If the weather Friday was pretty awful, Saturday made up for it. The skies were a vivid northern blue, the sun glaring across Lake Superior. The drive from Duluth to Thunder Bay was like going up the A1A, hugging the shores of the lake the entire way.
We stopped often, admiring view after view. A fisherman called out Hello to us. He had driven up from St. Paul and was trying to decide whether or not to put his boat in the water. The waves were far smaller than the day before, but still choppy. Everyone has been exceptionally friendly, eagerly offering suggestions for places to visit.
A friend from Minnesota suggested we stop at the Temperance River. There was a walkway directly over the thundrous falls, which poured millions of gallons of fresh water into Lake Superior at a shocking rate of speed.
We stopped in Grand Marais, where we found hundreds of people and cyclists celebrating the Memorial Day weekend. We had a lovely espresso on the porch of a coffee shop overlooking the lake.
Lunch was at a quiet picnic table on a river near Finland, named for the many Finnish settlers who came from there.
Soon we were anxiously crossing the border into Canada. Where the towns and state parks had been bustling with happy people, the border was empty of cars. The border agent smiled and welcomed us, as we handed him our passports. He inquired where we were going, which since we are not certain sometimes causes the agents concern. Not our friendly agent, however! He asked if we had “any of those Florida guns” and when we assured him we did not, he waved us through with well wishes. It was easily the most friendly border crossing we had ever experienced!
We stopped at a pullover where you could see completely over the tops of the trees, a view I had never seen before.
We were pretty excited to get to our next destination, Thunder Bay, Ontario. I had already checked and of course there were a few breweries. And, BONUS, our hotel overlooked the third busiest airport in Ontario, Thunder Bay Airport. Private jets were zipping in and out for the weekend.
Soon we headed into the downtown area, excited to learn about Thunder Bay. But the first thing we saw was a small tent city, about 20 tents with apparently homeless people lingering around. Instead of t-shirt stores, the area along Lake Superior looked rundown.
Regardless, we got to Sleeping Giant Brewing Company, named after an island off the coast that looked like a sleeping giant. Unlike the city we had seen so far, the brewery was amazing inside with tall tanks brewing beer and a disco ball! Upstairs were books and a canoe with pretty lights. And of course, hockey was on the tv.
We headed next to Lakehead Brewery, another area in downtown. Again it was nice, with good beer and attached to a pizza shop with delicious food! There were people all ages, includiing families with babies enjoying and afternoon together.
When we left we thought we would take a walk, but the area had a bad vibe. I commented that the last time I had a bad vibe I was mugged, so we left, wondering why this town seemed so downtrodden.
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