Shrine to commerce - The Mall of America

One cool thing I did do in the Twin Cities was visit that great shrine to commerce, the Mall of America. I know what you're thinking. So what, right? It's just a mall.

It's not just a mall.

It's the mall.

Just to give you an idea how huge this thing really is, the largest indoor theme park in the USA is inside it.




This is not a couple of dinky little rides billed as a theme park. This is the real deal. There are two roller coasters, water slides, even a Ferris wheel, all right in the middle of the mall. Elsewhere in the building is a mini golf course, a hotel and casino, even a wedding chapel. The mall is conveniently located just across the road from the airport, so you could fly in for a week's vacation and never have to leave.

This really is the mega mall. It's so big it has its own chain of merchandise and retail outlets to sell it. Wikipedia says that this is the most visited mall in North America, although it is not the biggest, with over 40 million visitors annually, or roughly 8 times the population of Minnesota. It took me over two hours of constant walking just to do a quick lap of each floor, and that's without exploring the theme park or going into any of the four massive department stores. This place is big.

The highlight for me was finding an extremely cool toy. It started outside in the car park when I walked past this handsome and somehow familiar looking Ducati. Not 15 mins later I was making my way into the mall through Sears when I saw this fabulous toy for some lucky pre-schooler. For the first time in my life I wished I had a kid, or at least a niece or nephew, just so I could give them this bike.

There was also a toy Vespa right beside the mini Monster. Oh, so cool. They both have two speeds of 2.5 or 5 miles per hour (the fast one can be disabled by an adult) and come with removable training wheels. Of course the manufacturer, Peg Perego, is an Italian company and these are the only two motorcycles in their range, but you just wouldn't be in America without a tiny cruiser.

The Mall of America was also the site of my latest encounter with a Road Trip Angel. This generous woman, having convinced me that I really did want the nail and skin care product that she had just demonstrated to me, proceeded to give me a substantial discount once I demonstrated that I really did only have a small amount of cash in my pockets. I had, very prudently, allocated a small cash budget before entering the shrine to commerce, and I had already purchased food and a souvenir T-shirt before I met the Road Trip Angel and her soothing balm and nail polishing kit. The price went down rapidly from out of my league to the pitiful dregs that were left in my pocket. Thank you again. My fingernails look great!