Duluth bound!!

This past weekend we went up for a fun 2 night trip that Erik planned and booked for us at the Sheraton in Duluth, to celebrate our 7 year anniversary.

DAY 1: We arrived in Duluth around 4pm and checked into our hotel. What an awesome room! The bathroom was what I would desire in my own home, with these small french doors, what Erik described as "Ralph Lauren" style wallpaper, little octagon floor tile, and a huge glass shower!

Once we settled in, we ventured downstairs to the main lobby and out onto the street. We walked down to Pizza Luce to have a few happy hour drinks at their bar. Then we walked directly across the street to this really cool store called Electric Fetus. It's a hippie/record/incence/glass/jewelry type of place that I loved wandering around in. Erik bought me this super cutie hat that I can wear this fall!! I can't believe how much one can truly love an accessory, but I do!!

Next, we walked downtown into the streets of Canal Park, went in and out of a couple shops, hung out by this really unique fountain feature, and visited the Chocolate Factory of course - where I got some chocolate covered strawberries and Erik got a mint chocolate covered Oreo.

Cool water fountain feature downtown

The Chocolate Factory window of candy covered apples :)

We then wandered down by the banks of Lake Superior, walking out onto the well known pier to the lighthouse, and back. We also went along the docks to look at sailboats and other VERY large boats! :)

Later on for dinner, we ate at Timberlodge, which we were super excited about because it's one of our favorite places, but they have closed a few of their restaurants back home, so we can't go anymore. I tried a new interesting drink called a 1919 Bullfrog, which reminded me of a White Russian or Colorado Bulldog...man was it strong, but delicious!
We used the hotel shuttle mostly all weekend so we wouldn't have to keep retrieving our car in the parking ramp. They came to pick us up at Timberlodge, took us to Walgreens so we could grab a few things we'd forgot at home, then took us back to the hotel. We went to our room and changed and then came back down to the hotel lobby to sit in their comfy, formal lounge and sip on some drinks. It was pretty entertaining to "people watch" there for the rest of the evening!!

DAY 2: In the morning we showered and then went down to the hotel's 301 Restaurant to enjoy a really good & cheap breakfast! Then we took the hotel shuttle to see the recommended "Rose Gardens" that were in full bloom, and walked around there.

At the "Rose Gardens"

We made our own way back to the hotel after wandering around the park - and then got shuttled quickly back downtown to board the Vista Fleet for the 1pm two hour cruise. The weather couldn't have been any more perfect for a boat ride!!

On the Vista Fleet Cruise!

After we got picked back up by the shuttle when the cruise was over, we went back to the hotel and got our car from the parking ramp. We headed out to Spirit Mountain to ride their famous alpine coaster, the "Timber Twister". That was so so so fun!! The first time we went down, the people in front of us weren't going fast enough, so the coaster operators gave us a free pass to budge in line and go down again. This second time Erik didn't use any breaks and it was amazing!! I felt like I was going to fly off the track on some of those turns!! Being that Erik is such a "racing fan", it was no surprise that he actually laughed the entire time going down that hill. :)
We did wait in line for the new zip line that had just opened that month. But after over a half an hour and only moving a few feet in line, calculating that only 2 people could go at a time for a total of 48 seconds, and the line was 30 people long and maybe 4 people wide...we dropped out (along with many other people) and used our tickets to go back on the Timber Twister for a third and final time!! I would love to go on the zip line some day, but be warned... the wait doesn't seem worth it.

About to go down The Timber Twister!

Later that night, after we got back to the hotel and changed, Erik took me to this really posh lounge called the Black Water Restaurant. It was really unique, all the tables were low knee height, and each table had different leather and plush chairs, or larger round couches for seating.
Erik picked this place because I could eat sushi there, how thoughtful!! :)

Crunchy Roll, my personal favorite!

Godiva Chocolate Fondue, AMAZING!!!!

DAY 3: The last day. We slept in, got up and showered before check out at noon, then headed to Pizza Luce for lunch. I had the best breakfast pizza and fruit covered waffle EVER!! I literally ate everything, and downed 2 mimosas, while Erik didn't even finish his personal sausage pizza. :)

This was for sure one of the best weekends we've had together, LOVED IT!
Note: another awesome thing that happened was when Erik went to pay the hotel bill, they ended up taking off over $150 because we didn't get the "full on lake view" that Erik had asked for...WIN!