This past weekend, I spent my time relaxing in the beautiful city of Duluth, MN. It is weird for me to think that there is basically an ocean city less than three hours from my home in this flat, barren, wasteland. All I have to do is drive a short distance to get culture shock.

While other UND students were gearing up for football and studying, I was watching this town gear up for winter. Restaurants had strings of people enjoying the last chance to sit on the patio. Beaches had couples taking strolls in sweats and a hoodie. Leisure boats were making their last voyage of the year on this beautiful 70 degree weekend because this is probably the last of this of the good warm weather.

Instead of putting away a boat and enjoying my last day on the lake, I was putting away a float plane. A family member of mine is an avid flyer and his latest undertaking is learning to master touch-and-go landings in tight areas of the bay. Just like how the water becomes too cold for people to want to soak up the sun out there, the waves begin to be too rough to land the float plane on.

Usually, I am just a passenger on these windward treks, but this time I got to fly. It was the most exhilarating feeling in the world to maneuver that plane 1,000 feet above the water. We were able to do landings on the St. Louis river, soaring in just below the tree lines.

There is something magical about that town that still takes my breath away. Maybe it’s the relaxed setting of a shoreside town, but all I know is that in that moment, on a beautiful day on Lake Superior, I felt infinite. And that’s all a college student can dream of, right?