"The Mall of America"

Today, my mom and I spent part of the afternoon out at the Mall of America. We hopped the bus to downtown Minneapolis (on a disappointingly snowy day), transfered to the light rail, and made our way out to the suburb of Bloomington. We walked around a bit, explored, did some shopping, had lunch, found a candy store that sold at least 40 flavors of Jelly Belly jelly beans, and then backtracked our way home. It was a fun little trip, and a great time spent with my mom.

In all the years that I used to live in Minneapolis, though, or the dozens of times I've gone out to the Mall, I don't think I've ever seen the whole place. There are four floors, a major indoor amusement park, a large underwater aquarium, over 520 individual stores and restaurants, a 14-screen AMC movie theatre, a high school, a wedding chapel, a full 18-hole minature golf course, numerous LEGO sculptures, two food courts, and roughly 20,000 parking spaces.

And if that's not enough, a planned expansion could include: a dinner theatre, an NHL-sized ice arena for public and private skating, three hotels, a waterpark, 380 more stores, art exhibitions, and an added 8,000 parking spaces. Financing and state approval are still in the works.

In short, that place is HUGE. If you get the chance, it's well worth a visit. But be warned, you're not going to see the whole place in one day. Probably not even two. Three might be stretching it; There's a lot to see. Bring your camera, wear good walking shoes, and be prepared to leave with at least one shopping bag.

They don't call it the "Mall of America" for nothing. :)

-Jon
posted by Jon at 11:28 PM  I   I  0 comments