Droning America: Duluth, MN

On this episode of Droning America host Angie Avestruz and the team head to the North Shore to meet up with professional hockey player Drew LeBlanc. They kick things off at the home of the UMD Bulldogs at Ams Oil Arena. After Angie gets a feel for how serious Duluthians take their hockey they head to check out the famous Grandmas Saloon located next to the picturesque lift bridge. Next up, they take an aerial tour of the Port of Duluth, walk along the beautiful lighthouses and discuss why Duluth is one of the best outdoor cities in the country. Finally the end the tour in a local hot spot, the deeps. If you've never taken an aerial tour of this beautiful, historic city here's your chance! Check out all of the views we've captured of cities around the country on Droning America by visiting AirVuz.com VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: Angie Avestruz: Hey everyone, this is Droning America and I'm your host, Angie Avestruz. Today, we're in Northern Minnesota in one of the twin port cities, and it's on the shores of Lake Superior. Welcome to Duluth, Minnesota. [00:00:30] Since we're in the state of hockey, it makes sense that our local celebrity is not only a hockey star [crosstalk 00:00:38] Speaker 3: [inaudible 00:00:38] has lost, [inaudible 00:00:40] rebound, and a save by [inaudible 00:00:41] LeBlanc onto the net. His first NHL shot on goal. Back to the point, [inaudible 00:00:52] rebounds-scores. That's a goal ... LeBlanc ... the captain. Angie Avestruz: But, also a Hobey Baker Award winner. Speaker 3: And the award goes to Drew LeBlanc. Angie Avestruz: [00:01:00] We're meeting up with him at a place I'm sure he feels right at home. To show us all around Duluth, we're hanging around with hockey professional Drew LeBlanc. Drew, thank you so much taking time to show us around. Drew LeBlanc: Thanks for having me. We love Duluth, so it's fun to have someone here trying to see it. Angie Avestruz: Right now we're in downtown Duluth, outside the Amsoil Arena which is a place you might be familiar with, being a hockey player? Drew LeBlanc: Yes, I've played in it a few times. It's the home of the University of Minnesota, Duluth men's and women's teams. They're kind of the popular [00:01:30] people in Duluth, here-the hockey program is. When you have eight months winter you have to find a hobby, and I guess hockey kinda landed in Duluth. Angie Avestruz: What's the big ship that's behind this building? Drew LeBlanc: The big ship was the William A. Irvin. The few history facts I know about it ... it was an ore ship, way back in the day-I think 1930s it started running? It is now a museum. It is one of the cooler older things to see in Duluth, I think. Angie Avestruz: You talked about how this a big hockey city. Now you guys hosted Hockey Day Minnesota this year, not too far away from here, right? Drew LeBlanc: Yep. And, that [00:02:00] was the second time, actually, Hockey Day in Minnesota was here. It was a big event and it's televised on TV, and the local teams get to play. So it was cool for us in the area as a whole. Angie Avestruz: Now we're off to an old warehouse district, turned restaurant, shop, hotel, and entertainment area. And, it's all right along the beautiful lake walk. We've made our way to Canal Park which is pretty popular place based on all the people I see? Drew LeBlanc: Generally this time of year it gets pretty busy down here. It's kind of [00:02:30] the place to be in Duluth; hang out, enjoy the lake, get some food, and just relax. Angie Avestruz: It looks like there are a lot of great restaurants down here and we're actually standing in front of the original Grandma's. Drew LeBlanc: Yep. She's a famous lady around here. She was the original-the only-restaurant down here in the canal. Everyone stopped to have a bite to eat here and it must have been good, 'cause she's known for it now. Angie Avestruz: That's what the marathon is named after that's up here. Drew LeBlanc: Yep, the big Grandma's Marathon. People travel from all over the world to come run, and it's one of the big three or four in [00:03:00] the US. It's a little crazy around here for us Duluthians when it happens, but it's fun time. There's a lot going on with concerts, a lot of people, and it's one of the cooler times to be around. Angie Avestruz: Now right behind Grandma's Saloon you can see the famous Lift Bridge. Drew LeBlanc: Yeah, the Lift Bridge is kinda cool. There's not too many of them in the world, from my understanding. It's one of the destination points to come and see. You get to watch the big hundred-yard ships go in and out of there. It's kinda cool to see. Angie Avestruz: This area is right near the water. Water activities are pretty popular [00:03:30] here. I've seen some jet-skiers over there. Drew LeBlanc: Jet-skiers, sail-boaters, kayakers-you name anything water and it kinda happens down here. Like I was saying, we have one of the nicest lakes in the world right here, and a lot of people like to take advantage and use it. Angie Avestruz: And, if you want to find a nice beach, this is also the area you should travel to? Drew LeBlanc: It's, yeah-nice sandy beach. The water is cold, though, so jump in at your own risk. It's get your southern feel, and if you're lucky, you can even go out and do some fishing. [00:04:00] It's one of the best fishing spots in the world too, as far as my understanding. Angie Avestruz: Next, we're taking a short walk down the lighthouse pier where we'll have a great view of boats coming from all over the world to enter the port of Duluth. Well you mentioned this is an active seaport city and you can't have that without having some awesome lighthouses. Drew LeBlanc: Yeah, the lighthouses, they obviously mark the canal so the ships know where to go. I probably mentioned it a few times now, but a lot of people like to come and watch the ships go in and out, and kind of hangout, and enjoy the scenery. Angie Avestruz: [00:04:30] And, we are right on Lake Superior, the largest Great Lake. Drew LeBlanc: It is the largest, the deepest, the biggest ... I think it holds all the records ... as far as Great Lakes are concerned. Angie Avestruz: Yeah, a lot of water activities, but Duluth is popular year 'round and was even voted #1 Outdoor City by Outside Magazine, so what are some of the other things people do around the year? Drew LeBlanc: Well, as you mentioned before, there's a lot of water activities, but besides that there is a lot of hiking, a lot of cool views up on the shore that people hike up and look at. [00:05:00] We've got some skiing, snowmobiling, fishing all year 'round; lot of ice fishing popular in the winter. Yeah, pretty much anything outdoor, and this is the place to be. Angie Avestruz: I know a lot of people in the Midwest drive up here in the fall because you guys have all these trees with the beautiful fall colors. Drew LeBlanc: Yeah, and when you get up onto the hill and where you at Enger Tower, there, you look out ... all the changing of the leaves, and all that. It's very popular. I guess maybe we take it for granted a little bit, but it's very popular and we get people coming up from Chicago all the time to see that kind of stuff. Angie Avestruz: [00:05:30] Finally, we're heading to check out a natural swimming hole that's become a summer ritual for Duluthians to enjoy. We couldn't head out of town before checking out a popular destination for cliff divers here in Duluth. It's The Deeps in Lester Park. Thanks for hanging out with us all day. If you think we should check out your city next, make sure to tweet at us @droningamerica. You never know where we're going to pop up next. Bye.