New scenery

Over the summer, I had the chance to go home for about a week in August.  The summer is the best time to visit.  The North Country really does have some great scenery, and it's even better to see by boat.  Ashley and Jeff took me out for a spin in their fishing boat.  I'd like to say I caught a bunch of fish, but that would be far from the truth.  Let's just say I'm still working on that skill lol.  We had a great time "trying" to catch fish and got to see a beautiful sunset on the river.

A Taste of Home

My hometown in Upstate NY is known for its quiet, country lifestyle, but a new trend is putting the place on the map.  Wineries are popping up all around.  The Finger Lakes area has capitalized on this fad for the last 5 years or so and now vineyards are opening further north.  While I was home in August my family decided to take a local wine tour, and I must say, the Northcountry is churning out some great wine.

 We hit four wineries: 1000 Islands, Coyote Moon, Otter Creek and Yellow Barn.  Each one had their own unique line of wines.

 The 1000 Islands Winery was build on farmland that dates back to 1836.  The winery opened in 2003, with about 1300 gallons bottled the first year.  Now they are making more than 30,000 gallons each year and have gone from hand bottling to machines.

 Jeff, Me, Ashley and Mom at 1000 Islands Winery.

 We discovered "wine slushies" while on our tour.  Think of them as an alcoholic slurpie - they're great!


We snapped a few pictures in the vineyard and hit the next stop. 

 The other three wineries are a little smaller, still getting their start.  They are generating quite a buzz in our area though, and hopefully will become "hot spots" for people to visit while passing through our town.

A fishing trip to remember

For a whole week we left the hustle and bustle of work and household chores to slip away to Ely, MN.  This was a special trip for us, not just because neither Jason nor I had been there before, but because Jason's parent's came to MN for the first time.

They made the 19 hour trip west to our house and then another four hour jaunt up north to the cabin.  Once we arrived it didn't take long to unwind.  We spent a few hours each day fishing, playing games and enjoyed each others company.  The mornings were spent on Burntside Lake trying to convince fish to nibble on our lines, and the afternoons and evenings playing cards or Trivial Pursuit.

We also took in some wildlife.  We watched an eagle fly around one of the islands and a pair of loons carry their baby around on their back.

Picturesque anniversary

Every state has a prized spot, an area that everyone boasts about.  New York has the Adirondacks, and Minnesota has the North Shore.  For our anniversary we spent a night in Duluth, and ventured to several parks along Lake Superior.  This is a state that takes great pride in their lakes and water quality and it shows when you head north.

One of the parks we went to was Gooseberry Falls.  We had a beautiful day, which made for some great pictures.

After this park we kept heading north and went to one more state park where there is an old lighthouse - the Splitrock Lighthouse.   It was built after a storm in 1910 forced 30 ships to ram into the giant rocks that jut out into the lake.  The lighthouse was constructed to give ships an idea of where land was and to warn them about rough water.  With the advent of sonar, the lighthouse became obsolete in the 70s.  The park system bought the lighthouse and it's now one of the most popular tourist attractions in MN.

This is the view of Lake Superior from the lighthouse.

Our one year anniversary!

It's hard to believe that one year ago Jason and I walked down the aisle.  We decided to celebrate our first anniversary on the North Shore in Minnnesota.  We started our trek in Duluth, a town that overlooks Lake Superior.  We headed for Canal Park first, a spot that attracts all the tourists.  You can watch huge barges come through the lift bridge here.  Somehow we timed it perfectly to watch a ship from Canada come through. 

Once the bridge dropped back down we went across to a beautiful beach.  The sand and water are clean - chilly but clean. 

 Duluth from the beach.

After visiting a few sites in Duluth, we hopped back in the car and headed farther North.

A season full of severe weather (already)

We've had a crazy spring. First it snowed in early May, then we went right into tornado season. In the past two weeks the tornado sirens have sounded a dozen times, mostly over this past weekend. Several tornadoes have ripped up trees and wrecked homes.  While we haven't had any significant damage in our town, Minneapolis wasn't so lucky.  On Sunday a tornado touched down in North Minneapolis.  It killed one person, injured 30 others and left a trail of destruction. 

On Monday I did a story about the storm damage.  You can check out the story here.  While out, I snapped a few pictures.  It's amazing what mother nature can do.  This tornado was on the ground for less than three minutes and managed do a lot of damage in a short amount of time.

From defensive end to boxer

There has been a lot of buzz in the sports world about a Minnesota Viking that decided to switch careers.  Defensive end Ray Edwards went from his purple uniform on the gridiron to red silk shorts in a boxing ring.  The 260 pound football player fought his first pro fight at a casino this past Saturday night. 

We made the mini trek up to Hinckley's Grand Casino to watch the fight.  Edwards wound up winning after four rounds, but it was not an impressive fight.   Crowds were booing.  Jason was more entertained to see Joe Cortez, a notable referee that has a catch phrase, "I'm fair but I'm firm." 

After a disappointing bout, we went straight to the slot machines and entertained ourselves for a bit.

Our new hobby

Over the last few weeks Jason and I have developed a weakness for the ponies lol.  We have several race tracks near our house, which we have been fans of for several years, but this is the first year we put money on the big races.  We bet on the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, with pretty good success.  Well, it's probably more accurate to say we rotate our success.  For the derby, I picked the second place horse while Jason's horse was carted off in ambulance.  But in the Preakness my horse came in dead last, while Jason picked the winner!

 
Now our winnings aren't going to allow us to retire or anything, but having a bet on a race makes it really fun to watch.  The last leg of the Triple Crown race is the Belmont, which happens in a few weeks.  Maybe we'll both have good luck on this one!