Road Trip - Day 1

Juliana and I set out for Duluth, Minnesota with the car packed full of clothes, 7 pairs of shoes, chocolate-covered pretzels, music, books on cd, and a dog bowl. (I had forgotten to take the dog bowl out of the car before we left.)

We arrived in Duluth too early to check in to our Bed and Breakfast, so we visited Glensheen, a historic mansion owned by the University of Minnesota.

We have been on the Glensheen "extended" tour many times. Juliana says she could give the tour herself, which I believe. If you're ever in Duluth, and you like history and big, historic homes, I definitely recommend you check out Glensheen.

After our tour, it was time to check into our own 1904 Georgian mansion B&B - The Olcott House.

David, one of the owners, welcomed us and showed us to our rooms. We had an entire suite with bedroom, living room and bath. It was very beautiful and elegant. It felt like we were transported back to 1904, living in luxury.

(Here are some photos I took. For professional photos of The Olcott House, visit their website. It has lots of wonderful photos and information.)

The sitting room:

The staircase:

The corner of our living room:

Originally, the home was owned by William and Fanny Olcott. William Olcott was president of the Oliver Mining Company (which is now U.S. Steel). Olcott was also president of the Duluth Missabe Northern Railroad for many years.

Around this time, Duluth had more millionaires than any other city in the United States! Duluth was in its hay day, and the Olcotts were at the center of it, along with the Congdons who owned Glensheen.

We got to be a part of it all too, in our small way, by staying at The Olcott House.

At the end of the day, we snuggled into our giant, king-size bed, in our beautiful, historic room, and watched . . . Finding Nemo. We probably should have watched Pride and Prejudice or Downton Abbey, but instead we watched a clown fish search for his son and we laughed at Ellen DeGeneres' character.

Our bed:

Some Highlights of Today:

1. Seeing 4 Bald Eagles as we drove north.

2. Accidentally using Body Wash as shampoo and Conditioning Shampoo as conditioner. Oops.

3. Talking for two hours with my daughter in the car.