Recommendations Posts

Monitoring Lake Superior

Interested in conditions on and in Lake Superior? UMD operates two buoys in the far western arm of Lake Superior about 15 miles outside Duluth, one near the McQuade safe harbor and one offshore of that location. You can see the data in real time by following this link.

Duluth’s Best Guitar Slingers

The Chaperone Records post (congrats on that – great to see here) reminded me of a conversation at Bayfront regarding the area’s best guitarists.

IMHO, the Twin Ports Bridge Festival featured three of the area’s top ten, maybe even five. Charlie Parr, who seems to have become a master of his genre. Jimi Cooper of the Fractals, who I have seen do many styles effortlessly. Barry Pirkola, also of the Fractals, who exhibits a similar smoothness to Jimi and works the steel as well.

We’re lucky to have so many great artists right here in our community (Twin Ports area – I titled w/Duluth because this is PDD). I’m curious and would enjoy hearing who others think are the area’s top five or ten if you feel like going deeper.

Photo Archive

I’m looking for a simple solution to “cloud type” photo storage.  Currently we attempt to consolidate all our photos on one computer via thumb drive and other work arounds.  My wife and I each have a smart phone, we have multiple digital cameras, and multiple computers to which photo’s end up being downloaded – so it gets to be a mess when we “organize” pictures.

It seems that it would make more sense for me to directly upload pictures to a remote site we all could access for viewing.  Editing would be constrained to one computer.  A nice option would be to have some sort of “syncing” tool similar to the iTunes and Google Drive solution suggested here by my earlier post.

My wife likes to edit photos and put together photo books while we are driving and therefore needs to be able to access the photos offline. So ideally, as photos were edited – these would also be reflected online post sync. There would not be a need to keep all photos locally – just the ones of interest. The syncing would only need to be with one computer; but uploads would be from various sources.

Seeking Commerical Kitchen to Rent

We’re looking for a commercial kitchen available to rent ASAP. Ideally, it would not be a shared space, but we’re open to all suggestions. Thanks, PDD community, we could really use your help on this.

Sofa on the beach

One of my favorite things about Duluth beaches are that they are, all things considered, remarkably clean, and I make a point of picking up trash on beaches should I find some. However, I’ve met my match. There is a sofa on the beach just below the 26th Avenue East entrance to the Lakewalk. It’s already a pretty grim sight, and is only going to get worse. Two quick questions:

1. Is anyone willing to help haul it up off the beach?
2. Any ideas of how to dispose of it once we do?

Swimming Lake Superior July 21st

Warm as amniotic brine.

Duluth Motorcycle Mechanic?

Where do I find a good motorcycle mechanic in Duluth? I found an old PDD post on the subject, but the one guy named in it is having health problems.

Post-flood camping options?

I’ll be up in the area via Minneapolis at the end of the month to play a show at Thirsty Pagan Brewing. I was hoping to camp near Duluth and get some hiking in. Since I haven’t ventured up since before the floods, does any one have suggestions toward what’s still tent-campable? I’m only asking because my first option (Jay Cooke) is obviously out of the picture.

Anything you got will help. Thanks!

Restaurant with Wifi for fantasy draft

Just seeing if there is an updated list or other suggestions on a restaurant that has a) Wi-fi b) food c) beer d) a spot where 10-12 people can sit around a table near an outlet and be able to hear one another. Thanks.

Interview with Nick Monson, co-founder of Prøve Gallery

Tonight is the ninth show opening at the Prøve Gallery in Downtown Duluth. Nick Monson, a co-owner of the gallery, talked about the show titled “Slow Motion,” which promises to be interesting as usual. The full story is at Ennyman’s Territory.

Wish List for New Downtown Bike Station?

The Duluth Transit Authority is on a fast track for construction of its new Multimodal Transportation Center in downtown Duluth.

When it opens, the center will be a hub for multiple modes of transportation, including the main transit station for DTA buses and other inter-city bus lines, public and private parking, a reconstructed walkway between the downtown to the DECC and the first of its kind in Duluth, a bike station.

What this bike station looks like is where your help is needed.

Duluth Wedding Venues

I want to get married outside in Duluth with a nice view but I don’t want to spend a lot of money. What are some good places? And then I can’t decide if I’d want my wedding reception indoors or outdoors or at the same location as the ceremony. I need some ideas. I want it to be nice, but not too spendy.

Post-flood swimming?

Like a lot of you, I’ve got the day off. The weather over the past few days has put swimming back on my to-do list, and I’m itching to toss the kids into the car and get into the water. Has anyone heard from those in the know whether area streams or lakes are safe for swimming? Our go-to spots are Amity Creek, Island Lake, Twin Ponds and Park Point, but we’re always looking to add new spots to that list.

Strawberry vendors in Duluth?

Has anyone seen any roadside strawberry vendors in Duluth in the last day or two? Finke’s down in Mahtowa is having a really rough season and we need our berries bad enough to buy them from the back of a truck.

Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream on Lake Superior

Who can’t use ice cream during these hot days of summer! There’s a new ice cream shop at 1631 London Road (where Dairy Queen used to be). My husband and I were there on Saturday for their ‘soft’ opening and the ice cream was wonderful. They have soft-serve and traditional hard-serve ice cream. Take a detour off the Lakewalk and check it out!