Wednesday, June 07, 2017

Duluth and the Indulgent Husband

After Paul's nephew's wedding in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, we left with Paul's mom and had a bit of extra time to road-trip back to the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport.
We stopped at a cafe in the UP near Lake Superior.
They had the good kind of jam.
Paul asked the waitress about places to see, and coffee-drinking loggers at other tables
chimed in with advice. I love small-town cafes.
Back when we were engaged, we hauled my belongings from Minnesota to Oregon. That is a long journey, and we learned lots of things about each other that we hadn't known before.

I learned that Paul likes to set his eyes on the goal and push through until he gets there. The destination is everything. The journey is nothing. Also he has a max-capacity bladder.

I liked to meander, stop, rest, look at stuff, and absorb the flavor of the places we passed. In the middle of Montana I would say, "Oh wouldn't it be fun to chase down that little gravel road between those wheat fields?"

I meant, "Let's go!"

He thought I was merely making an observation.

That trip was almost the end of us, but that is a story for another day, maybe 20 years from now when I have more courage, so don't ask.

I have learned to respect deadlines and the fact that sometimes you really do have to keep driving.

He likes to indulge my wishes whenever he can.

"Was there anything you wanted to stop and see?" he said.

"Yes! I'd love to go to Duluth and see the ships and the bridge that goes up!"

He said, "We have plenty of time."

So we went to Duluth, where goods such as grain and taconite go out in massive quantities, and coal and cement come in.

We drove over the drawbridge, then we came back, parked, and walked along the Lakewalk. To my huge delight, the alarm sounded, the bridge went up, and a long vessel came through.

We also walked through the nearby Corps of Engineers Museum and learned about the history of shipping on the Great Lakes.

I like ships, history, and having a husband who encourages my interests.





The tugboat at the right is pushing the Great Lakes Trader out the channel to Lake Superior.
I thought about comparing this to the smaller person in our marriage
pushing the larger one to where she wants him to go.
But I decided not to.

4 comments:

  1. The Baritone6/10/2017 5:05 PM

    Yep, that is indeed a neat bridge. Also, why don't they call them "push boats" instead of "tugboats"? I honestly can't remember if I've ever seen one of them pulling anything. But I don't see them very often, either... :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Come to think of it, I don't know that I've ever seen them tugging, either.

      Delete
  2. Yes, fantastic bridge. Have you been to the Soo locks?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yes, many years ago. Fascinating stuff.

    ReplyDelete