So Friday the 14th (Valentine's Day) rolls around and it's just another day at the office. I am really looking forward to leaving on Sunday for the ice caves and excited for my "don't worry about it" plans for what Drew had up his sleeve for that Friday night. Well 9:00 AM rolls around and I get a call from the receptionist: "cupid strikes again," she says, and I waltz down to pick up a beautiful bouquet of flowers. On my way back up to my department, a small army has gathered and all eyes are on me and are googling (not the search engine) over the fact that I got this huge bouquet delivered to me and what a sweet guy I have, etc. My red face almost matched the roses in the bouquet. Anyway, I open the card and I see a note that says something along the lines of "Let's Go! (Time to leave)" Love, Drew. Of course everyone, including myself, is sent into a frenzy. I glance out into the parking lot, expecting to see Drew in the Highlander waiting for me. Anyway, long story short is he had arranged (with the help of my mom) with my boss for me to have a half day off (the flowers were supposed to arrive at 11:30 and he WAS going to be in the parking lot, waiting) and I was to meet him at my house at 11:30. We met at my house and I opened my gift and inside the card was a typed out itinerary for the entire weekend. We were scheduled to leave that afternoon, head to Duluth, spend the night, ski at Lutsen Saturday, stay in Grand Marais Saturday night, ski again on Sunday for part of the day and head over to Bayfield, stay the night and see the caves on Monday as planned. I could not believe what I was reading! I don't think I wiped the grin off my face until we hit Forrest Lake. :)
It was a jam-packed weekend and it was so much fun! It was one of those trips where you felt like you were gone a week, we packed so much in. Drew definitely out-did himself. It makes those 'cozy pants' I gave him for Valentines Day look pretty lame!
Before I get to the insane amount of pictures I took, I will type out some of the highlights of the weekend:
- Two casino stops on the way to Duluth--we both won money.
- Valentines dinner at Black Woods Grill in Duluth
- Tequila shots (not my decision) at some local bars
- Hungover skiing on Saturday in not the best of weather conditions - I took a couple wipe-outs but managed to keep my tears of frustration at bay (gotta be tough, you know)
- My Sisters Place & Sven and Ole's in Grand Marais
- Taking in the best local "up north" people watching scene that you'll ever see at the Birch Terrace Supper Club bar Saturday night
- Excellent skiing conditions Sunday. I was not hungover and the weather was awesome --therefore had a pretty good day on the slopes
- Stopping at Gooseberry Falls to see the frozen, snow-covered waterfalls on the way out of the North Shore area
- Lunch at the famous Betty's Pies
- Stopping at the Port Superior Marina on the way into Bayfield to see the snow-covered sailboats on top of their stands. It's unreal how that marina changes in the winter
- Red Cliff casino lodging in Bayfield Sunday night --neither of us won money and Drew beat me in pool, 2 games to 1
- Taking the "ice road" from Bayfield over to Madeline Island--how Lake Superior freezes that much to allow the weight of cars is beyond me
- Going to the caves and walking a total of probably 5 or 6 miles in boots, snow pants and on ice but it was totally worth it!
- Doing crossword puzzles on the way home and actually learning a thing or two!
And now for an abundance of pictures...
