JAM Tour Day 4 and the North Shore

We are early to bed and early to rise people. It is a bit of a challenge for us to wait for our departure time. If you checked out my post on Facebook, you will have seen there was plenty of time for Alyssa to practice, my mom filled out several crossword puzzles, I blogged and knitted and we repacked our coolers and prepared our lunch.

Another day another dollar or two gone. It is lovely to be a little further north with a little cooler weather. Everything is fresh and green after last night rain.  Beautiful flowers and lush greenery greeted us at our first stop, Hingeley Road Quilt Shop in Floodwood. Traffic was non existent and Alyssa and I both hoped to see a Moose along the road.

Views of Lake Superior began peeking out here and there as we traveled to Hannah Johnson Fabrics. Everything feels like it is on a hill here. My son went to school at UMD so this area is familiar. Since they were resurfacing in front of Hannah's  shop it was a little bit of a challenge to find our way in but the business next door allowed us to park there while we shopped. By the time we were done, the road was open again and you future hoppers should not have a problem.

Our next destination was Beaver Bay and this is a favorite place for my husband and I to stop as we travel further north. Todd has used this bench a time or two. The Quilt Corner utilizes every square inch of her space and we had a nice visit with the owner. My mom found fabric to make pillows for her living room. My cousin Julie uses Marcia's zipper back pillow method. Be sure to check out Marcia's Monday Morning Quickie on the topic.

There is nearly an hours travel between Beaver Bay and Lutsen. My mom started preparing our car lunch as we continued north. We were ahead of schedule and a more perfect day on the north shore could not be had. We decided to pull into Tettegouche State Park and enjoy our lunch in the picnic shelter area. There were hikers and bikers and dogs oh my. They kept rolling in looking a little hot and a little tired and all happy to have a lunch break.

Lutsen is a favorite spot for Alyssa and she has spent some time in the area last year. Our last shop of the day is run by Slyvie and she has 3 generations of help in her shop as well. She opened at the beginning of the pandemic and is happy to see visitors this year. She is on the second floor of the building but the parking space in the back takes you right in on the level to her shop. Her porch in the back looks like an inviting space to linger. Another section finished! We shared bear stories with her. As you know, my mom has a bear in the north metro area that thinks her bird feeder is his personal lunch box.

Since this was the last stop of the day, we traveled back south to Silver Bay where our hotel was. The afternoon was still early. We unpacked and left mom to put her feet up and Alyssa and I visited Second Hand Roses roadside antique shop and admired all the pretty things on display. The car is gassed up for today's travel west across Minnesota.

Appetizers this evening were Muddy Buddie's and our supper menu was Sloppy Joe's, chips and carrot sticks. We shared a bottle of wine and hung out down in the lobby until it was time to check in with Aunt Rita and Cousin Julie. We had our evening charm square and pattern sorting. We plan to make a few Mini Brick Road table runners from our charms as a little trip remembrance. Pine Needles stocks the pattern so be sure to ask for it.

I am thankful that we have packed our meals. There were travelers that arrived last evening and they had discovered there was no where close to eat and were destined to a dinner of pretzels. The hotel clearly know this is a possibility as there is a cooler with pot pies and burritos for purchase.

Tomorrow morning ( it is actually already tomorrow morning) we travel 3.5 hours to our first shop in Blackduck. I heard from Marcia our Longarm services are up and operating so stop in and get your quilts in the quilting Queue.

Until later, Happy Hopping! Joy

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