We ditched the kids and went to Duluth for the weekend. 

Jay was speaking at a Coach's clinic at UMD and he had a hotel room all paid for and I like painting up there so off we went.

We left around 7:00 Friday night.  We stopped at the Grand Island Casino for dinner.  The prime rib buffet was good but I was sad to see that we missed Kris Kristopherson, of whom I am a big fan, by an hour and a half.  We lost a few dollars at a poker machine and then made it to Duluth in time for a nightcap before collapsing into bed.

I was still a little sore from the kickboxing but not as sore as I thought I'd be.  My back was stiff and my hips, but I could move and walk and it was that good "ooy, I worked out hard" kinda sore.

Early Saturday, Jay had to get up and go to the clinic.  I slept in.  Then a long hot soak in the tub and a long brisk walk by Lake Superior.  It was sunny, clear and cold.  We met back at the room in time for me to give Jay and another Coach a ride back up to campus for the UMD football game.  Three of them met up there.  Gary, who lives in Duluth, told me about Hawk Ridge and said I could find some beautiful views to paint, so I took off, bought a map and headed to Hawk Ridge. 

Gary wasn't kidding.

Duluth is beautiful.  Next year I'm going to go up  a little earlier in the season.  From up on the Ridge I had a spectaculare view of the lake, the shipyards and the neighborhood below me, which still had a lot of color in the trees but was clearly a week or two past peak.

Didn't matter, the light was great and the view inspiring.

There were about a hundred bird watchers up by the road, so I walked down the cliff a ways and found a secluded spot out of the wind that was perfect.  I set up my stuff and sketched til I ran out of paper. The birders above me were actually letting banded hawks go.  From where I worked I couldn't see them but I could hear them and when they let each bird go, these huge, gorgeous hawks would swoop right over me, about ten feet above my head.  It was very cool.   I was going to head back to the hotel to get more paper when I realized my hands were frozen stiff and Jay called to say they'd been too cold to stay at the game so they were at Gary's house.  I packed up my gear and joined them.

I had been told that the plan was dinner at a nice Steak House in town with Gary, Matt, their wives and a few others.  I had brought along a nice sweater, a fairly new pair of jeans (no paint spatters) and even some eyebrow pencil and mascara.  I hadn't met any of these people before and you like to make a good first impression, right?

Well, I never made it back to the hotel.  I went straight to Gary's from the Ridge and Matt, Gary, Jay and I started drinking bloody Mary's and watched the Gophers try to lose to NDST.

I had had a good afternoon painting and I was excited and in a good mood and I love bloody Mary's and these were really good bloody's.  I was still in my paint shirt and jeans (baggy and covered with paint spatters), my makeup free face was wind burned and chapped and my hair, which had been pushed off my face with a headband to keep my ears warm, was standing straight up.

As the afternoon wore on, we were joined by Karen, Nick, Dawn and Teri.  We had wine, chips and guacamole and eventually made our way to the very nice Steak House were we had dinner reservations.

Dinner was excellent and the company was too; we laughed for about seven straight hours.

Finally we all said goodnight and Jay and I returned to our room where I got a look at myself in the mirror.

I looked like a clown who had just lost a paint ball fight.

Dam, do I know how to make a good first impression, or what?

There's only one thing you can possibly say in such a situation;
    "Six baby horses. Who cares? I love myself!"

 

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