We enjoyed Escanaba and loved Hereford and Hops Brew Pub. The hotel had a decent breakfast available - a road warrior buffet with bread, waffles, cold cereal, yogurt, fruit, eggs, potatoes (not good), sausage, juice, and coffee. We each had food we liked and were ready for the road.
We drove out Highway 2 and turned onto a small two lane highway 69 headed toward Iron River. The territory we drove though was remarkably isolated. So often when we drive, we ask "what do people do for a living?" We were asking that often today. The positive aspect is that we can see these are people who are not materialistic. They are self-sufficient and have learned to live with very few needs. The negative aspect is that these are people who have no social network of support. There were very few churches, medical clinics, grocery stores, and pubs.
When we finally came back to Highway 2 and entered Ironwood and drove into Wisconsin, we noticed that the terrain was very similar to Michigan's UP and very rural. Much of the land we drove through in Wisconsin was Indian Reservation land. Then we came to Ashland on a bay of Lake Superior. It was a charming small town with a beautiful lake shore that the community is working to restore. We took a few pictures.
We drove on to Superior WI which is a twin city to Duluth MN - practically a suburb. It was large and prosperous in comparison to the small towns and villages we had seen earlier in the day. Duluth is a BIG city and Dennis and I are not city people. We came into Duluth around 2:20 pm and had a hard time focusing on getting around in the city. We drove into the very chic Canal Street area by accident and slowed to a crawl. The area was swarming with tourists. We used our phones to look for hotel prices. The lowest price we found was $260 a night at a Hampton Inn that had no vacancies. That would not do, so we kept checking.
We found a Days Inn Lakeview that was out of the chic area and had a few vacant rooms and much lower prices. It also has breakfast in the morning (we'll see how that is). I told Dennis that next time I would check into hotels more carefully and find the perfect room for a reasonable price. I believe in a splurge - especially for our anniversary - but I still want money left to splurge on other stuff!
So, I know you are wondering about the "romance meter" in Duluth. There are many beautiful places that people think of as romantic, but I have to say that any restaurant that has a lovely view of Lake Superior and good food is a romantic place. The Black Woods Grill filled the bill. The salmon was perfectly cooked. The wine list was decent and we were looking out the window at THE big lake. We watched sail boats and yachts and fishing boats skimming over the crystal blue waters of the bay. After dinner our compromise on an expensive hotel with a lake view was sitting on the steps outside the hotel and drinking wine together. Romantic with a capital R.
Tomorrow we will drive across Minnesota looking for wild rice and other Minnesota treats and we will stop for the night in Devils Lake North Dakota. All the people we have met have been helpful and friendly - I think that is a characteristic of midwesterners. We are looking forward to seeing more new territory.
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