Must See Spots on the Way to Grand Marais | North Shore Stops | Travel

Must See Spots on the Way to Grand Marais |

North Shore Stops

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My husband and I made our way for the first time to Grand Marais. The planner in me has been planning and googling all the different things we could explore along the way to Grand Marais. What was worth seeing and what wasn’t, what gems are along the way, all that good stuff. I have been planning this little weekend adventure for months since Covid hit we were not sure we would have to cancel or not but the Lord provided and we went on our road trip adventure.

On the way to Grand Marais these are the stops we made and what we enjoyed.

IOANA BEACH

Ioana Beach in Two Harbours - Pink Beach - This is a beautiful beach where all the rocks are pink. I know it sounds weird but this was really cool to see in person. The beach is pretty big so on a normal weekend I am sure it is packed. I have seen these type of beaches all the time on facebook pages like “Take Me There.” So I was really excited that there was something I did not have to even leave my Minnesota to see in person. Marcus and I enjoyed sitting in the little cove area where we watched Dunder play in the water. The rocks were sitting in the sun so they warmed up our feet nicely when we came out of the freezing water temperatures. This was a great spot for a forest of pine trees as well, which is often sought after for photos. I can see a fun engagement/couple session here in future for sure.
You can check out the website here

Black Beach

Black Beach in Silver Bay - Like the beach above this beach is known for the beach being black rocks! It felt like regular sand to the touch and was really hot being in the sun all morning by the time we got there!
The big thing with this location is the parking lot was PACKED causing cars to park on the side of the road almost a mile up. We chanced it and got a spot close but parking was not great. For those in larger campers this spot would be really tricky on a day full of people.
I loved the rock fixtures attached to this beach and I think it would be a cute place to take a couple for a photo session in silver bay!

You can check out the website here if you want more information

Palisade Head

Palisade Head in Beaver Bay - A stop that will sneak up on you if you are not looking for, Palisade Head is a high overlook off highway 61. It has a lower parking lot and a tight road up to a small parking lot at the lookout. It was high up and pretty intimidating in person. I don’t know if this is something we would stop at again as it seemed very close to all the other stops we had already done! We did not stay long. The ledge was really the only location that wasn’t packed with trees right off the parking lot.

You can read other peoples reviews on Tripadvisor Link Here

Cascade Falls State Park

Cascade Falls State Park - This was one location that was kind of in the air for us. If we felt up to it at the time then we would go type deal. it was also one of my favorite stops of the day! So glad we didn’t skip it. Cascade Falls State Park had water falls and good little hiking paths that were close to the parking lot. We did make a mistake of going north when we should have gone south which added about an hour of going up the trail but it was still beautiful to see. I LOVED these falls. They were beautiful to see in person and I would 100% go back to this location to enjoy them again.

Website here if you want more information

Now! There are other amazing stops along the way I would recommend that we did not stop THIS trip.
Additional stops I would highly recommend are Gooseberry Falls, Duluth Pier, The Split Rock Lighthouse, Tettegouche State Park, Silver Bay. We have made these adventures on previous times coming up the North Shore so we did not try to fit them in this time, but they are all stops we would make again!

Are you planning your North Shore gettaway for you Engagement session? I have tips to make your State Park Photo session even more amazing! You can check out Tips for Your State Park Engagement Session HERE

Foods at Epcot's Food and Wine Festival 2019 | Our Anniversary Trip to Disney | Travel

Food and Wine Festival 2019

October 2019 marked Marcus and I’s 5 year wedding anniversary! I was just blow away on how fast these past years went; but they have been some of my favorite years I have ever lived.
Wanting to do something special, we both racked our brains for something that we could really commemorate the milestone in our lives. After lots of talks and suggestions, we decided to celebrate by going to Orlando's Disney parks! (Yes, we were grouped into the childless millennial category. No worries, though didn’t get into any pretzel line).
Our second day at the parks we chose to enjoy our day at Epcot! It also just happened to be Epcot’s 2019 Food and Wine Festival. Although, we are not much of drinkers we are super into food! I was SO excited to find out we would be going at this time. How it works: Epcot is known for having food from around the world because of the different countries they have built around the lake. WIth the Festival going on they have more food booths that serve both food and wine from all the different countries around the world.

At every stop they provided a free food passport with stickers to make which ones you eat on the way! So Marcus and I ate around the world and this is what we had.

Kāalua Pork Slider with Sweet-and-Sour DOLE® Pineapple Chutney and spicy Mayonnaise in Hawaii

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So far this is the closest I have been to Hawaii which is very high on my bucket list right now. Any food that has pineapple in I am there! This slider was the first of the food we tried. It is basically two bites worth of a serving. The combination was good; the flavors worked well together. Nothing truly mind blowing but I would go back for another if there wasn’t so many other foods on our list that day!

Grilled Sweet-and-Spicy Bushberry Shrimp with Pineapple, Pepper, Onion, and Snap Peas in Australia

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Marcus is huge into seafood and most of all huge into shrimp! I am not a seafood person. So a couple of items on this list we did not share. Marcus thought this dish was just ok. I had some of the veggies in the dish and understood where he came from. The flavors weren’t our favorite.

Charcuterie in a Cone with a selection of imported Spanish Meats, Cheeses, and Olives with an Herb Vinaigrette in Spain

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I felt so fancy eating this dish! It was literally just meat, cheese, and olives, but that didn’t matter! This was one of my favorites dishes of the day. All the flavors were there; there was such a good variety in such a small little cone but didn’t feel heavy on the gut. Marcus and I both approved.

Kenyan Coffee Barbecue Beef Tenderloin with Sweet Potato and Corn Mealie Pap and Kachumbari Slaw in Africa

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Coffee has never let me down. This dish was no exception. I had picked this one out early on with high hopes of something good. The presentation was a little different but the flavors quickly made this dish my favorite one of the day. It had almost a sweet curry flavor that had a refreshing quality to it. Marcus is not a curry person in the slightest. I was glad to have this dish mostly to myself!

New England Lobster Roll: Warm Lobster with fresh Herb Mayonnaise and Griddled Roll in good old US of A

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Another sea food dish, this lobster roll basically had Marcus in the palm of its butter roll. He LOVED it. Afterwards, Marcus proclaimed this dish to be his favorite of the day. So for any seafood people this is one you will not want to skip!

Boeuf Braisé à la Bordelaise, Pomme Dauphine: Beef Braised in Cabernet Sauvignon with Red Onions and Puffed Potatoes in France

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I was excited to try this dish. One thing that Epcot did I thought was really cool was all the servers at each “country” were from the actual country. Their server badge had the city they were from in each country. I thought it was just a fun way to make the experience feel authentic. I have heard of this dish from movies so I wanted to give it a try. It was pretty basic stew taste. It was nothing special.

Moqueca: Brazilian Seafood Stew featuring Scallops, Shrimp, and White Fish with Coconut-Lime Sauce and Steamed Rice in Brazil

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This seafood stew was a dish for Marcus but I had a small bite of the rice. It was too fishy for my personal taste. It sounded like it had SO much potential but Marcus didn’t particularly care for it.

Spicy Roll: Spicy Tuna and Salmon Sushi Roll topped with Volcano Sauce in Japan

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We love sushi! Sushi is the only exception to my seafood dislike. Even though it was tuna, this roll was a little more familiar with what we normally eat. Not super fresh but it was still a solid sushi roll.

Caramel Apple Popcorn in Appleseed Orchard Wine Bar

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I loved the container this food item came it! I knew it was worth getting just for the apple container. Thankfully the Caramel Apple popcorn was just as delicious as all the photos and press gave it! It was a sweet treat to end our trip around the world with!

This is my honest opinion as a first time Food and Wine Festival goer. I went in coming off the Minnesota State Fair into this anniversary food adventure with HIGH hopes. If you are not a Minnesota native you probably wonder why I bring up the State Fair. The Minnesota State Fair has some of my favorite annual foods that keep me coming back for more and day dreaming about until August each year. Every year they add new foods to try which makes me start planning the moment the list comes out before the fair even opens. The foods are mouthwateringly delicious. ( I can give you some recommendations upon request!)

I know Disney does not spare expense when it comes to making their client experience amazing for everyone that goes. With that in mind I was not impressed with the quality and flavors of the food we purchased at Epcot’s Food and Wine Festival. I wouldn’t go back to Disney’s Epcot just for this food festival, but it was a fun experience to try at least once in my life! I am so gratefully Marcus and I were able to have this fun time together and share in this experience.

Bonus Foods at Disney Springs

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These items are not at Epcot but I could not leave them out of the post. Disney Springs is a little free access “Downtown Disney” with food and shopping. Marcus and I hit it up the first night to explore and ended up spending a solid 20 minutes in their Christmas Store. It took everything in me not to buy the whole store out. (Disney knows what it is doing!) But back to the food!

This little cake is from Amorette's Patisserie. It is the Mickey Mouse cake: Chocolate Chiffon Cake, Dark Chocolate Mousse and White Chocolate Mousse. It was the perfect combination of light and fluffy with a little bit of crunch. It was so delicious I wish we could have brought a large one home with us! I highly recommend this mini cake to get you into the Disney spirit!

We later grabbed dinner and Marcus was eyeing these nachos. Believe me when I tell you these were literally the best nachos of my life! I am not joking when I say these nachos were the best tasting food we had on out Disney trip and you DON’T EVEN NEED TO GO TO A PARK TO GET THEM! We have joked about having them flown to us. But if you are in Disney Springs go to the West Side and the sell them on a little barbecue hut on the right side of House of Blues.

Hayward Surprise Birthday Weekend | Wisconsin Travel

Surprise Hayward Birthday Weekend

I know this is a little late BUT this post is what we did for my birthday! I wanted to share how much Marcus did and all we enjoyed! (With a little family photo session at the end :D)
November is my birthday month! I have always been big into my birthday and I think a large part of that is coming from a big family. One day out of the year was my day and I LOVE my birthday! This year Marcus gave me the option early on, do I want my birthday gift to be a surprise or do I want to know. I decided to live on the side of whimsy and be surprised. Then a week later I caved. "You can tell me it is ok." My feeble attempts were futile, until about a week before. Marcus caved a little and gave me 5 questions I could ask and he would answer them honestly. I LOVED this part. I thought through my questions and decided to ask one to help manage me expectations. "Will I be in any way holding, touching, feeding a Red Panda by Monday?" (Red Panda's are my favorite animal and a very high bucket list item to have a live encounter with some day). The Answer was a No. Among a couple of other questions that were more fun than anything I did get out of him that we were leaving the state! I was SO excited!

I took Friday off at his request and after a day at the office I came home to Marcus handing me my weekender bag and telling me once I filled it up we were hitting the road! I took off for my bed room as fast as I could and with permission looked in his bag to get a good idea of what to throw into mine.

3 pair of underwear and 3 pairs of socks. That was all the information I needed to help fill the amount of days we would be away! With a little more hints from Marcus as he watched and packed more things into the truck, I left the bathing suit at home and 30 minutes to an hour later we were on the road! Dunder was coming with us.
It wasn’t until about 2 hours in until Marcus told me what was going on. He had booked us a weekend getaway to a WI Cabin. I was so excited and was pleasantly surprised! This year my family has been talking about renting a cabin for a week where we can all enjoy water sports and fellowship together. Marcus took that and put it on a little trial run. The second part of the surprise was that the following day my whole family would be joining us!

PS Dunder exhausted himself out with how excited he was to be on this adventure he slept most of the way. When we finally came rolling into the small town, it was dinner time. We stopped at a local pizza place grabbed one and then headed to the cabin. We pulled up to this dark wood log cabin that was so cute, even in the dark.

What felt really different from the city was even just unpacking the truck it was eerily quiet. Not something we experience very much living so close to a highway. The cabin was so cozy with a fireplace and plenty of space. All the decorations looked like they were just shopped out of Hobby Lobby’s cabin decor with Moose, Deer, and fish hanging on the walls. With wood panels and dark green carpet, it was perfect for a weekend getaway.

The downstairs had a pool table so after some curiosity exploring, we played a couple of rounds of pool. And I didn’t know this but I married a pool shark. Marcus grew up with one in his house so naturally he is amazing. ( and super proud of that fact).

We ate pizza with the fire blazing and just enjoyed a night of hanging out.
The next day I woke up to a stunning view of the lake that this cabin had been built on. The cabin was higher on the hill so it just held a stunning higher view. We explored outside and found stairs headed down to the water, a little fire pit on the side of the house and a front yard made for throwing Dunder’s Frisbee.

We walked the streets around the cabin and just took a relaxing day at the cabin. Reading some of the books they had there while basking in the sun on their over sized chair. It wasn’t until about dinner time until the rest of the family started pulling up!
We made enchiladas’ thanks to my mom’s hard work at prepping everything for us! Round 2 of pool broke out which is where I found out my sister and father are also amazing at pool. Apparently, this is a talent that skipped over me in my family.

After everyone was assigned a room and chilled with the fireplace on we all headed to bed.
Saturday morning after breakfast, I rounded everyone up to do a couple of quick family photos on the road leading to the cabin! It just struck me the day before how beautiful it was. I am glad we were able to get some family photos to document the time together.
That evening we celebrated with some presents and Dorthy Ann’s Bakery cake. (the one with raspberry filling)

I am so grateful and excited to share this little adventure weekend. My heart was so full.