Day 36

Day 36     July 12- to Minnesota

What a horrible night! We hadn’t realized when we were setting up, but we were very close to the airport and the interstate construction was being worked on throughout the night. And, on top of that, our camper door decided it didn’t want to stay closed in this windy weather, so apparently every few hours it would pop open. Ugh! Ed hardly slept, so he awoke angry, banging cabinet doors and slamming the camper door. Oh, boy, we were going to be in for another lovely day.

We didn’t want to stay here any longer than possible, so we got ready quickly and left long before check-out time. Perkins Restaurant was right beside the freeway entrance, so we pulled in. What a big breakfast we had - $58 for breakfast? Well, technically Ed and Ali chose lunch instead. Ed was cheerier after eating and having coffee. Thank goodness. I can’t believe how much the boys have been eating on this trip. Ian’s about to be a teenager in a month, so I guess that makes sense.

About halfway through our drive for the day, the terrain started to change. More groves of trees were spotted along with farms, barns, and silos. The weather was sunny and still windy. I called my mother’s cousin’s family who live near Minneapolis to make arrangements of when/where we would be meeting them. They have been expecting our call. Since the Mall of America is in Bloomington, south of where we were going, we decided to stop and check it out before heading to their home. Scott suggested that we might as well stay in the mall to wait out the traffic. I guess construction in many of the nearby freeways have been playing havoc with commutes, and it was also a Friday evening.

We didn’t have any problem finding a parking spot in the parking deck. We memorized our level and row, so we would be able to find it again when we left. It didn’t take long after we entered to discover the truth to the label of the “biggest shopping mall in America”. We stood along the railing of the 5^th level and looked at all the levels below and to the side where the indoor Nickelodeon Universe theme park was. I could see the kids’ eyes spinning as they watched the roller coasters in action and the bevy of activity in that area.

We peeled the kids away from that viewpoint to walk down to the next level. We decided to look for a food court for dinner, and surprisingly came across one fairly easily. We chose a variety of meals and, of course, the kids chose to sit in the area right beside the rides so they could gawk some more. Even though the kids knew not to ask to go on a ride, since we had already invested in a small fortune for tickets to the upcoming Cedar Point Amusement Park, Ed and I relented and let them each choose one ride/attraction at the mall. Decisions, decisions. They carefully weighed their options as they walked around looking at their top choices. The boys opted for Dutchman’s Deck Ghostly Gangplank & Anchor Drop and Ali chose Spongebob Square Pants Rock Bottom Plunge. Ali’s ride was over in a fraction of the time that the boys’ attraction was, but she said it left her slightly dazed (a good thing). The boys took their time on their adventure course which was billed as “the tallest Sky Trail ropes course in the world, challenging guests to climb 56’ above Nickelodeon Universe.” They both said it was awesome. I guess they each made the right choice.

We ran out of time without exploring any more levels of the mall. We all said (even Ed, our anti-mall family member) that we’d love to spend more time here another day. We’re adding it to our list of places to come visit again. Maybe in the winter when we'd be happy to be stuck inside for days on end?

We maneuvered our way back out of the mall, tracing back the steps we took (glad we memorized the level name and number) and just as easily exited from the parking garage and into the massive construction zones around the mall and beyond. Thank goodness for our GPS. It helped us find our way onto the correct maze of interstates and highways leading north to Ramsey where my relatives live, about 40 minutes away. When we were close, I gave them a call and they met us at their daughter’s house where we could park our camper. The daughter and her husband already had plans for the evening, but they opened up their backyard swimming pool and gazebo for us to use while visiting there. The boys had a blast swimming, especially with their black lab who loved having his Frisbee thrown into the water so he could dive in and fetch it. The adults visited and got to know each other while the boys swam. What does one call their mother's cousin and their children? It was easier just saying family member than trying to figure out the exact relation. It was decided that we would spend the night in John (my mom’s cousin) and Hennie’s home, about 10 minutes away, since a storm was on the way and we could have a “real” home to sleep in for another night. We followed them there, got our suitcases and cooler brought in, prepared the kids’ beds, visited for a short time, and went to bed. We saw the lightning flash and heard the rain pour throughout the night while we slept soundly safe under their roof. It could have been rough if we had stayed in the pop-up.



cute little ground squirrel spotted at rest stop