By now, you know Jamey and I have an ongoing dispute about the best place – Duluth (me) or Okoboji (him). We go to both places every year, but I think Duluth and the North Shore more generally is the best place to keep visiting. More breweries, more outdoor exploring, more options. But, we got married in Okoboji, so it has a special spot in my heart and it is sure is a lot of fun. But they have very different vibes.

A new favorite place to stay in Duluth

We spent the last leg of our birthday week trip in Duluth. This time we stayed at Lakehead Boat Basin instead of our old tried and true favorite, Spirit Lake Marina. We actually visited this place a few years ago, walked around and declared it wasn’t for us. To be fair, it really is a parking lot (for boat storage) with RV hookups. There is no sitting around a fire and relaxing outside here.

But it is just across the lift bridge and very close to all of the fun things in Canal Park. We could walk the dogs on the designated walking pier and watch the Duluth lift bridge raise and lower to allow the big ships in and out – so that was pretty spectacular.

It’s also walking or biking distance to everything. At the same price as Spirit Lake Marina, it just comes down to what type of stay you’re looking for – a place to sleep between explorations, or a place to relax by the fire. For the type of trips we take, a parking lot can often be the most ideal for the location.

A drink and a tour

Coming from Bayfield, WI we got to Duluth in less than two hours so we had lots of time available in the day. We biked the very short half mile into Canal Park for a tour of the William A. Irvin Museum, a decommissioned freighter. Having a little time before the tour started, we stopped for a cocktail at Vikre Distillery. Despite visiting Duluth multiple times each year, this was the first time we’ve made a stop at the distillery. Highly recommend a visit! Their spirits were strong, and cocktails on point. I enjoyed the Signature Old Fashioned and Jamey shocked me by ordering a Bighorn Mule. Jamey isn’t typically a fan of hard alcohol, preferring his beer and seltzers, but he’s branching out.

William A. Irvin Museum

If you’ve ever visited Duluth, you’ve seen the William A. Irvin. It’s the big boat in Canal Park. In October, they have haunted tours.

Back in ye old days (1938-1978), she hauled boatloads of iron ore across the Great Lakes. She was staffed by 32 crew and nine officers. Officers had their own dining room and nicer accommodations. The crew worked through some grueling conditions to maneuver the ship – getting really hot in the engine room and braving fierce winds and cold on the deck. The tour included the engine room, mess hall (with a fryer! Who is frying hot grease on a boat cruising across rough waters!?), workers quarters, captains quarters, the guest quarters (fancy schmancy!) and the pilots deck. Each part of the tour was staffed by a tour guide to tell us more about the area, the history, and what it would have been like to be a crew member or guest on board.

The tour was full of interesting facts and history. From the speed the crew could unload cargo and how state of the art the ship was for her time. The guide in the pilot deck worked on the William A. Irving’s sister ship for most of his career, and he had some very interesting stories to tell. Hearing about life on the ship first-hand was so interesting and made it seem so much more real than black and white photos and guides who memorized a script ever can (that’s my bias, not their fault). You can learn more about the SS William A. Irvin at the Duluth library’s website.

Friends, dogs, dog friends

As is now tradition, our friends Rachel and Lon joined us in Duluth for our birthdays and Memorial Day weekend. Their dog, Kita and the boys all got along great, making for fun and easy get togethers. Hazy and Kita get along, but Barley is reactive! We tried an introduction in her first month with us, and that did not go well. Rachel and Lon also recently adopted a second German Shepherd. Koa is dog friendly, but energetic, potentially triggering for Barley. Suffice it to say, I spent weeks working with Barley on her reactivity and fretting over how this introduction would go. I had all the anxiety.

Sniff Spot

Knowing that being on-leash makes Barley much more reactive, we had to meet somewhere she can be unconstrained. But also not wanting to overwhelm her with a bunch of dogs, a dog park was off the table. Thankfully I remembered Sniff Spot exists. People can rent their fenced in yards for just this type of opportunity! I originally thought it was a weird idea, but now I think it’s brilliant. I rented a yard in Superior (the only one in the area) for an hour and we all met for the first introduction.

Barley wore her muzzle at first and was clearly uncomfortable and unhappy. Hazy and Koa sniffed each other and got to wrestling. After about 30 minutes and lots of treats, all the dogs seemed comfortable and we took Barley’s muzzle off. She didn’t play as much as she followed Hazy around and tried to chase Koa away from “her” dog. But she didn’t snarl, snap or lunge, so it was a success. I was so proud of my girl! It went so well, I booked it again for the next day.

After successful introductions, we took all the dogs for a nice walk along the beach and to a hidden cove on Lake Superior where we let everyone off leash to chase sticks into the water. Everyone (including the people) had so much fun! And the dogs were good and tired after so much playtime.

Birthday Dinner

Oh, I neglected to mention it was my birthday. Boring. Anyway, we took the dogs back to the RV where they promptly went to sleep, and we walked over to Canal Park for an appetizer and drinks at Canal Park Brewing followed by a nice meal at Bellisio Italian Restaurant. I forget what I ordered, but I do remember that it was pretty good. Not the best meal I’ve ever had, not exactly worth the price, but it was a nice evening. After dinner, we walked the dogs down to the South Pier Lighthouse and watched a ship come in and under the lift bridge.

Duluth Waterfront Sightseeing Cruise

Saturday was a cold and rainy day. Thankfully we had already booked a Duluth Waterfront Tour with Vista Fleet. The boat had three levels so there was the option to stay dry and warm, or go outside and enjoy the views. Of course, the interior had a bar, so we spent some time indoors. The tour was pretty cool, it was fun to see the area from the water and cruise under the lift bridge. A warmer day might have been nice, but at least the drizzle and cold winds kept everyone else away from the top level so we had all the best views.

We learned a lot about the history of the area and were treated to some silly jokes to boot. We even learned about the meaning behind the boat honks and were treated to our own back and forth honks. I suspect the tours typically go further out on the lake, but since the weather wasn’t ideal we stayed fairly close to shore. I’d do this cruise again and hope for warmer weather!

Jamey’s birthday

Sunday was Jamey’s birthday. His birthday wish? Visit every single brewery in town. Very on brand.

So we started with lunch and beer at the Thirsty Pagan in Superior. It’s very important to get a good base of food in the belly when engaging in such a feat of bravery.

We made it to all by two of the breweries. Blacklist was closed, and we had already been to Hoops Brewing twice during this visit. We also stopped for dinner (and a beer) between Canal Park Brewing and Fitgers at Mexico Lindo.

Uff da, so much beer was had. I had to break up the fun with some NA drinks of Kombucha and water. Jamey was only a little slow the next day.

Before we went home on Memorial Day, we were able to catch sight of the first Great Lakes Cruise to make it to Duluth in a decade.

Another great trip to Duluth in the books. I’m already looking at the calendar to get back one more time this year in that RV park!