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5/22/2008

Birthday weekend

Jessie jots...

I had pre-birthday party with Daniel Lee who is also, coincidently, share the same birthday, born in the same state but of course different time and different parents. And then I spent the weekends at North Shore, which I had no idea where it was until we got there. It was Hushby surprises birthday gift for me and he was very, very sweet to make this happen for the both of us.

We left early on Sunday morning, navigating our four-hour trip from St. Cloud to Two Harbor with the help of our trustee Garmin GPS system. I have to say, that helped a ton! My first surprise agenda for that day was to have lunch at this supposedly well-known restaurant close to Two Harbor called Scenic 61, located at the scenic drive by the shore of Lake Superior. The view was, no doubt, magnificent however, the restaurant looked a bit shabby from its first impression. That made me a little doubtful of its gourmet American contemporary food reputation.

The not-so-shabby appetizer. You probably have seen the rest of the lunch at Facebook album.

I guess we really can never have a judge a book by its cover. The food appeared to be more gourmet than I expected, the price was not over the top and the atmosphere, just sunny and carefree.

Then we took an hour drive down after Two Harbor, somewhere between towns and quite remotely located is Betty's Pie. The pie almost threw me off my chair with its too-good-t0-true delicious taste with its just-right-sweetness filling. And the crust? I tell ya, I didn't leave a crumb.


Chocolate Banana Pie - the chocolate part was SO GOOD.

All berries pie. Again, no crumb leftover.

We drove along the lake shore, for another hour or two. I can't remember honestly, because we made too many pit stops - not because I had a tank full of water but I thought we just need to stop and admire what Mother Nature has to offer. We don't get these beautiful landscapes too often and I think they are dying. I haven't had a view like that for a long time and didn't thought it even exist in the state of Minnesota. Now I know where to go when we both need a break from plain old St. Cloud.
Heart-shaped stone by Lake Superior. He was too sweet.
Being sentimental. Come July 7th, it will be our one year anniversary. On a side note, look how clear the water is.

A waterfall I witness by the highway. They are just everywhere!

See how close are we to the Canadian Border?! Woo hoo... haha ok I'm just being annoying.

The drive along the way to the hotel looked like that.

Then we got to Bluefin Bay, our hotel place. I didn't know I was suppose to spend a night here... Hushby kept his mouth shut all the way until I opened the hotel room's door and my jaw drop.... I felt like living in Samantha Brown's shoe for one moment.

The luxurious view and my fat arse.
And the luxurious jacuzzi bath tub for two.

I took my leisure time to spruce up for the night... even when it had to take an hour for fatty dipping, I did it. How can you not when the tub is overlooking the ocean-like lake with aromatherapy scented jacuzzi bubbling water from your bottom. Ahhh.... What did I do to deserve this?

Just before fatty dipping and tiny bird dropping at the right corner.

After my spa hour, I was so relaxed, I didn't quite have an appetite for dinner. Still, we had fun talking about our past, what we've went through all these years... how we used to not afford to buy organic food, a lil petty stuff, nothing interesting really. It was fun to reminisce... what more, just enjoying each other's company. He was very handsome too, in my eyes at least. ;)
At Bluefin Grille
Hushby and I marked my 26th birthday dinner at Bluefin Grille.
Before stepping out of the restaurant, we discovered it was a full moon night. The view made me speechless the moment I saw it, almost made me cry like Brendan Fraser in Bedazzled. Unfortunately we had to give the romantic walk due to the sudden drop in temperature. We opted to stay in the room and admire the view from there. It was still pleasant nevertheless.

I can't remember when was the last time my night was this peaceful. Nothing on the horizon and nothing to worry the next day. Just a gold moonlight dusts coming our way...

The next morning, we took a walk to a nearby deli store and bought a couple of baked goods for breakfast. The hotel provide good coffee, so we rather not waste it and thought, bringing in breakfast instead would be a better idea. So we took a sit at the balcony, again, catch some sun and watch the view in awe. As soon as I took the first bite, the seagull gathered, flew and landed in front me and more flying towards me, all in action less than 3 ft away! I shooed them aimlessly but all the seagulls were doing... was come even closer to me. I started yelling at Hushby when I realized the seagulls were not afraid at all. In a calm voice, he told me to run inside and then he got a little nervous and said "TAKE THE BAKED GOODS WITH YOU". Whoa, for one moment, it was like an action movie. I grabbed the bag and ran inside and he took care of the coffee. I ran in just in time before the other seagulls landed on the fence too. Their senses are too extraordinary. They were still hanging out by the balcony when we continued eating. To make the story worse, they were kind of pecking at the glassed windows, hoping to get in. Scary shit!

Moments before the attack.


Seagull and co flew back to the rock after an unsuccessful attack.

Oh you think the drama was over. What happened next was one seagull fell into the balcony and I guess he was really trapped and didn't know how to fly out of it. He was stucked there for quite some time and I pitied him for not being able to join his friends. Hushby came out of the toilet after his business and realized, we've got to do something to help him out of here. I told him just move the chairs away, that way he might have enough space to flap his wings. Well guess what, Hushby extend his hand, caught the distress seagull with his two bare hands (!) and threw him off to the sky... like he was just catching a harmless chicken.
I shrieked in disgust! That bird has got to have tons of dirt in him - he is a pest! And he eats garbage! But Hushby did it already... he came in and said "I used to catch chickens by my backyard when my mother was rearing them". OH OK that seems useful at times like this. I knew that... I just never thought that could be a skill - it sound like as if you only need to learn it once and you can do it for the rest of your life? I never catch a chicken and will never do!
Anyhoo, we checked out of the hotel reluctantly. I got over the seagull moment and he washed his hands. We started driving again, this time heading south (boo hoo), considering various places to visit the GPS picked up for us. One thing it didn't pick up though was this sight. We came across a handful of cars parked by a waterfall and decided to stop by - my rule no. 1, follow the crowd, you can never go wrong. They called it the Temperance river and boy, was it beautiful. I can't help it but to go for the hike even though I was not dressed to do so. We soon discover there was a trail going uphill, a small part of it was climbing on rocks but became less steeper as you go higher. The hike up there wasn't anything huffing and puffing experience. The air was so clear and crisp, the sound of the water flowing made me feel mother nature has her own spiritual strength, and while being in the wilderness, I felt more alive than ever, keeping my eyes and mind fresh. We were both in a high relaxation mode - I don't even know how to fully describe what it made us feel like. I think it just feel right to be close to nature again.
We went to a few other places after that - namely a casino (I lost 5 bucks), a lighthouse and other state parks but the sky got gloomy and we were kind of set to go. My body was slowing down due to the allergy but my mind was still motivated to keep on moving. We had to call it quit anyway because the temperature was dropping drastically and we weren't prepared for it. What can I tell ya? Only two profession in the world is allowed to lie. The lawyer and the weatherman.

By the famous Gooseberry Fall
Say goodbye to North Shore at Gooseberry Fall.

I had a whale of fun overall. It was my best birthday yet! I have to say, it gets better with age.
If you're not bored yet, click here for more pictures.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wah.. so gripping la your Indiana Jones story, keke, I was so kin cheong for you and your pastries / baked goods! hurray to Mr Tham, the new Indiana Jones! Amazing birthday present, definitely one to measure the rest of the birthdays gifts from your Hushby!

san

Anonymous said...

I am so glad you got to experience true MN, away from the city! It is absolutely beautiful! I love Gooseberry Falls. Did you stop at Jay Cooke State Park it is one of my favorites! Great hiking, cool swing bridge and nature!

Jessie C said...

san, I didn't think that would grip anybody but hey, always glad you think so! :) hehe To be honest, that whole experience was really scary!

jen, I didn't stop at Jay Cooke State Park... the weather was getting colder and darker. But I'll make sure we stop there the next time. :D