WiFi in the Northland

It’s amazing how hard it is to find WiFi internet access on the north shore of Lake Superior. Duluth isn’t much of a problem (and I’m sitting right now in a log-built Dunn Bros with free WiFi access) but venturing north of here means there’s a paucity of connections. In the past, I’ve gone wardriving but have been getting a little hinky about doing this when stuff like this occurs.

Of course, the whole point of having a relaxing vacation is to relax and one could argue that getting online negates that benefit. I’d argue that this is not the case: for me, it’s as necessary as having access to a telephone. I find newspapers still useful but receive 90% of what I’d like and need through the dozens of blogs and news sites I frequent daily. (I should note that it’s also troubling when I travel more than 45 minutes north of Duluth and lose cell signal!)

As more and more of us talk about “Web 2.0”, podcasting, videoblogging, blogging, sharing sites like Flickr and more, we need to keep in mind that there are still a lot of places in the U.S. that are slowly dragging themselves out of the 1980’s with respect to technology.

By the way, this 5th Annual Dad & Son Adventure has been another home run. Hiking, tossing rocks in Lake Superior, fun meals at places like Grandma’s in Duluth, and our fire on the rocky Lake Superior shoreline last night remind me of why I so adore my little man and am glad I’m a Dad.