The Tessla Wedding

Chris' brother Andy, and Danielle, the woman our family has adored since the two first started dating, finally tied the knot on August 23 in Two Harbors, Minnesota.

We drove up to Duluth on Friday so that we could sightsee before the Sunday wedding.  There's not much to see on the drive up I-35 until you approach Duluth and the highway dips over the hills surrounding Lake Superior and the harbor and lake stretch out before your eyes.  Duluth is a port city and when you approach from the south, its industrial harbor dominates the view.  Nonetheless, I heard Celina whisper, "Wow!" as we cruised down into the city.

The weather was so beautiful that Chris and I decided to drive straight to Park Point, where we unloaded the kids and let them frolic in the sand and the gentle waves lapping on shore.  Park Point is a thin peninsula - just wide enough for one road and block-long side streets on either side - that stretches for three miles into Lake Superior and divides Duluth Harbor from St. Louis Bay.  The northern edge of the peninsula is lined with an uninterrupted sandy beach, a rarity in Minnesota, whose lakes are often lined with rocks and dense forests.  Celina stuck her feet in the lake to experience first-hand Lake Superior's notoriously cold waters.

Those sand dunes trick me into thinking there's an ocean beyond them, not a lake.

Our au pair, Celina, was as relieved as the kids to finally be out of the car and relaxing on the beach.

When dinnertime approached, we drove to our Airbnb rental house, a Scandinavian-style house that stood in stark contrast to the historically working class, Italian neighborhood in West Duluth. We ordered pizza, unpacked and then went to bed so we'd be rested for a day of sightseeing.  We needed that rest because Saturday was indeed a long day.

We started at Enger Park not far from the house.  The park sits on a hilltop and has the best views in the city of the harbor and lake.  We took in the view, walked through the Japanese gardens, rang the Japanese peace bell and climbed the historic water tower for yet more beautiful views.

Duluth is a port city.

A view of Duluth and the iconic Lift Bridge from Enger Park

The North Shore of Lake Superior, which stretches from Duluth to Grand Marais is dotted with some of the state's most beautiful parks.  On the drive north, you cross over river after creek after river that empty into Lake Superior.  The most impressive of them is the Gooseberry River because of the multiple falls where the river drastically drops in elevation.  Gooseberry Falls State Park was super crowded on such a warm summer day and the kids were so tired by this point that they were more excited about the ice cream we surprised them with than the beautiful surroundings.  However, we still got a little walking in to view the falls and Oliver and Chris waded around in the shallow pools below the falls.

The last of the Gooseberry River before it flows into Lake Superior

One of the middle falls

My favorite of the two state parks we visited that day was Split Rock Lighthouse State Park. Tours of the lighthouse cost extra and the lines to buy tickets were super long, so we skipped the crowds and walked down to Pebble Beach.  The entire beach was lined with pebbles and could have been called "Skipping Stone Beach," because those pebbles were perfect for skipping across the water.

Split Rock Lighthouse in the distance

As Celina gazed out over the water, she commented how she couldn't believe what she was looking at was just a lake.  Lake Superior is the largest of the five Great Lakes and they're not called "great" for nothing.  Her boyfriend back home in Germany was fooled by the lake when he first saw the picture she sent him.  After she informed him that she was at a lake, and not the ocean, he spent the time in between WhatsApp messages trying to figure out where we had taken his girlfriend and concluded she must have ended up in Canada.  

Because our children were happy as could be spending the afternoon on that beach, we never saw any other part of the park.  But it didn't matter because we were all content to sit in the sunshine, skip pebbles and climb on the rocks.  We needed that relaxing afternoon where we had nothing in particular on our agenda.

On our way back to Two Harbors for the groom's dinner, we stopped in at the lodge where Danielle and Andy were staying so we could change.  It's a testament to how chill Andy and Danielle are that they let seven of us crash their room on the night before their wedding.  While Chris showered and I ironed everyone's clothes, the rest of the adults entertained the kids with cartoons until it was time to make ourselves look as presentable as we could after spending a day playing in the sun. 

The morning of the wedding was pretty hectic since we had little time to get ready for the late-morning ceremony.  Chris, who was the Best Man, had to be there even earlier than the rest of us and I had to get four children bathed, dressed and driven 40 miles up the coast.  Luckily I had Chris' parents and Celina helping me and the bathtub was so big, I could bathe all four kids at once.

The wedding was beautiful, particularly Danielle.  Andy and Danielle met playing softball, and his courting of her was initially done covered in sweat and infield dirt.  What a juxtaposition to see her about to walk down the aisle in a stunning wedding gown with her hair and makeup so elegantly prepared.

As the ceremony was about to begin, Celina took Oliver, Kiera and Soren to their seats while I stayed behind with Matteo and prepped him for his big role as ring bearer. The music started and one by one, the wedding party made its way down the aisle.  As we waited for Matteo's turn to walk, I handed him the ring box and he immediately put it to his ear and shook it!  Then he was up!  I took his hand and led him towards the beginning of the aisle, bent down and whispered to him to go to Daddy, and then ducked out of view.  Matteo took no more than two steps at a slow pace, but once he zeroed in on Chris, he broke out in a huge smile and booked it down the aisle.  Everyone started laughing, because who could think a little boy in glasses and a tie running with a toddler gait is not cute?

Chris and Andy's Uncle Pat performed the ceremony and was both poignant and funny in his remarks.  I think it's very special when someone who knows a couple so well is given the honor of marrying them.  

After the ceremony, we enjoyed a brunch overlooking the lake and then mingled with family, played yard games and had a little too much fun with the DIY photo booth Danielle had set up.  There have to be at least 100 photos of Oliver and his cousins stored on that iPad!

A morning wedding ceremony and mid-day reception meant that we actually left at a decent hour and got our kids to bed on time, something they desperately needed after our busy weekend.  We were up early the next morning to pack and back in St. Paul by lunchtime.  We had to do a quick turnaround, because bright and early the next morning, we were off on our next adventure - North Dakota!