Valentine’s Day is tomorrow. This year 2/3 of our family is sick. I work all day tomorrow. I don’t have a card for my husband. I haven’t made any Pinterest-worthy gifts. That’s okay; at our house, Valentine’s Day is less about romantic love than family love. Valentine’s Day won’t be very exciting, but we do have plans to visit De Pere’s Sunset Point this weekend to mark the day.
The first time we walked out to Sunset Point, we were just trying to get a better look at the birds hanging out at the base of the dam. It was a cool, fall day and we were walking pretty briskly, but we started to slow down as we noticed (seemingly) random locks on the railing. The farther we walked, the more locks we saw hanging on the railings.
My son was enchanted and baffled.
We took a closer look at a few of the locks and discovered initials carved in them; like lovers carve their initials in a tree trunk.
It turns out they’re love locks. It’s a romantic way to mark your love for someone at a scenic spot. Once we figured out what the locks were, P was more interested in reading each lock than bird watching. I think he inspected every single one.
We discovered some locks were in memory of loved ones and others marked friendships. Naturally, my son thought we should buy a lock and add it to the collection. We decided to buy a lock for our family and come back on Valentine’s Day. Of course, one lock won’t do. We need one for us, one for Grandma and Grandpa, one for out-of-state family…and his list goes on. I think we’ll start with just one and leave some space for the rest of Brown County.
This is a super idea! I think the girls would love to add a lock for our family…though we will wait until the weather is a little nicer (read warmer) and it is easier to get Cassie out there safely.
I’m looking forward to hearing if you enjoy it or not. 🙂
In your email I sent you some pictures we shot of the locks on the bridges across the Seine in Paris. Lovely idea but I guess the Paris bridges are getting unstable from the weight.
In Paris there are actually vendors on the bridges selling locks.
Thanks for the amazing pictures. I wonder when that started in Paris? I don’t remember them when I was there…but that doesn’t mean they weren’t there.
So far, the De Pere walkway seems safe from overload 😉
what a great idea. I will be going to the Dollar Tree and purchasing a number of locks. Like P I will need to purchase several for family.
Oooh! Thanks for the Dollar Tree idea. I stopped and picked one up.