The second half of this summer's Tour of Grandparents got started last Saturday when we headed to Duluth to visit Marmie. Eric's brother and his family also came for the week, so Marmie's house overflowed with sippy cups, screams and tears, crumbs, squeals of delight, toys, markers and crayons, books and about 2,000 pairs of small shoes.
The boys were the best travelers they've ever been.
On our first full day with the cousins, Jed was eager to show Amara his favorite spots in Canal Park.
Back at headquarters, Tobin was eager to show Jed the best parts of Jed's feet . . .
. . . while Mr. Grumpy zoned out in front of a screen.
The Jeep continues to be a huge hit and this year, Macon got to drive!
While Macon and Amara paled around, Jed and Tobin hit it off.
We took a trip to Jay Cooke State Park where a swinging bridge built in the 1930s by the CCC takes you across the raging St. Louis River.
Today's bridge uses the original stone pylons, but Duluth's big flood in 2012 tore up the bridge flooring and cables. The bridge has been rebuilt, but clean up continues. Here, Jed is getting an up-close look at debris removal.
After a too-brief walk in the woods and a picnic lunch, the boys got down to business by trying to get all the rocks back in the river.
Eventually, we bribed them away with promises of ice cream.
We took another family outing to Enger Tower, which was built in 1939 for the purpose of . . . well, not much, actually: just being a cool place to go and look out over Duluth.
Enger Tower Park is also the home to Duluth's Peace Bell, which is a copy of a bell that U.S. soldiers confiscated from Japan during World War II. The bell ended up on the USS Duluth and eventually, it came to the city of Duluth before a visiting Japanese professor learned about it in the 1950s. Duluth returned the bell to its original home and the Japanese city gave Duluth a copy.
During our visit, the boys beat the tar out of it.
On our last day, Jim and his friend, Dick, took the boys out for a spin.
They even managed to board a fire boat.
That afternoon, we visited some friends of Marmie and Jim who have . . . wait for it . . . A JET SKI!
First, Jed went out with an experienced driver.
Then Macon took off with Jim. Huumm. Best idea? Maybe not. But they made it back and Macon didn't like it, so at least he won't ask for the same outing next year!
Amara got in on the fishing action . . .
. . . followed by sparklers!
And earlier in the week, the boys went to the aquarium . . .
. . . which inspired one of Jed's best pieces of art work.
And finally, Marmie's neighbors were so good to the boys! The boys had free run of their swing set, where Jed finally grasped the art of swinging, and the four played soccer, hide-and-seek, tag, and who-knows-what-else for hours.
We are already looking forward to next year!
