A Duluth Evening

Yesterday I ended up heading to Duluth mid-afternoon for a wonderful evening with my brother.  I'll preface this by saying that I do not recommend driving up to Duluth and back within twelve hours, especially if you don't get home until 1:00 am.  It was a little rough, but so worth it.

Thankfully traffic flowed nicely out of the Cities and I made good time up to Duluth.  Then the true test:  once I get to Proctor, a) can I see the lake like I'm supposed to or is it crazy foggy and b) does the temperature drop 20 degrees.  I have a serious love/hate relationship with this city, but I am happy to report that we had a good day.  I could see the lake and it was beautiful!  And somehow it was 78 degrees in Duluth when I got there!  I was so very happy.

Amazing Grace
I kind of had to do the whirl-wind tour of Canal Park in Duluth so I started at my favorite coffee shop in the city - Amazing Grace.  I knew it would be a late night so I decided on an iced cold press coffee. Delish!!!!

Boardwalk
I walked to the boardwalk by Lake Superior as I sipped my coffee.  It was such a beautiful evening.  What a blessing.  My brother met me there and we went for a little walk.  Even ran into my husband's parents as they were enjoying their vacation. 

Canal Park Brewery
Since the weather was gorgeous, we agreed it was necessary to dine outside.  We decided on Canal Park Brewery which is located right off the boardwalk with a wonderful view of the lake.  I had a salad and my brother had the Minnesota burger - black bean/wild rice patty with all the fixings.  We also shared some beers.  We tried the pilsner which was really good.  But the stand out was the nut brown.  Wonderfully caramelized with a subtle but present malty sweetness, it is definitely one of the best beers I've had from CPB.  Definitely worth the stop... and the view!

Les Miserables
Now on to the main event.  My brother gave me a ticket to see Les Mis with him at the DECC.  The show was put on by the Duluth Playhouse and we could not have been more impressed.  The caliber of acting, singing, and stage performing was worth the drive and late night alone!  The company is definitely talented.

Drive Home
I left Duluth at 10:45.  Thankfully I made it home without a late night coffee, pulling off for a nap, egregious speeding, hitting a deer, or falling asleep at the wheel.  You better believe I blasted every song on my ipod.  I'm also thankful I had a voice today.

I normally would spend a lot more time in Duluth, enjoying all my favorite parts of the city, but I had to head home for work in the morning.  I think I did pretty well for an evening, though.