Saying goodbye is hard. When I have family events, usually saying goodbye turns into a 30 minute ordeal as I go around to everyone. In this case, I was saying goodbye once again to one of my best adventure buddies, Hoobs. We were heading in different directions, but the short time together was awesome as always, and I know we’ll find a way to link up again in the future. But for now, I had my sights set on the Twin Cities to not only explore, but get some much needed work and planning done.
Driving off into the morning haze, the day didn’t get much better. The overcast clouds still loomed over, as dark as a movie theater. Occasionally down pouring the rain they kept trapped inside, it wasn’t anything too bad. Mixed in was copious amounts of traffic which I couldn’t figure out a reason for, except for the fact that a handful of towns along the route had stoplights on the highway, which impeded traffic harshly. My only saving grace was that I had nowhere to be fast, and with a good data connection, I did the only logical thing: throw on my favorite Mexican comedian on Spotify, Louis C.K. (Seriously, he’s Mexican).
Rolling into the twin Cities in the midafternoon, my motivation to go out and explore in the inclement weather was low at best, so I decided to post up, relax, and do some of the mountain of work I had awaiting me. Winding down with a movie in the Walmart parking lot helped boost spirits and end the less than spectacular day.
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Today was going to be a good day, for no other reason than the sun was shining through a bright blue sky. I ran some errands and made my way into the heart of Minneapolis. The fist destination for the day was a giant sculpture park in the middle of the city. Luckily I found easy (free) parking, and wandered around for my time. With pieces larger than life, it was a great experience. Unfortunately half the park was under renovation and some of the sculptures had been removed, bummer.
My free parking time up, I went to get some food and alas, work some more. When in Wyoming I had run into a guy from the area and he gave me a handful of suggestions for a place to eat in a range of prices. I went for near the bottom of the list, Seaward Café, and decided to test my luck. It wasn’t too far, and upon finding a place to park, it seemed like a great place akin to the Mercury Café in Denver. Though, their internet was crap, and by that I mean I could only load Facebook and google. But the food, oh the food, it was astounding! A towering sandwich, that more than filled me up helped to mend my slightly mad feelings at their lack of wifi, since in my mind that’s what I was really paying for. I took it as a sign that I didn’t need to do work now, but to explore instead. Next up, Minnehaha Park.
Yes, it’s pronounced just liked you would think, and it is funny every time. Minnehaha Park is situated right on the river, has some great bike/walking paths, and an amazing waterfall to boot. Wandering around a bit to get some shots of the waterfall, I hopped on my bike to check out the last destination for the day: Mall of America. Only 7 miles away by bike, my legs were more than delighted to get some use again, after all the sitting I’ve been doing of the past few days. Zooming through the park, down paths that probably only see a handful of people every week, I popped out next to the airport.
Ah crap.
I was stuck between the airport, highway, and river, on my bike. Surrounded by cars zooming by, getting on and off the ramps, and least of all looking out for a dude on a bike. Cautiously, I pedaled forward, standing up to make myself as large as possible, and made it slowly to safety, well, more like a less dangerous area. The road was slower, but with no designated bike lane, and going through intersections that felt more at place in Mario kart, I finally made it safe and sound to the Mall of America. I was not prepared for what was inside.
Getting some photos on the side of the street, I locked up my bike and headed in. Yup, it certainly was a mall. Arranged in a perfect square, and three stories tall, with anchor stores at each corner, the center of the mall was where all the fun is at, literally. In the middle of the mall, there exists a full blown theme park.
Mind: Blown.
I counted 4 roller coasters, a handful of water attractions, food booths, game booths, and a high wire obstacle course/rope course among other things. With little kids running around screaming, parents ignoring them on benches, and grandparents rolling around on motorized scooters, it felt like the main area on the ship in Wall-E. It was a little much to take in, with bright vibrant colors on everything, loud repetitive noises and everything larger than life. If this isn’t the epitome of American Consumerism, nothing is. I made it out to the upper levels to get another view of the action, and in doing so found one of the many Starbucks in the mall. Yes, there’s multiple Starbucks in the single mall. It too was a zoo of people ordering and chatting, but I found an empty seat in the corner, threw in my headphones and got lost in my work.
Looking up from my screen form time to time, I was a fly on the wall to them. People watching is kind of cool, in a weird creepy kind of way. Doing some work, creeping on people passing by, I eventually finished up and headed out into the chaos of the mall once again. A quick lap around for a few photos, and I was out. After all, there was a 7 mile bike ride ahead of me, though this time I chose a route that hopefully wouldn’t be as life threatening.
Rolling through neighborhoods, the beautiful nature scenery from before was replaced by rows of old houses, and lawns filled with fifty shades of green and yellow. A stark reminder that I was still in the middle of a metropolis. Thankfully there were no life threatening roads this time, and making it back to the park exhausted, dinner was in order. A quick trip to my car, and I had all the ingridiants for a scrumptious feast.
Slack line pulled tight. Ramen and tuna cooked. Live music from the restaurant a stones throw away. Today was one of those days that travelers live for. Action packed, always going, but never rushing. The beautiful sun shined, but didn’t beat down, and nothing went terribly wrong. I was for the first time in a long time, content.
The sun fell behind distant land hidden by a maze of trees in front of me. The darkness split up by street lights, car lights, and the occasional bicyclist. Back at my car I found another Walmart to crash at, and ended a great day.
