Braces Free

Today marked a day that both Nik and Alex have been waiting for years to arrive. This afternoon, both of them had the braces removed from their teeth. Their smiles are more beautiful than ever. Nik keeps talking about going to Target and buying all the candy he hasn't been able to eat for the last 2 - 1/2 years. The stickier the better! Congratulations boys, now be sure to wear your retainers! Below are pix of the boys posing with their Orthodontist.

Summer Vacation - Day Six

Well, our stay at Larsmont ended today. We finished up with a final breakfast at the Grille and packed up all our stuff. Having been in the same place for almost a week, it take a bit more time to collect everything that when you are in a different place every night. We spent some time on the shore, one last time taking it all in. This is definately a place we will return to. The setting was truely something special. It was a much needed break from our hectic daily routine.

Note: I have updated our family web site with a photo album of pictures from our adventure. They can be viewed by linking to the Wunrow Family website.

Summer Vacation - Day Five

We woke up this morning to news reports of the tragic collapse of the I-35W bridge across the Mississippi river in Minneapolis. Like most Twin Cities residents, we have all driven across that bridge, which gives every one an eerie feeling of connectedness with those that lost there lives in this horrific tragedy. I spent a part of the morning calling co-workers in the Quad Minneapolis office to make sure everyone was accounted for and OK. One person reported that she was on the bridge coming home from and appointment with a client less than an hour before the bridge collapsed. Just one more reminder of the shear randomness of the event.

Today was more of a low key day. With all of the activity over the last few days, Chris' back is feeling pretty tight. At this stage of her recovery, when she overdoes it the muscles in her lower back tighten up, giving her quite a bit of discomfort. The surgeon says that this is normal at this stage of her recovery. So, Chris decided to lay low, catch up on her reading and sit of the heating pad. Alex has some summer school work to do so he stayed behind with Chris.




Nik, Catie and I decided to push our exploration further north along the shore today. So we drove north on MN 61 passing the two state parks with visited on Tuesday with our destination being Tettegouche State Park, just north of Silver Bay Minnesota. One of the things I've really missed since leaving California was the Mountains. I was pleased to notice that the further north we drove from Duluth, the more rugged and hilly the terrain becomes. As we approached Tettegouche, the topography was reminding me more and more of the Appalachian mountains. In fact, the region near the park is called the Sawtooth Mountains. The combination of the more mountainous terrain, rolling down to the lake gave it almost a Pocket Central California Coast type of feel. We spent the afternoon hiking around the area, skipping rocks into the lake and swatting endlessly at the biting black flies that seemed to come out of nowhere today to feast on our ankles. On our way back to the cottage, we stopped off at Gooseberry Falls, this time with swim suits in hand to climb around on the cascading water and let the cooling water refresh us after a warm day of hiking.

This is our last night at the cottage. We had a nice dinner at the Ledge Rock Grille. The food here has been really good. After dinner we spent the evening on the shore, skipping rocks and enjoying the view. The kids have gotten pretty good at rock skipping. It's a major pass time here what with the close proximity of smooth water, smooth stones and plenty of leisure time. We secured one of the community fire pits, one that was right by the water and ended the evening by the glow of a campfire as the final color drained from the evening sky.

Summer Vacation - Day Four

One of the highlights of the Larsmont cottages is the availability of sea kayaks for rent. Today was the day we planned on taking our kayaking certification class, so after breakfast we headed off to the pool. Since the water in Lake Superior is cold (no more than 50 degree's in the summer) it's really important to know how to get back in the Kayak of you flip. The kayaks used on Superior are all closed deck, so they are harder to get back in than the open deck kayak that I use back home. They also have spray skirts like the kind you see on a river kayak, but because the boats are so much longer you can't do an Eskimo role to flip yourself back over. Instead you need to grab a handle to release the skirt, and swim out from under the boat. Alex and I both took the class so we could be qualified to go out onto Lake Superior. Catie didn't have to take the class since she would be in a tandem boat with me, but she did watch from pool side. The sensation of flipping over, being upside down in the water was weird, but instinct (self preservation) takes over and you pull the handle and get out of the boat pretty darned fast! The rest was pretty easy, although I'm sure it would be harder out on the lake with colder water and bigger waves.

After our class, Catie and I got fitted for wet suits and life jackets and heading to the boat landing. The tandem boat they had was big and roomy. I got Catie all set up with you spray skirt, life jacket and paddle. Shoving off I had to walk the boat 10 feet out from shore to clear the rocks and was immediately struck by how cold the water was. 50 degree water is pretty numbing. Mental note, don't flip the boat! Once I got settled in with my spray skirt attached we paddled out on the lake. It was not really a perfect day for Kayaking, with winds from the south east at a steady 15 mph and 1-2 foot waves. From my past experiences on big water I knew that on a windy day it's best to do head into the wind. That way when you reach the turnaround point and you are starting to get tired, you can have the wind at your back for the journey home. Catie as always had a ball. We rode the swells up and down, kind of like our own private roller coaster. Several times waves crashed over the deck of the boat and I was really glad for the spray skirts and wet suits! We paddled for a little more that an hour and landed just in time to return our gear and have some lunch with Chris, Nik and Alex.

Our afternoon activity was Nik's trip highlight. We drove back down to Duluth to take a ride on the North Shore Scenic Rail Road. The NSSRR runs from Duluth back up to Two Harbors in vintage rail cars pulled by a beautifully restored Diesel engine. To make this even more of a highlight for Nik, this as also a trip billed as the "Pizza Train". Each passenger gets one half of a Domino's pizza and a soda. Well, I couldn't eat an entire half, neither could Catie or Chris so Nik and Alex had all the pizza they could eat, plus left overs for lunch! Nik was totally in his element on this trip. Once we had finished eating, he was up and roaming the various cars for the next hour and half. I love watching him explore. The stuff he notices and finds joy in are things that most people would take for granted or miss entirely. It was a nice time for all of us to sit and enjoy the scenery. The pizza was good, the views were great and the time spent together, priceless!