All right ... where was I?
Friday, July 11 was our ten-year wedding anniversary. Ten years! Since we were on vacation, though, we couldn't really go out on a fabulous grownup date. I suppose we could have left WCK under the supervision of the cabin chipmunk, but we decided not to. Besides, we already had a week-long Fabulous 10-Year Anniversary Grownup Date last March when Jay and I went to Disney World, so the actual anniversary was pretty low-key. The three of us went to a restaurant in Ely that offered a wide variety of food, so we each ended up with our favorite things. WCK had grilled cheese, Jay had nachos, and I had mashed potatoes and gravy. Aren't mashed potatoes the official 10-year anniversary gift?
We left the cabin on Saturday and made our way toward Lake Superior. The only route was a very curvy, twisty road through Superior National Forest, and, yes, WCK threw up. Poor thing. I guess it wouldn't be an official family vacation if she didn't get carsick in a scenic location. Last year, it was the wildlife loop at Custer State Park in South Dakota. Where will she throw up next year? Let me know if you have any suggestions. It has to be beautiful and scenic, but hugely inconvenient in some way (no place to pull over, filled with mosquitoes, miles from baby wipes, etc.).
We finally got to the shore of Lake Superior, and it was also beautiful but really, really, really windy. We kept trying to find a place to have a picnic, but the cooler kept blowing over. Finally we gave up and ate at a McDonald's in Duluth. Then we hung out in downtown Duluth for a couple of hours. It was really fun, and there were lots of things to see; I wish we could have stayed there longer.
Then we were off to the Twin Cities again. Jay got to go out with some of his old work buddies, so I decided that WCK and I would have a slumber party in the hotel. I actually ordered one of the hotel pay-per-view movies, which I knew was a huge risk, because WCK is very persnickety about what she will watch. She is still nearly one year into her anti-Sesame Street crusade and shows no signs of backing down. We got Horton Hears a Who, and she LOVED it. I think it was the first time she's sat through an entire movie without complaining once. I really liked it, too.
We spent Sunday at my favorite place in the world -- The Mall of America. I love the way it smells. If you ever go there, take a deep breath. They should make Mall of America air fresheners. Anyway, we had never been to the Underwater Adventures aquarium, which is underneath the mall. A person in a giant shark outfit was walking around handing out coupons, so we decided to check it out. Even with $12 in coupons from Giant Shark Person, it was still $40 for the three of us to get in. It was a pretty cool aquarium, but not $40 worth of cool. At least they had a little pool where you could reach in and touch sting rays.
The next morning, I had to tell WCK we were driving back to Kansas City. She was crushed. "I DON'T WANT TO GO BACK TO KANSAS CITY!" she wailed. "I WANT TO STAY HERE!!"
I guess that's the sign of a good trip.
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