Two Harbors, MN - Tall Ships Rally 4

Thursday, 8/18, is the day the Tall Ships are to enter the harbor.  We had heard that parking is at a premium near the harbor so we decided to take the bus. The nearest Park and Ride was west of downtown about 40 minutes away.  But we drove out there, caught the 10 AM bus and were downtown about 40 minutes later.  On the way we passed this store (for you, Ken!).

Arrived at the downtown transportation center, crossed over the freeway on the elevated walkway, and were at the entrance to the festivities.

Several ships were already parked along the docks.

We found out that the ships came in yesterday, docked for the night, and then would be going back out to make a grand entrance later.

 We were early so we walked thru the Arts District.  These looked interesting.

Eventually we got around to the harbor and found a spot to watch.  By the time the ships came in, the area looked like this.

 Around 1 PM the event started.  All ships would come under the elevated bridge.

The first ship thru was actually the Coast Guard leading the way with water spraying off both sides.

 And then the Tall Ships came in - one at a time.  A few came under power rather than via sail.

The final ship into the harbor was a pirate ship, but not under sail.

 When they came into the harbor, they circled the harbor before coming up to the docks.
The hit of the day (at least for the kids) was the rubber duck.

It was huge (did I say HUGE??) and it was pulled by a tugboat.  It also made its way around the harbor.

All in all, the day was good and ended with a nice bag of kettle corn!!

When we got back to Two Harbors...

we went to the local brewery.

Interesting place - they only serve beer but you can order pizza (and other things from various restaurants) and they deliver!

We got our beer, went outside to sit, and ran into three couples from our rally. They were already eating their pizza and had extra so we helped them finish it.

The brewery seemed to be the place to meet because, for the next 3 nights, many of us ended up there for beer and sometimes pizza!!