Oh, not that mansion. Not those bunnies.
Sadly, I said goodbye to my parents this morning and shipped them back to Florida. We had a whirlwind week of visiting. It's always so great to have them here, I wish we didn't live so far apart! Emily loves having them here, and was especially excited that they got to "spend the night" with us.
Their trip started off a little bumpy with a delayed flight that was eventually cancelled at 10:30 that night in Minneapolis. They were supposed to arrive in our town at 9:00pm, so we were all up very late wondering what was going to happen with the flight. Instead of spending the night in Minneapolis and flying in the next day, my parents decided to rent a car and drive the rest of the way. It's about a 3-4 hour drive, depending on how heavy your foot is. They made some new friends at the airport who apparently knew a bunch of my in-law's and lived up this way as well. So, they all hopped in a rental car together and drove from Minneapolis. Nothing like taking a road trip with strangers!
They finally arrived around 2 am. After some quick hugs, we all went to bed to get some much needed rest. Then I was back up at 5:30am with a sick kiddo. I started to feel like maybe I should invest in a coffee IV.
Thankfully Emily rebounded pretty quickly, and we were able to take it easy on Thursday just resting and relaxing. A little shopping thrown in, too.
On Friday, we headed down to Duluth to tour the Glensheen Mansion, and drop off their rental car. The mansion was amazing! Our tour guide said that it cost about $1 million to build back in 1905. To adjust for inflation, that would be about $27 million now. The house is also 27,000 square feet - so basically $1 million per square foot. Talk about lavish!
 |
| The front entry way |
 |
| Visiting couches. There were 2 like this and 2 matching chairs in the hallway. |
 |
| Their intercom system. It would ring in the kitchen to let the servants know they were needed. |
Interestingly, this marble fireplace is one solid piece of marble. Unfortunately for you and I, this marble is now so rare that if you wanted to buy some, you would be lucky to find a dime size piece and you would pay a fortune for it. I think it's Nubian, but don't quote me on that.
 |
| Marble fireplace in the living room. |
 |
| Hand sewn cloth "wallpaper". |
 |
| One of the daughter's bedrooms. Creepy doll! |
For the most part, the mansion was very pretty, but a bit too opulent for my taste. I don't think I'd like gold leaf ceilings - regular drywall and paint will do just fine for me, thankyouverymuch!
On Saturday, we prepped for Easter by baking cakes and cleaning. Emily "helped" make the Easter bunny cake. I think we did a great job! Mostly she helped sprinkle the coconut on, and place the jelly beans.
Sunday morning I was up bright and early to fit in my 10 mile long run before church. It was definitely earlier than I would have liked, but I got to watch a beautiful sunrise for most of the run. I think there is no better reminder of God's love than seeing the sun come up and knowing that I am blessed with another day to live and enjoy His blessings!
I made it back just in time to get all spiffied up for church. Emily found her Easter basket in record time, and we made it to church early!
Monday and Tuesday were mostly spent relaxing and doing a little shopping at some of the local places around our town. There's not much happening here, so there's only four or five places to visit, really. But we managed to hit them all and spend a little cash. Naturally.
Tuesday was also my Dad's 72nd birthday, so we took him to our favorite Caribbean restaurant for dinner. I know he was a little nervous about it, but both he and my mom really enjoyed their dinners. Success! He also got a free piece of birthday cake out of the deal, so I'd call that a win.
All in all, it was a great visit. It's always difficult to say goodbye to them, but luckily I get to see them in a month. I can't share too much about that yet, because it involves some secret travel plans, but I'm very excited!
How was your Easter? Have you had a "staycation" in your own town? What do you do there?
Oh my gosh! That is so funny they drove with strangers. But a good idea! That cake looks good, but I don't like coconut :( Your family is precious. Glad you guys had a good Easter and visit with your family!
ReplyDeleteThanks! We had carrot cake too, just incase. ;o)
DeleteIt looks like you had a great Easter break! I'm glad your parents made it, even if they had to drive with strangers. Ha! The first time I ever heard of a bunny cake was the last time that you mentioned it, then in the past week I've seen them everywhere! I don't know how I missed out on bunny cakes my whole life!
ReplyDeleteWe had an Easter staycation too. As much as we wanted to visit family and introduce extended family members to our daughter, we decided that she was still too tiny for Easter travel. It was a fun day at home though!
Sometimes staying home is really the best route!
Delete