"There's something spiritual here. Something that welcomes you home. It never turns you away. It's as steadfast as the lighthouses welcoming the ships back to harbor. It'll wait for you as long as you need it to, and will always provide you comfort."
If you're like me - than odds are, you're keen on trying to find suite-style or apartment-style accomodation when you travel. East Bay Suites is an apartment and condo-style accomodation within the Odyssey Resort Group in Grand Marais, Minnesota. It's within driving distance of the Sawtooth Mountains, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area and even one of the most gorgeous hiking trails in Minnesota, the Superior Hiking Trail.
The Tullibee restaurant just inside is one of my go-to places for any occasion, special or otherwise. It's a modern take on Scandinavian and Minnesotan classics, with an in-house butcher and food focused on hyper-local first. I love the farm-to-table philosophy that Tullibee prides itself on, especially as it promotes local vendors and freshwater fisherman to keep their Scandinavian roots at the forefront.
The festive season is always and has always been my favourite time of year. I love wrapping presents, writing my Christmas list, listening to music and going to pick out the new additions to each years' decorations. Even if it can be a bit cold outside. The snow and the ice (usually) keep things chilly this time of year, but when it comes to festivities - the colder weather doesn't slow Minnesotans down.
Have you ever smelled sap oozing from a balsam fir or white pine in the crisp air of early winter or late fall? It's chilling, revitalizing, enthralling and it makes you feel like you're using your lungs to the fullest capacity with every breath. I can't even begin to describe just how much this exact smell has made me want to ditch city life and move up to a pine grove in Northern Minnesota.
