're seeing the sites with someone you love.  Have a great week friends and family! 

Investigating at the Science Museum

 

Peanut has been asking to go back to the "dinosaur museum" for awhile now.  Not only does he love dinosaurs, but also space and I wanted to make sure we got there while the Space exhibit was still in town.  Below you see Peanut in the captain's seat of the Jonathan towboat that is now part of our Science Museum!

It's a close contest for cutest Captain...I'm just gonna say we've got two winners here.  Love her grin.

I love how Peanut points things out to Sister and tells her what they are. 

Here is Peanut at Collectors Corner.  Our Science Museum runs a sort of swap shop where kids can bring in artifacts they find and learn about them as well as view some of the museums collection close up with an expert explanation from museum staff.  Peanut was really interested in hearing about this arachnid.

Looking at a blood sample through a microscope.  Blood is his "favorite body part" he tells me...

Pull a lever and open a dinosaur's mouth...he could have stayed here all day.

And although we have one of these at home, Sister was so happy to find it among the children's exhibit and stayed happy until it was time to get out.  That part did not go so well....

But there are lots of things to do at the museum so we had to move on.  One of my favorite things are the plays and demonstrations they do.  This particular day we saw a play about bears and then later we saw some really cool science tricks involving dry ice and liquid nitrogen. 

Here we are taking a lunch break in the cafeteria over looking the lobby.  It's always fun to sit down together to recap what we've seen and talk about where we are headed next...

And this day it was to the Space Exhibit!

Trying on an astronaut's glove.

The exhibit was filled with so many interesting things for both adults and children.  Here are the kids arranging magnets on a board to make their own "City on Mars". 

And last but not least...we always go to the gift shop but we seldom buy anything.  After all, the outing is really the treat. But you can see we made an exception this day with some Astronaut ice cream.  Of course we bought two packs, one to eat at the museum and one to bring home to share with Best.  Because he makes all of this fun and learning we do possible.  And we are forever grateful.

I truly enjoy these outings as much as the kids do.  It's a bit of work packing up and making the drives, but it's worth every minute.  Hope you are out exploring the world with someone you love.  Have a great week friends and family.