Minneapolis 2018...III

For my last day in Minneapolis, I wanted to do something I hadn’t done when I was there 3 years ago…visit the famous Mall Of America. Yes, Mall Of America! I heard soooooo much about this fabulous place, but wanted to check it out for myself. During my half hour drive to Bloomington, Minnesota, I tried to size up in my mind what this mall experience would be like. Boy, was I wrong. After arriving and finding a parking space, I looked around a said to myself, “Is this it?” My parking spot was outside the L.L. Bean store where I was greeted with a life-sized duck boot. Next to the boot was The Crayola Experience, which had a nice display of crayons on the outside façade. Once I entered L.L. Bean and made my way to the outer concourse, I looked around and was not sure what to expect. I mean, it’s a huge mall with every major store and restaurant you can name, but I wasn’t really impressed. Probably the coolest thing about the mall is the amusement park, which is called Nickelodeon Universe, and the directory which gives you step-by-step directions to the store or restaurant you’re looking for. It directs you if you’re walking, walking a kid in a stroller or whether you have a wheel chair. It also gives you an approximate time of how long it will take to get to that store or restaurant. Now that’s cool! The LEGO store stood out to me as well. However, with a mall this huge do expect to do lots of walking, and expect to get tired instantly. And from what I’m told, you can’t do the whole mall in one day. I can definitely see that. I only spent a couple of hours at Mall Of America, because I mainly wanted the experience. I did no shopping, but did grab a snack at Wahlburgers. And that “Our Burger” is worth the price of admission alone. So all-in-all, if you’re that “mall person”, you’ll love Mall Of America! But if you’re just that go-get-what-you-want-and-leave type like me, it’s just so-so! Will I go back? Of course I will!

Back in Minneapolis, I walk back over to The Commons for my last night of shooting the downtown skyline and more photos of US Bank Stadium.