Primus - A Tribute to Kings

GP is a bass player. He's also a fan of the bass vituoso Les Claypool, who leads the band Primus. I am a fan of Rush. When I saw that Primus' tour this year is a tribute to Rush and they were playing in Chicago for GP's b-day, it was a done deal.

Primus is not for everyone, but they put on an absolutely amazing show. CP & GP had seats down on the floor in front of the stage. DN & I sat up in a balcony box. Because the music was so bass-centric, no one needed earplugs. It was an amazing show!

The next day, we got GP on his way back to Lincoln via plane, train, and automobile.

 

GP is 21

We met GP in Chicago for his 21st birthday. D & CN joined in.

He flew in and took the Blue Line to meet us downtown.

We had a fancy outdoor dinner at Beatnik on the River overlooking the Chicago River.

 

More White Paint

JP can't stop herself painting things white. This time, it's the built-in dresser in our room. It's going from cedar to a nice clean white.

 

Radiator Painting

Ask JP what her favorite thing in the world to do is, and she'll tell you, enthusiastically, Painting!!

She finally took on the dining room radiator. It took more time prepping it to get the big flakes of 100 years of paint off.

 

Lutsen Last Night

For more photos of Lusten, check them out here.

 

Cascade River State Park

We stumbled across Cascade River State Park and went for a hike. 

At the top was Lookout Mountain with a beautiful view. We missed leaf season by a few weeks. Maybe next year.

 

Lutsen Resort

Having the restaurant on-site made for a fun setting. There was no hassle of driving somewhere or deciding where to go. It was all pre-determined.

The resort property is divided by a small river. There's a covered bridge that spans it. We rented a 3br / 3bd condo on the other side of the river. What is not shown is there are 117 steps up to the condo. By the end of our stay, we were in better shape.

 

Lutsen Beach

No trip to Lake Superior is complete without a dip in the lake. Refreshing!

At night, a guy came out with a guitar and played music for a few hours. 

 

Deep Sea Fishing

We chartered a boat for a half day of deep sea fishing in Lake Superior. It was smooth, calm, and sunny. A perfect day to land some monster lake trout!

 

Lutsen Resort

We checked in to the hotel with enough daylight to do some exploring. It was absolutely heavenly!

The lodge restaurant overlooks the private beach - it was as good as it gets.

 

Gooseberry Falls SP

Since we had some time before we could get to the hotel, we stopped off at Gooseberry Falls State Park. Due to the dry summer, the falls are nearly dried up. Only one side was running, and it was down to a trickle from its normal flow.

 

New Scenic Cafe

We missed it last time we were up North, but we caught it this time: The New Scenic Cafe on old Route 61 just north of Duluth. You know you're in the north country when you see tags like this in the deli.

 

Downtown Minneapolis

The D & MN came up for a trip to the North Shore. We had a day to show them the city before we headed north.

It was a perfect day for a Twins game.