A Superior Kind of Day

Yesterday was a long day but it was one of the more superior ones I have had in awhile.  Yes, the weather was gorgeous, yes I was in good company but it was much more than that.

The day began quite early with a drive down the North Shore to Duluth, Minnesota for an 8:30am appointment at the Damiano Center.  The Damiano Center has a Soup Kitchen that our church youth group decided to volunteer at for the day.  A group of 5 youth and 3 moms(including me) cut up potatoes, prepared salads, washed fruit and served a couple of hundred people lunch with the help of the cook and dishwasher at the Center.  It was eye opening to see all of the people in need in our community at large. I wish I lived closer so I could volunteer there more often.

We also unloaded a trailer of stuff the Damiano Center was happy to receive.  Among boxes of clothing and shoes were a bunch of older sleeping bags that were still in usable shape.  I had called ahead to see if they could use these and sure enough they were happy to take them. This made me happy because I wanted to see the sleeping bags go to somewhere they were needed. While there I was told they could even use tarps, tents and other bedding materials so this fall instead of a coat drive I think we’ll be having a gently used outfitting/resort equipment drive.

Helping others always makes me feel better and the next time I’m deciding on whether to keep or donate some item I am going to think of the people who have way less than me and give it to them instead of filling up my space with something I may not use very often.

The second part of the day included a rafting trip on the St. Louis River with Superior Whitewater.  I did not expect to have such a thrilling adventure and was pleasantly surprised with the experience. Unfortunately none of us had a Go Pro along and there was no photographer but the memories of high waves and water spilling into the raft will not fade quickly.  Since I was the steersperson for our raft I didn’t think it could be that challenging of a river but I was wrong.  It was very challenging and if you plan to go in high water then I would recommend paying extra to have a guide in your boat steering it. We had a guide in a kayak that led us through the rapids and who had his own boat in case he needed to rescue anyone. Luckily no one left either raft and we all made it safe, sound and soaked. There was one point after a set of rapids we had to bail the rafts out because they were filled to the brim with water. The waves were 15 feet high in places and if not for the courage of the fearless crew our raft would have been lost. Well, maybe not lost but certainly we easily could have capsized.

It was a superior day yesterday and I’m hoping there will be more of them this summer.  I also hope you will plan a trip to Voyageur this summer so we can help you have a superior vacation.