Duluth Adventure!

Day One: 

We drove up to Duluth, Singing, and playing the Alphabet game the whole time. We stopped at the scenic overlook to see all the things we would see, and the places we would go. Climbing on the rocks on the shore was really scary for buttercup at first, but with help and later got the confidence to start figuring it out on her own. We looked for treasures (sticks and feathers) and mermaid tears (sea glass).

We checked into the hotel- which was a little confusing for her because she thought we lived here now, and was worried about the dogs (who we left at home). We headed down to the pool with a flamingo toy and a life jacket, she played on the stairs and eventually got into the water. with lots of screaming Roman and I taught her how to scootch along the wall with your hands. After we taught her, she ended up scootching all the way around the pool on her own as we watched from the hot tub.

I had her keep a "journal" and draw something we that day each evening:

 Day Two: 

This was a full day! We went to the Aquarium, saw scuba divers feeding sturgeons, pet moon jellies and read all about fish- and played with the awesome lock and dam models of the lakes. In the afternoon we went to the library to kill time before the train ride.




We played in the pool again, she learned she could touch the bottom where the stairs ended



Day Three:

We drove up the shore, stopping at almost every pit stop to look for treasures, and throw rocks in the lake. We walked on the breakwater in Two harbors, ate lunch at Betty's  Pies, ran around at Gooseberry and hiked on the knife river. Ultimately, we raced one of the ships from two harbors, to the bridge to watch it go under. One of the crew members was wearing giant foam hands- better for waving.



I put on my swim teacher hat, and as she cried and panicked sang songs about fish while I held her on her back and taught her to kick. She had her head on my shoulder and we were cheek to cheek but she was so distraught she couldn't feel it. she ended up blowing nose bubbles in the water all on her own later.


Day Four: 

Our final day, we hung out in the hotel until checkout- we had to get our morning swim in. She had a few other kids to play with and she discovered she could touch in a lot more places than she thought. we were essentially playing fetch with a rubber ducky, and another child. she ended up swimming around without realizing it- and telling us how brave and strong she was. It was great! We took a harbor tour on a boat before we left town.




the weather was perfect for Duluth fall, we were there just past peak leaves, and we overdressed bringing our winter coats, hat mittens, and long underwear- but id rather be overdressed than underdressed!