As I mentioned Sunday, Hubby and I got away for vacation last week. Duluth is one of our favorite vacation spots in Minnesota. We hadn’t been back to Duluth since 2021. Our second stop was in Hastings where we had stopped for lunch a month ago after a visit to Minneapolis.
Duluth
We stayed at Canal Park Lodge, our favorite hotel in Duluth. The Lakewalk is my favorite of Duluth’s many attractions, so I appreciate staying in one of the hotels that is steps away. We always walk down to the rose garden a few times while we are there. The garden was in full bloom, absolutely gorgeous!
One of the benefits of getting up as early as we do is the pretty sunrise!
While we were in Duluth, we revisited some of our favorite restaurants and tried a few that were new to us. Our first night in town we headed to Hanabi for some sushi rolls. Next, we stopped at Blackwater Lounge. The last time we were in Duluth it was closed due to COVID and road construction, so I was excited to go back.
Happy hour martinis and artichoke dip. Yum!
The next day, we had lunch at Va Bene, an Italian restaurant overlooking Lake Superior. Our pasta dishes were stellar, and we enjoyed a perfect view of Lake Superior in the glass-enclosed dining area. Even though we were full, we also had to split a blueberry malt at the PortLand Malt Shoppe next door.
This is an iconic scene in Duluth, a big ship coming through the canal. Of course, there is a website you can check to see when ships are due to enter or depart, but you can always tell as the crowds start to increase when a ship is due. 🙂
That evening we split a Greek pizza at Pizza Luce then checked out a street festival with food vendors and musical acts. The festival had been going on that afternoon as well. We finished our evening at the Vikre Distillery with cocktails.
Hastings
We departed Duluth, located next to a large lake, and arrived in Hastings, next to a large river! We were excited to continue our vacation in a new spot.
The Confluence is a new hotel in downtown Hastings near the Mississippi River. The hotel is beautiful, and the location was perfect as we like something within easy walking distance.
After lunch and checking into our hotel, we walked the downtown shops. We walked into a toy store and met the resident cat. 🙂
Quarry Taphouse for happy hour soon became our plan for the evening. We had stopped there a month ago for lunch, and I was eager to go back. The food was wonderful, great drink specials and the place was fun. We split two appetizers and each had a meal. I had a sandwich and upgraded to sweet potato waffle fries. Those fries are to die for!
After happy hour we headed to the park for music. It was a great evening.
For breakfast the next morning, we went to the hotel restaurant, Missi’s Sip & Savor. My dish had eggs, hash browns, onions, mushrooms, spinach, and cheddar cheese. I also got 7-grain toast with homemade jam. It was scrumptious!
We walked the trail near the hotel along the Mississippi River, and then headed home. It was a great trip.