The Day I Fell in Love With the North Shore, Minnesota

On today’s podcast and blog, Kitty shares a travel essay about her love for the North Shore here in Minnesota. She invites you to close your eyes, take a deep breath in. Allow yourself to imagine a place where it feels like you’re four years old, discovering something you love, for the very first time. 🎙️❤️

✅ Listen to The Day I Fell in Love With the North Shore of Minnesota – A Travel Essay on our podcast. We release new episodes of Travel with Jack and Kitty every day! Subscribe and listen on your favorite podcast app. 🎙️❤️

The Day I Fell in Love With the North Shore of Minnesota

A Travel Essay by Kitty Norton

“Can we go home? I’m cold!!”

I was a little kid. Around four years old. We were outside and I was cold, desperately cold. You see, my mom is from Jamaica and, to her, she saw something special in these snow drifts. To me, with my short legs, all I could see was mountains of icy whiteness.

The song of the snow. The Dance of the sun. — *The song of the snow. The dance of the sun.*

My mom immigrated to Minnesota when she was seventeen. In the middle of the winter. From a tropical paradise to one of the coldest places on Earth. It was her first time seeing snow in real life. A first among many.

You see, Jamaica is in the Caribbean and doesn’t get snow.

It’s warm, beautiful. Paradise. White sand beaches and jerk chicken.

A place where you can get lost in the tropical heat. A place where the water drifts lazily onto your toes and the sun kisses your skin. A place where you can sway to the rhythm of Bob Marley music as the wind entices you to move your hips with the rhythms of the islands.

It’s Jamaica, Mon. No worries. No cares.

That’s where my mom came from.

Paradise.

*Scotts Pass, Jamaica at the local swimming hole.*

And here I was with her now. Four years old, fighting off the bitter cold of Northern Minnesota. The wind snapping at my face, smacking me into alertness.

My mom zipped my warm winter jacket all the way up to my chin and pulled my hat down to my eyebrows.

“Look,” she said. “Feel,” she whispered.

We had just come back from a winter vacation in Jamaica over Christmas time, and I wasn’t in any mood to “look” at or “feel” anything…except the warmth of my bed. Instead, all I “felt” was the pinch of frost nipping at my nose, and my belly grumbling for some hot chocolate and warm sugar cookies.

She said it again, and this time I listened. My mind racing to find the quickest path to a warm beverage and some yummy food.

“Look. Feel.”

So I looked around. Unimpressed.

Miles upon miles of white snowdrifts. Powdery layers of glimmering jewels as far as my eyes could see.

The trees were tall and untouched. It looked as if another human hadn’t been here in ages.

Or ever.

Patterns of sharp edges and swirls had been formed by the elements, but to my eyes, it looked like God had been sketching on a notebook. Carefully crafting a pretty mosaic for all of the animals and spirits who live here.

I looked around some more, this time noticing details I hadn’t appreciated at first.

A tiny brown bird, hopping on a branch, sending a mini avalanche of snow to the ground with each bounce.

The wind, singing a sacred song that it had sung long before we were here. Howling like a wolf for anyone who perked their ears up.

The sun, dancing across the crystalline white expanse, causing the earth below my feet to literally glow.

My mom grabbed my hand. Squeezed it tight in my mitten. Asked me to try even harder this time.

“Feel.”

It was whispered. Almost like a prayer. Reverent and soft.

I closed my eyes this time, somehow knowing her request had nothing to do with looking around at my surroundings but, instead, to feel what it was doing to me inside.

This place was affecting me, changing the way I felt in my gut. A warmth began to creep up, flushing my cheeks and making me want to laugh. The corners of my little mouth rose as I felt something that couldn’t be described other than feeling good.

The rhythm of the North Woods. The song of the snow. The dance of the sun.

The realization of a little girl that had come from the carefree melodies of Jamaica, from reggae and roots, to a different song, wrapped up in snow and cold.

But somehow just as warm.

I love photographing Lake Superior year-round. It's beautiful in every direction. — *I love photographing Lake Superior year-round. It’s beautiful in every direction.*

The North Shore of Minnesota. Grand Marais.

Just a two hour drive up from Duluth, the upper end of North Shore is one of the most cherished places among Minnesota locals and there’s a good reason why.

It’s one of the last frontiers in the lower 48. Or at least it feels that way.

You can wander off into the vast expanses of wilderness – which in most places, are only a few city blocks worth of trekking – and feel like you have reached the end of the world.

Or the beginning of it.

The air is crisp and clean here, and somehow makes you feel as if it’s purifying your very lungs with every intake through your nostrils. The sun shines more brilliantly here, especially in winter. It heightens the snows brightness, painting it in golden tones amidst the blues and whites.

And the trees stand tall and proud, majestic and unforgiving.

You’re in their domain, and they know that once you’ve had a hearty taste of this magical place – this vast expanse only a few miles from the Canadian border – you’ll come back again and again for more.

This place, this land, this uncharted expanse will call your name and make you feel as if you’ve been transported to another place and time in history. Here you can be George Vancouver, exploring Alaska with a sense of giddy adventure.

You can be an Indigenous American, long before any unfamiliar faces showed up, knocking at your door.

Grand Portage State Park...when it isn't freezing lol. — *Grand Portage State Park…when it isn’t freezing lol.*

You can be a daredevil, seeing how hard you can push your body, how vigorously you can hike the cliffs and towering shores that line the scenic lakes peppered throughout these lands.

You can be a family, enjoying a cozy day in front of a fire after returning from a peaceful cross-country ski or snowshoe jaunt.

Or you can be me. Four years old. Young and impressionable, ready to have my socks knocked off by the beauty of one of the last remote places that isn’t truly remote.

Ready to feel. Ready to fall in love. Ready to return year after year because it’s one of those memories your brain and heart can’t shake, no matter how old you get.

The North Shore of Minnesota will do something to you like that. It will grip your heart and refuse to let go, carving a space in your lifelong memories that you revisit time and time again.

It will paint your dreams at night, and revisit in the most unlikely places, time and time again.

It will feel like your first love. Just like it did for me, at the tender age of four years old.

It will make you feel. Fall in love. Yearn to return to its warm embrace time and time again.

And this is only winter I’m talking about. The North Shore has something for everyone, during each unique season, year-round.

Do me a favor, will you?

Close your eyes, take a deep breath in. Allow yourself to imagine a place where it feels like you’re four years old, discovering something you love, for the very first time.

Allow me to take your hand. Do you feel it? The warmth of my skin, the soft creases in my palm as it melds with yours?

Take a deep breath and close your eyes.

Feel.

And then, when you feel connected to the magic of this new place, open your eyes.

Do you feel the excitement starting to quicken your heart, just the tiniest bit?

This exciting adventure is something we’re beginning. Together. Take the safety of my hand as we explore, but allow yourself to look around. Here you’ll find the magic of where it all begins. The moment your heart connects with a place that will never let you go.

Feel that warmth creeping up in your belly, that smile forming in the corners of your mouth?

Do you feel it?

That’s what you’re gonna find here at Jackandkitty.com. I’m gonna make you fall in love again and again, with beautiful places all across this region we call the Midwest.

You’re gonna love it here. And I’m going to show you why.

So take my hand and let’s go on this adventure of love and discovery together, one day, and one destination at a time.

Let’s discover the Best of the Midwest together, right here. Starting right now.

Xoxo, Kitty 😻

Where the Heck is Grand Marais, Minnesota?

Grand Marais, Minnesota is located in the Northeast corner of the state in the "North Shore" or "Arrowhead" region. It's a small city of 1,300 folks along the famous North Shore Scenic Drive. — *Grand Marais, Minnesota is located in the Northeast corner of the state* *in the “North Shore” or “Arrowhead” region.* *It’s a small city of 1,300 folks along the famous North Shore Scenic Drive.*

✅ Don’t miss out! Listen to today’s podcast episode, The Day I Fell in Love With the North Shore of Minnesota – A Travel Essay – where we go even deeper into this story. Remember, we release new episodes of Travel with Jack and Kitty every day! Subscribe on your favorite podcast app. 🎙️❤️