~Five Guys and Two Gals~: Duluth

Saturday we again woke up and started the day with a great breakfast by the lake and then packed up the car. We had a few things for the boys to choose from and in the end they chose to rent a bike, go to the pebble beach, and go to Enger Park/Tower.

We rented one of these bikes last year and the boys enjoyed it. We went up and down the lake walk, making a stop at the pebble beach to cool off in the water and skip rocks.

After we returned the bike we hopped in the car and drove to Enger Park. The boys thought the tower was awesome. The view wasn’t so bad either.

The boys helped Matt move a picnic table into the shade and we had a picnic before we headed home. There was a wedding going on in the park that was neat to watch.

We easily could have stayed longer, though needed to get home. The cutest thing was when we pulled into our garage Nolan said in a very serious and sincere voice, “That was a REALLY fun trip”. Yes, yes it was.

***Disclaimer --- there are a TON of pictures. I would think you would be used to that by now though. ;)

Friday we woke up and had a delicious breakfast (the hotel breakfast is awesome and you can sit out on the patio right on the lake shore – can’t beat that) and got ready to hit the road for Split Rock and Gooseberry Falls. Last year our trip happened to be during the state shut down and we couldn’t get in to see much of either of these places, so we were looking forward to it. I didn’t know what to expect with the boys, but it couldn’t have been a more perfect day trip.

I had to add this picture of Lucas because this is how he goes to the bathroom. He would see his brothers facing the toilet when they went, so he thinks he has to face the toilet. It’s too funny, and no use fighting him to turn around. Actually, this way he can do it by himself and is quite stable! ;)

First stop, Split Rock Light House.

After touring the Lighthouse and grounds we decided to walk down to the shore that you see in the picture below. The picture was taken up by the lighthouse and is the view to the south.

This was the view to the north of the lighthouse (a ship that sunk a long time ago is marked by the two white buoys).

The way down to the shore we took the path. This is probably illegal in a state park (j/k) but Nolan had to go to the bathroom so badly as we were making the decent down to the lake he just stopped and went. Thankfully no one was around.

The boys could have stayed down here forever. They were playing some type of superhero/spy/ninja game as they were climbing up, around, and through the rocks. Even Lucas managed to make his way around. The view from down here was pretty spectacular.

Our family rock tower we built.

The way back up we decided to take the 177 steps back up. Lucas did all of them by himself, and a lady at the top was just amazed that he kept up with his brothers.

Next stop, Gooseberry Falls.

We packed a lunch and ate in the parking lot before heading down to the falls. The last time I was here was in 8th grade, and I couldn’t remember much about it.

The boys enjoyed swimming and splashing in the water. Nolan even attempted to go under the falls a little bit.

After hanging out for awhile (I definitely could see us coming back here and hiking more) we headed back to our hotel. The boys went for a quick swim in the pool and then we got ready for our Vista Fleet Pizza Cruise. Nothing like packing a day full of adventure.

We sat right by a window (which kind of freaked Connor out, it took him a little to relax – he’s our cautious one). We got salad, pizza, a cookie, and beverage. Perfect meal in the boys’ eyes. ;)