Chapter 9 - Duluth

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"So if you guys are Canadians.... What are we?"

- Long pause and look of shock on everyone's face -

"Oh yeah, we're Americans!"



The side trip to Duluth Minnesota was really an incredible spontaneous side trip that started off my couch surfing experience with a bang. Katie was driving with Zack, Jordan and I tagging along for a trip into northern USA along the shore of Lake Superior. We left Thunder Bay and headed south for the border. I had never heard of Duluth except for maybe vague references in movies or tv or something and really had no idea what to expect.

We were making good time until we hit the US border. Jordan and I were cautious about going into the states as I hadn't been since 2004 and Jordan even longer. The Bush era was coming to an end and we were unsure about the effect that would have on typical everyday Canadian American relations. At the border we got stopped for a full search. Beforehand, we tried to plan out what we were going to say to the border guard upon arrival, as most up standing citizens have a general fear or aversion to authoritative processes like a border crossing, we wanted to be prepared. We couldn't get much straight between each other, and I was in the mood for surprises so I didn't have much input as to our approach. To give the border guard some credit, our explanation of where each of us was from, how we knew each other and where we were staying in Duluth probably sounded as confusing to him as it was to us. The couch surfing community is large and getting well known, but trying to explain it to a US border guard was not easy. We also had a number or fruits and vegetables in the trunk which we thought we should claim - we were going to surf and save money, we had to bring our own food!

It didn't take long for them to realize we were just regular Canadians and they did not need to fingerprint us for their records. We did notice the big signs that proclaimed they had the right to take pictures and fingerprints from us without any reason. Good 'ol US of A. I keep wanting to go off on tangents in writing this blog, like for example the move in technology toward ID cards with all our personal information on them and the liberties we now take for granted will one day (in the not too distant future for me as I have to get a new BC drivers license) be things we will not be able to explain how we lost. Or that all of these new security measures are intended to protect us from terrorists, who we are fighting in order to maintain freedoms, which we are willing to give up in order to continue to fight terrorists, and... (infinite regress here)



ANYWAYS I will have to put that all in some other blog sometime. Blog is not even a word its a shorter, hipper term for 'web log'. Another topic for some other time.

On we went down the shore of Lake Superior (which I was starting to get a scope of just how Superior it was) and on into the night. The first thing we noticed in the states was how cheap the gas was. We immediately filled up. The second the thing we noticed was how cheap the booze was. We immediately stocked up. Arriving in Duluth about 8pm we parked the car on the street where we were supposed to be staying and hopped out to find the house.

I should point out that the guy's house we were staying at was this guy Bill, who Zack and Jordan had met when Bill surfed through Tbay. Zack had been in touch with Bill that we were coming down to stay with him and his roommates and Bill let Zack know that he would not be there because he was working but that we should go and meet his neighbors until he got off work. As we walked up to Bill's place, a guy walked out onto the porch of the house next door.

"Are you guys the Canadians?"

"yup!"

(turning around to the guys inside the house) "The Canadians are here!!"

Another guys comes out and yells to us "Get in the van!" and then the first guy again "were going to a kegger!"



We met Bill's neighbors (who were obviously expecting us) who happened to be 9 guys living in a duplex (which interestingly didn't have heat but did have running water and electricity) and half of them were in a punk band together and had a large A-team style van they called The Protector. The nine of them plus their girlfriends, and the 4 of us all piled into the Protector (I think 18 or 19 of us in total) and drove off to a random keg party somewhere in the Duluth suburbs. Bill would meet us there later on that night.



I don't think many Canadians travel down to Duluth, as we were a sort of novelty at the party. For the most part it was a typical university style kegger with most of the guests being students at one of the two local colleges. The biggest difference that we Canadians all seemed to notice at the same time was the American choice of party favors. The typical narcotic in Canada at any house party, kegger, club, pub, field party, cottage, farm house or what have you, is pot. Simple as that. In Minnesota, pot was more expensive than cocaine. Having been to enough parties in my time, and having the cross border living experience of Windsor under my belt - I knew how this party would end. This one ended in a few brawls and us fleeing the house for the safety of the Protector (a name we were beginning to understand by this point) - but not before we lost Jordan and were convinced he'd been captured by the enemy. We found his jacket and decided if he had left the party we should take his jacket with us. On the other hand if he had not left the party we would be abandoning him without a coat and sure cold walk to somewhere, as none of us knew where we were. At just around the time we walked out on Jordan, Bill pulled up to the party in his 70's station wagon and told us we'd better go with him, and that the Protector had bigger plans that night. Turns out Jordan found a random ride home with someone who knew where Bill lived in exchange for some Jager. So we all made it back to Bill's (eventually).




The next day we took a walk down to Superior and into the downtown core of Duluth. Zack had an idea to go check out the aquarium (his original idea for coming to Duluth in the first place) and see if he could network with some of the professionals there. We walked along and checked out some local spots first. Duluth is a very blue collar town, much like Hamilton, Ontario only smaller in population. Kind of a strange town nestled on the side of a hill sloping down to one of the best views of Lake Superior and yet filled with industry, poverty, and other typical small(er) town America stuff. I guess all of the grungy, hard nosed, past-their-prime towns on the Great Lakes seem a bit odd now.



Before Bill headed off to work though he took us to the Graveyard. Although we didn't know what to expect, and after walking through an old train yard, we were surprised to see a massive field under the highway filled with graffiti. Blocked on both sides by concrete walls, and covered almost completely overhead by the interstate, only long narrow beams of light reminded us we were still outside. It seemed like every square inch of concrete was painted and the ground beneath our feet was a hard dusty dirty floor littered with cans of old spray bottles, markers and unidentifiable trash. Kind of like an underground warehouse, with only slivers of sunlight beaming down from the world above. Actually one of the first of only a handful of places I saw on my whole trip that made me feel like I was really seeing something unique and not-for-the-tourists. Bill went to work where he washed dishes, and we hung around the Graveyard (where all paint cans go to die?) and took some pictures and added our own Canadian flavour to the masterpiece. There was only one entrance in and out of the Graveyard, and upon leaving there was a dude that tried to charge us an exit fee of $2 each but we waited him out and he got bored of trying.

















Jordan, Katie and I headed out to a pub for some drinks and some eats and got to know each other a little bit. Zach went off to the aquarium as he couldn't justify not going as it was the original plan. We randomly met up with him after his aquarium trip and started making plans for later that night. We were going to host a potluck dinner at Bill's (even though Bill would not be there) for all the couch surfers of Duluth. It amazed me then and still does just how many couch surfers are out there, everywhere you go.

We hosted an amazing party and met some really great people that night, and even some not-so-great people but definitely interesting characters. This night really solidified for me the power of food. That might sound ridiculous or obvious but it finally made sense. I realized that in being a couch surfer my contribution to living with strangers who have welcomed me into their homes would be centered around the one thing that everyone did everyday; eat. Although the couch surfing mission is about hosting and surfing for free, and the fact that there are infinite ways to reciprocate good will, my mission was to make my couch surfing experience as positive as possible. Zack prepared most of the dinner (a big thick hot chilli, as it is relatively simple and feeds many - a meal I would repeat many times throughout my journey) and everyone enjoyed it. We met Ksenyia, a young couch surfer with many couch surfing stories of her own and a passion for dance and travel. Jordan and I talked at length with Shannon, a like minded American who sat politically and morally on the same side of the fence as we did but who also believed it was her right and a necessity to carry a firearm (not on her that night, whew!). We met this guy (can't remember his name...Jason?) who was an ex-con and downed beer cans like they were shots - but once we got him talking he wouldn't shut up about the illuminati and the real rulers of the not-so-free world. He also spoke Esperanto (as did Bill for some strange reason) which I had no idea was even a language. If Graeme had been there he could have filled me in but ever since Graeme and I parted in the Soo I have had to rely on wikipedia. (which is a good 2nd best)





All in all we hosted a great party and Bill Workman (his real name, originally from California - Dharma/Lost anyone?) came home near the end and we had a great time with great food. The next day we got up and made our way out of Duluth and back toward the Great White North of Canada. Not a moment too soon for Jordan and I. However we did get a chance to stop at numerous spots along Superior on the way home as well as being able to pick up tons of cheap beer. (Beer that would later enable me to stay at one of the coolest houses in Calgary!! Stay tuned...) On the advice of one of Zack's roommates Eric, I picked up a carton of Du Maurier cigarettes at the border for super cheap intending to sell each pack at a significant mark up. (as it would turn out most of the people I would stay with after leaving Ontario and across the country didn't smoke Du Maurier and I didn't get rid of the last pack of smokes until I got to Whistler!) But I did make a few dollars for my trouble. Getting back into Canada was a breeze, and Zack couldn't even find his passport! I think he eventually got it back from Bill though I'm not sure.

It was really cool to meet all those larger-than-life characters in the states, and they made plans to come up to Thunder Bay for Tazmanian New Years (Jan. 9th) and as I hear it they did make it up in the Protector and had a great time.

We left Duluth, drove straight into Superior, Wisconsin (for even CHEAPER beer to bring back with us and to say that we've been to Wisconsin) and then headed back for Thunder Bay. Along the way we stopped at the Temperance river and hiked around a bit and Zack showed us some really cool spots where he used to guide and do trails. We also got a taste of what American State Parks are like. Roped lined trails, little signs in the ground letting you know where not to walk, gift shops, liability disclaimers, all the usual things you would expect in a nature preserve.




Back in Tbay I packed up all my gear and was (finally) ready to continue on my way and try and get out of Ontario within a couple of days and be in Winnipeg for Tuesday night where I had been invited to a concert with some girls that I would be surfing with. It was pretty tough to leave but my journey was onto the next chapter and I had a lot of excitement about surfing, meeting new people and really living my life. I also wanted to get in some more nature and was looking forward to Quetico provincial park.