Vacation in Grand Marais, Minnesota

A few weeks ago we took a long weekend and drove up the North Shore to Grand Marais, MN. It was a first time for us and it did not disappoint. Halfway up we stopped in Duluth for lunch. We like to try places that were on Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and that's how we found the Duluth Grille. We arrived right around 11 and it wasn't too crowded. But that changed about 15 minutes after we arrived when we turned around in our booth to discover quite a crowd by the entrance.

                                A photo of the kitchen to the left and the wait staff station.

                                                              Love their comment card.

I had their reuben which was the best reuben I have every had and I have had a lot over the years. It came with homemade sauerkraut and thousand island dressing along with sweet potato chips. It was so delicious.

                                        I forgot what Rocketman ordered but he too loved it.

Then we continued our drive up the North Shore and arrived in Grand Marais about an hour before check in so we stopped at a local coffee shop.

They had a lot of interesting things to look at. I'm not a fan of taxidermy but I know many who love it.

                                                          The taxidermy was everywhere!

We also found an old Ben Franklin store in downtown Grand Marais. They were in the process of removing the Joynes Dept. Store sign.

It was a step back in time to my childhood. The interior of the store hadn't changed a bit. 

We stayed at East Bay Suites which is located right on Lake Superior. The suite was huge with a full kitchen. We had a fantastic view of the lake.

                                                                            Our suite.

                                                         Rocketman took lots of photos.

We had to check out World's Best Donuts. There was a line but it went really fast.

                                                                It smelled so good inside.

Yummy!

                                                                        Scooby Doo!

We ate dinner one night at My Sister's Place.

We didn't realize until we got the menu that this restaurant had appeared on "Bizarre Foods" with Andrew Zimmerman.  Neither of us chose the Goober Burger.

                                               I went for a bbq pork sandwich. So good!

                                                    Rocketman went with a chili dog.

                                            We saw lots of seagulls all over Grand Marais.

We saw a group of young boys swimming in the lake. Lake Superior is cold year round. So Rocketman decided to dip his toes and he couldn't believe how cold it was. For the record, the boys were in and out of the lake a few times.

                                                                  Pretty bird.

They also had a weekly craft show going on in downtown Grand Marais. I bought this refrigerator magnet.

                                         And fish spoon rest from a ceramic vendor.

We also had a meal at the Blue Water Café. I had the roast beef sandwich. It was huge and delicious. This is always one of my favorites and the beef was very tender.

                                                            I love their bathroom sign.

Just outside of town, we drove past a house whose front yard was filled with all kinds of cairns. Rocketman took a bunch of photos and I'll post those later.

                                         Back to the food, we also ate at Hughie's Taco House.

We got an order of nachos.

I ordered a chicken taco. It was my first time with a homemade puffed taco shell. It was amazing. The taco also came with a homemade chipotle sour cream that was to die for it tasted so good. I wish we had stayed longer to return to many of the restaurants we ate at.

I forgot my toothbrush so we stopped at a local grocery store to get one. I love their closing hours.

Lake Superior has always been my favorite of the Great Lakes. From when I was in grade school and had to memorize the beginning of the "The Song of Hiawatha" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. "By the shores of Gitche Gumee, By the shining Big Sea Water..." I love that poem. There is something about the sound of waves that is so soothing.

                                                Someone left this present for everyone.

In our room was an old Up North cookbook and I was surprised to find a recipe for muskrat. I didn't know until then that muskrat was actually an animal. I remember that old Captain & Tennille song "Muskrat Love" and had no idea what a muskrat was but the song was catchy.

We did a bunch of hiking at a local national park which I will leave for my next post. This one was all about the food. We couldn't believe a town less than 1400 could have so many incredible restaurants. What a treat it was for both of us.