Home again, home again.

Well, here's the update from Sunday until today....

Sunday we were planning to get a quick start on the day and head to Duluth. Things didn't go completely as planned. We ran a little late after dog chores and getting water, and once we got to Rob's truck, it didn't want to start. After we got that worked out, we made a break for Grand Marais. Once in Grand Marais, we looked at the time, about 11:30. We took a vote, and decided that we wouldn't be able to make it to the start in time. To add to our bummer, everything in Grand Marais is closed on Sunday. So salvaging a trip to town with grocery shopping wasn't going to happen either. We brought our laundry though, so we hit the laundromat.

After starting our laundry we rolled down main street to look for a place to eat. Luckily the Crooked Spoon was open. I've been wanting to eat there for a while, it just seemed like anytime we walked by, it was closed. Thank goodness it wasn't closed on Sunday!

We sat at a table by the window, which was great for people watching. The menu was great! I was impressed. I wasn't really sure what to expect, and I was pleasantly surprised. Our server came and we ordered beers. What else do you order when the day doesn't go as planned? She asked for our ID's, we provided them, and she recognized our names. She asked if we were Mary Black's handlers. We said yes. She said "I read the blogs". Yep, that's right folks, my 15 min of fame. Right there in the restaurant. Haha. Anyhow. Our servers name was Alison. And she was great. Nice to meet you Alison.

To start our meal off, we ordered a dried cherry and goat cheese salad, split between the three of us. The cherries and goat cheese were a perfect combo, tied together with the vinaigrette. And the portion was large enough for all three of us to have a nice taste. Then it was entree time. Hannah ordered the special, Utah Elk Burger. Rob ordered the house Sirloin Burger, and I ordered the Muffelatta. I haven't had one, done right anyhow, since I was in New Orleans. So I went for it. The food came and the protions were big. But not to big. Hannahs burger was cooked the perfect med-rare that she asked for, so high five to the chef on that. Rob's burger was drenched (in a good way) with blue cheese butter, and looked fantastic. My muffelatta was piled high with onions, roasted red peppers, salami, pepperoni, and of course... OLIVE TAPENADE. Rob and Hannah's food was better than good. They loved it and ate everybite on the plate. My sandwich, was delicious!! It was everything I remember that is great about a muffelatta. The sandwich was pressed on a grill, so the bread was warm and had a crunch on the outside, and chewy on the inside kind of feel. The tapenade, which is what really makes the sandwich, was awesome. The flavor was a great mix of olives, not too salty. Mixed with the balsamic vinegar and sliced pepercinis, and it's a match made in sandwich heaven. And then dessert!!!

I love that Hannah is a dessert eater, because Rob is hit or miss. If someone at the table orders dessert, it's free game for anyone else too. So we all ordered dessert. Hannah had a maple creme brule, I had a port wine poached pear, and Rob had a sort of deconstructed Bananas Foster. The desserts were right in line with the lunch. I'm a pretty hard core creme brule critic, only because I've made them myself daily as a chef before, and this one was pretty good. To be specific, about 10 min over cooked. (sorry guys). But for the average creme brule eater, not noticeable. I just realized I've spent the last paragraphs talking all about food. Hey Northern Wilds newspaper, any need for a food writer??? After dessert we were off to throw our laundry into the dryer.

We wanted to make the town trip as quick as possible, and get back to camp. Why our laundry was drying we ran over to the Co-Op, the only open grocery store, and stocked up on tasty snacks. Back to the laundromat to fold clothes. Our last stop before heading home, was of course, the Java Moose. Don't want to miss out on a brown sugar and cinnamon latte. We were back at dog camp by 3:30.

Monday Rob ran a team of six dogs around the Moose Loop before we were off to pick up Mark, Mary, and the dogs at the Greenwood River Rd. They were all exhausted and in need of a serious nap. Once we were back at camp, that's exactly what they all did. Rob, Hannah, and I took care of dry food, and started chicken soup before there was even a movement from Mark and Mary. We had a bit of a fiasco last night, as in someone almost burned the big cabin down. I plead the fifth on who, just saying, it wasn't me. After that was a little bit under control, I cooked up some cheeseburgers for dinner. Mark and Mary were still pretty tired and looking forward to a hot sauna and some serious sleep.

Today Rob and I are going to run a couple of teams around the Moose Loop while Mark takes a trip to the dog truck. I'll take some pictures, of course. Until tomorrow, or the next day....