Our morning light rain stopped for our coffee break in Gaylord, started again after we got back in the bus, then ended for good by the time we arrived in Red Wing. The trees got more colorful as we got closer to Red Wing: reds and oranges with yellows and greens mixed in.
Our first stop in Red Wing was at the historic St. James Hotel. We toured the building, noting the wide stairway built to accommodate hoop skirts and learning that women never, never came down that stairway unaccompanied by a man. One of the rooms was open for us to tour. Each room is unique, but this one had a hand-stitched quilt, four poster bed and high ceilings. Our tour ended at the top of the hotel where huge windows let us enjoy the view of a passing barge on the Mississippi River and the American Queen at the dock. In the Victorian Dining Room we had a delicious included lunch, admired the antique furniture and continued on to our next
stop.
At Red Wing Pottery, the third generation owner came on the bus to tell us
about his grandfather's successful pottery business and how it has changed
over the years. He described the salt glaze process of firing the
pottery, and then we went into the pottery complex to watch the potter at
work. There was a significant amount of shopping involved here too!
We continued downriver to Wabasha. The National Eagle Center, right on the Mississippi River, is a beautiful new building. We were given a talk, with two bald eagles and one golden eagle just a few feet away from us. Some free time at the center gave us the opportunity to use scopes to look at two bald eagles on a distant tree. Interactive exhibits let us feel how heavy an eagle would be, how strong they were, how well they could see, etc.
After checking into our lovely hotel, we came back downtown. The fall decorations around the hotel and throughout the town were beautiful. Topiaries made out of pumpkins, shocks of corn, a large pumpkin contest (the largest weighed 580 pounds) and colorful fall foliage gave us lots of picture opportunities. Besides that, we could sit on benches with the two painted characters from "Grumpy Old Men" and have our pictures taken with them. After some shopping, we scattered to various restaurants for our evening meal.
The evening ended at the hotel with entertainment in the large lobby. The musician was so good that other hotel guests started taking chairs from the pool and joining us! We discovered some singing talents in the group as the microphone was passed around. No one was willing to dance, but singing continued until almost 9:00.
Our first stop in Red Wing was at the historic St. James Hotel. We toured the building, noting the wide stairway built to accommodate hoop skirts and learning that women never, never came down that stairway unaccompanied by a man. One of the rooms was open for us to tour. Each room is unique, but this one had a hand-stitched quilt, four poster bed and high ceilings. Our tour ended at the top of the hotel where huge windows let us enjoy the view of a passing barge on the Mississippi River and the American Queen at the dock. In the Victorian Dining Room we had a delicious included lunch, admired the antique furniture and continued on to our next
stop.
At Red Wing Pottery, the third generation owner came on the bus to tell us
about his grandfather's successful pottery business and how it has changed
over the years. He described the salt glaze process of firing the
pottery, and then we went into the pottery complex to watch the potter at
work. There was a significant amount of shopping involved here too!
We continued downriver to Wabasha. The National Eagle Center, right on the Mississippi River, is a beautiful new building. We were given a talk, with two bald eagles and one golden eagle just a few feet away from us. Some free time at the center gave us the opportunity to use scopes to look at two bald eagles on a distant tree. Interactive exhibits let us feel how heavy an eagle would be, how strong they were, how well they could see, etc.
After checking into our lovely hotel, we came back downtown. The fall decorations around the hotel and throughout the town were beautiful. Topiaries made out of pumpkins, shocks of corn, a large pumpkin contest (the largest weighed 580 pounds) and colorful fall foliage gave us lots of picture opportunities. Besides that, we could sit on benches with the two painted characters from "Grumpy Old Men" and have our pictures taken with them. After some shopping, we scattered to various restaurants for our evening meal.
The evening ended at the hotel with entertainment in the large lobby. The musician was so good that other hotel guests started taking chairs from the pool and joining us! We discovered some singing talents in the group as the microphone was passed around. No one was willing to dance, but singing continued until almost 9:00.
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