Saint Louis County

We spent a pleasant few days with Nancy's brother and family in Duluth. John, Kim, Peter, and Ben Wood are doing well. Kim is starting her next leg in an Occupational Therapy program. John is continuing his work training the next generation of physicians. Ben and Peter are going on 14 and about to return to Middle School. They're both doing well. Exciting times in the family. I've forgotten about the summer to fall transition in a family. It's been a few years. Everyone reported that they're ready to get back to the regular routine after a bit of time off.

Saturday we took a long bike ride circling along Hawk Ridge and back along the lake Superior to Duluth. John and Kim just bought a great tandem e bike that is probably the most versatile piece of riding equipment I've ever seen. It can be adapted to fit everyone in the family and can be fitted with panniers for touring or justs plain grocery shopping. It will do 100km on a charge on Eco mode, but with the hill they climb to their house I think they'll be using Turbo mode a fair bit. Sunday morning Nancy and I were able to take it on a loop as well. Fun vehicle.

We took a couple of breaks on our Saturday ride. Ben took to the water to swim. He took turns diving from a sunken piling in the harbor at Duluth. We, of course, stopped for beer and fries on the way home.

The only downside was the creepy bronze statue of a neighborhood cat. (see photo)

Tonight we take our hosts out to dinner before heading off to LaCrosse, Wisconsin and our niece's wedding.Read more