Our last morning in Duluth was spent sleeping in to recover from the last few days and doing some necessary admin work. We didn’t leave the house till mid afternoon when we did some shopping and hit the post office. After our chores we headed to Enger tower, a tower built in 1939 in honor of a Norwegian named Bert Enger who spent much of his life building up the city of Duluth. We knew it offered nice views of the city but figured that was about it. What we ended up with was a great find with a very interesting and heartwarming bit of history, especially since today was September 11. Back in WWII the Japanese government ordered all towns to donate metal to be melted down into ammunition. A city called Ohara dismantled their prize Buddhist bell but it never got used. The crew from the naval ship USS Duluth found it and carried it home and donated it to the city of Duluth. In 1951 a Japanese professor learned of the bell while visiting the United States and worked with the city to have it returned to Ohara, where it sits as the oldest remaining bell in that city. In 1993 the city of Ohara built and shipped a replica of the bell and presented it to Duluth. They created a Japanese garden where they placed the bell under Enger tower. As far as the tower apparently Enger was well known enough that the prince of Norway dedicated the tower to him and then in 2011 the king of Norway rededicated it. Regardless the Japanese garden and bell and views from the tower were very nice.
After that we had a drink at a waterfront bar and got a recommendation for a restaurant from our waitress that was also right on the water. Food was great and we headed home.
Next morning we left for a Koa in Minneapolis. We have another couple of weeks of work and family traveling ahead so will be signing off again for a couple of weeks. Enjoy the pictures.