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Ahhh, Duluth. Lake Superior. I am good.

Romantic trip? Naaah. BHL was up there for a conference where she was a speaker. There was nothing of the sort.

Fun? YESSSS. Basically, I was free to toodle around town from 8AM to 4PM. I know Duluth-Superior better than I know St. Paul. My family is originally from there, so I spent at least 3 weeks every summer at my Grandmother's house.

First, I was very happy to see that the new owner of Grandmother's house has replaced many of the windows, fixed the siding, and is putting on a new roof. The house was built in 1908, and has deteriorated horribly since she moved out in '92. That was nice.

Secondly, I discovered a neighborhood of INCREDIBLE Mid-Century Modern houses far up on the hill overlooking Lake Superior. I thought I knew every road in that town, but this was just almost orgasmic...I wish I had brought along the camera!

Thirdly, I went to an art gallery that sells prints of my favorite artist, Cheng Khee Chee (image above). He's a Chinese immigrant who is a professor at UM-D, and does incredible watercolors. I finally bought an autographed copy of his Monograph, and the gallery told me where I could get a limited edition of his 2004 calendar. I thought I'd have to pay, but I got 3 copies for free!

So, it was a good break in the middle of the week.

Back to the salt mines tomorrow...