MOA - WOW!

We left the car in the garage for a second day and took the #54 bus to the Mall of America.  Joan had heard about this mall from her brother, Billy, many years ago and always wanted to see it for herself.  We could not believe what we found.

Picture this:  a hollow square in the middle of which is an entire amusement park.  Each of the four walls of the square has four levels of stuff containing 50 restaurants and clubs, 4 department stores, more than 520 specialty stores, and an underground aquarium to boot.

We just walked around all four levels, taking it all in.  We found out later that each level was almost one mile around, and the entire footprint covers 78 acres. 

The world-famous Mayo Clinic had a satellite office there which we took advantage of.  Joan had been getting a little on my case about the number of steak dinners (and the portion sizes) I have been enjoying on this trip.  So the Mayo guy was kind enough to give me a blood pressure check.  And guess how it came out?  115/68!  So I think I'm okay for now.

How fortuitous that a traveling exhibit on Diana - Princess of Wales was on display at this time.  It was beautiful and touching.  Her wedding gown took up an entire room......displayed in a glass case about 35 feet long to accommodate her train.  There were several of her gowns and suits on display as well.  Diana was tall and thin and the clothes were stunning for the most part.  There was also film running of her arrival at St. Paul's Cathedral on her wedding day and, sadly, film of part of her funeral.  Her brother's eulogy was printed on the wall -- truly one of the great speeches of all time.  The only photography was permitted at the copy of the wedding cake.  We both enjoyed this exhibit a lot.

Finally,  it was time for the amusement park.  I told Joan we could not leave without riding at least one ride.  So after looking around and checking them all out, we weeded out the upside down machines and opted for the Orange Streak because it looked as though it went fast and around curves and up hills, it traveled over the entire park.  So after interrogating a bunch of riders at the end of one of the runs and making them swear it was a fun ride, we got on board.  WOW!  As you can see from the picture, I was sort of relaxed (bored?) while Joan was in a complete panic.

Truly a fun day!