The Mall of America, St Anthony Falls and the mighty Mississippi

Monday is often a maintenance day for us.  We had gotten off track the last two weeks since we were working with Habitat so we decided to get things in order.

I got up a little earlier that Rob and Megs and got myself and Penny Lane ready for a run.  The highlight of our run was running through a parking lot FULL of seagulls.  We did not do it to scare them but we had to cross the parking lot to stay out of the road.  There were hundreds and hundreds of them!  Penny Lane was fascinated.  I then had a time of it keeping her from checking out every single pile of seagull poop.  Dogs can be really smart but they still do gross things.

We got back to the RV and everyone was up.

Megan and I decided to take a trip to the Mall of America.  We were not planning on a big shopping trip but she did have a particular top in mind and I figured if we could not find it there, then we would not find it.  She wanted an egg white, sleeveless, turtleneck, crop top.

 Rob was going to stay home with the girls.  He had several things he needed to do.

The Mall of America is about 20 miles from the campground and it is huge.  It has over 400 stores, employs over 12,000 people and receives over 40 million visitors annually.  It is also very clean and well kept.  It was not mobbed and we had a nice time even though we only visited three of the 400 available stores.  The Mall also has an amusement park in the middle.  It has roller coasters (3), swings, a log flume, little kiddy rides and other attractions.

THE SWINGS

Megan and I visited The Mall of America in 2006 when we made our trip from Washington, DC to Yellowstone. 

9 YEAR OLD MEGAN AT THE MALL

 We spent 3+ weeks on the road.  We camped and stayed at hotels and B&Bs.  It was an amazing mother daughter trip.

We found THE TOP, had a snack consisting of savory crepes and made our way back to Lewis.

Rob had been busy with his chores and we all decided that a bit of sight seeing was in order.  We took the girls for a short jaunt and got them settled.  We headed downtown and made a quick stop at the bank.  

Megan is studying in London, England for her fall semester so we wanted her to have a bit of British Pounds when she gets there.  The bank in Minneapolis had them available so we stopped and took care of that.

Rob had mentioned wanting to see an arched,stone,  pedestrian bridge that crosses the Mississippi River.  We drove to the area known as St Anthony Falls and parked to have a look.  The Falls are now a controlled Lock and Dam point along the Mississippi. There are 2 locks within easy sight of one another.  Commercial or recreational boating from this area would be impossible without these.    The Old Mill City Museum is also along the banks of the river.  We had talked about visiting the museum but it was closed on Mondays.  Rob and I will be back on late September for the Ryder Cup.  Maybe we will get to visit then. 

THE PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE OVER THE MISSISSIPPI

THE OLD FLOUR MILL AND MILL CITY MUSEUM

Mill City Museum is a Minnesota Historical Society museum in Minneapolis. It opened in 2003, built in the ruins of the Washburn "A" Mill next to Mill Ruins Park on the banks of the Mississippi River.

THE LOCK AND THE FALLS.  THE FALLS NOW RUN OVER A MAN MADE CONCRETE CHUTE

CHATTING.  THEY CHAT AT A DISTANCE THESE DAYS.  THEY DISAGREE ON PRETTY MUCH EVERYTHING THAT CONTAINS AN OPINION SO.....

A PLACE AFTER MY OWN HEART

With our exploration of the Falls and Mill complete, we drove back to the RV.  

We had our dinner, took the girls for a long walk and spent the evening in quiet companionship.

Another great day in this thing we call life.