Girls Weekend

This past weekend I was able to take a short overnight trip to Duluth with a couple of friends...and I am so glad I did! On Saturday morning at around 10am, Gabbie, Maria, and I piled into the car for the 2 1/2 hour mini-road trip to the beautiful port city of Duluth.

Sitting comfortably on the shores of Lake Superior, Duluth is a city that has a certain old-time charm without feeling dim or dirty. In its hay day, Duluth was a great industrial area and shipping town, as it is the last port on the chain of the Great Lakes. Industry went down dramatically, like so many industrial areas, in the post-50's era. Now the city has been built up to encourage tourism, mostly from the Twin Cities and perhaps over the Wisconsin boarder. I've had the delightful opportunity to visit Duluth 3 times. This third occasion was certainly the most leisurely, the type of trip Duluth seems meant to be.

We checked into our hotel early without any issue from the congenial staff at the Comfort Suites on the Canal Park area. Once we were settled in our accommodations, Gabbie, Maria, and I ventured to Superior Street to find the highly recommended Va Bene Restaurant. Though the walk there seemed long (it ended up only being about 20 minutes or so as it was just over a mile from the hotel), the panini sandwiches were an excellent reward. Ok, so was the gelato :)

We walked back along the shoreline of the lake, taking our time and stopping here and there to play on the rocks. A friend of Maria's came to meet us at that point, so we went back to the hotel to wait for her. Afterwards we took a walk around the whole Canal Park area, looking in shops, going out to the lighthouse, and watching the lift bridge go up and down a couple of times. It was such a beautiful sunny day that we couldn't justify staying inside any where too long.

Dinner was, of course, at the famous Grandma's Restaurant. It was a great time and I loved the Walleye Cake Salad that I ordered. After dinner we found our way over to the (only) bar in Canal Park, Grandma's Garden Sports Bar. It was full of college kids and bachelorette parties, which was not really our cup of tea, but we still had a good time dancing and having a couple drinks.

In the morning, we went to the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary. For a smaller diocese, I was impressed by the beauty of the building. The location was perfect. Walking out of the main doors, one has the most spectacular view of the great lake. For some reason, it reminded me of the church in Galway, Ireland that I spent some time at last year on the Folk Choir trip. Unfortunately, it was very cold and starting to rain after mass, so we thought it would be best just to start heading home.

There were definitely some more places and locations we would have liked to see, Gooseberry Falls, a famous pie shoppe, Enger Tower, and some more outdoor locations, but since it was so nasty out we decided we will have it do those things next time we are in town.

Duluth is a perfect location for a peaceful weekend get-away in the summer or fall in Minnesota. I recommend it, but really only for two nights at the most. Any longer and you'll probably run out of things to do.

Maddy and Joel's Wedding!

Memorial Day weekend was absolutely spectacular, owing to the fact that I had a fabulous time with amazing friends in Washington, DC for Maddy and Joel's wedding! For anyone who knows Maddy, it was exactly as one might imagine it: classy and elegant with a laid back and comfortable feel, plenty of turquoise blue, and fun for all ages from the smallest babies to the oldest couple there.

I could go on in detail about the church on Capitol Hill, the reception at Rust Manor in Leesburg, the dress, the cake, the dinner, the band (all of which were perfect), but after reflection, the thing that stood out most to me during the weekend was the friendships.

One thing I noticed early on in the weekend is that one may know how much one loves one's friends--what one would do for them. But not generally known to people is exactly how much they are loved by those same friends. I found the weekend of Maddy and Joel's wedding to be a testament to the friendship that I have shared with them and all my friends there over the years.

Without necessarily a moment to cite as defining for any of my friendships, the unfolding of this idea over the weekend was a revelation to me. I am truly blessed to be surrounded by people who love me, and by deep friendships that are rooted in mutual respect, experience, and a search for the Truth. I have found that the best friendships, despite loss of contact or mutual experience over the years, stand the test of time because of a genuine love of life, and an openness to Truth. Though I had not seen several of my friends there for an entire year, some I haven't even spoken to in that time, I was overjoyed to see them and spend time with them. In spending time together, I realized that these friendships reflect so deeply on the nature of humanity and it seemed to me by the end of the day Saturday that I had seen a certain glimpse of heaven in these moments. Perhaps my favorite moment was in saying farewell to Joel, who pulled Christina and I in for a hug and said sincerely, "thank you for loving Maddy so much."

The wedding weekend of Maddy and Joel was much like a retreat to me: a time to reflect on the friendships and relationships in my own life. Through sharing in the joy of Maddy and Joel, I was able to understand the importance of the people in my life, and to be at peace with where all my relationships stand--platonic and romantic--because I trust that the people who I have kept in my life and are closest to me share in the same search for the truth, and understand the same concept of love and friendship as I do. I trust that God is guiding my relationships and that through growing in deeper appreciation for each other, we venture towards the ultimate appreciation of our Creator.