What Is There To Do In Minnesota In March?

Way back in March, my mom and I decided to take a trip to the Mall of America. When I first told John where I was going, he asked me why I would travel somewhere to visit a mall. Trying to tell him that it was Mall of America (duh) and the largest mall in the country meant nothing to him. He was definitely glad he was staying at home for this trip.

When we first arrived, I wasn't expecting it to be snowing. Sure, it was only March but living in Arizona you get used to the 364 days of sun and the lack of the white stuff. While most of the snow wouldn't stick to the roads, they stuck to the sidewalks and turned to ice mostly. That was fine because I brought a fleece jacket for the short amount of time I knew we would (or wouldn't) be spending outdoors.

The mall itself is four stories high (with a gross area of 4,200,000 sq ft (390,000 m²) or 96.4 acres) with over 500 stores, an amusement park in the middle that has 25 rides and attractions, a 14 screen theatre, and an aquarium in the basement. That's a lot.

Woody made out of Lego's

Next to the rides and attractions is Lego Land. They really go all out when they put in stores at this mall. It was cool to look at and if I was younger, I probably would have bugged my mom to buy me some (what kid doesn't like Lego's??).

There was also another attraction next to the center called the Human Doing. For a month starting in March, a man named Scott lived in a glass apartment in the middle of the mall. The project was created by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota to promote healthier lifestyles and every day he asked people to choose what activities he would do for that day. The day that I saw him, he was playing some figure skating game (which is why his arms are out, he was landing a spin I think). He was allowed to leave his box and did other events at some of the stores in the mall. Apparently, he lost 27 pounds afterwards.

This was outside the Mexican restaurant located in the mall. There were others at the other entrance.

We also went to the Aquarium. It wasn't as big as I was hoping, but it was still pretty amazing considering the location. We took a behind-the-scenes tour and got to see a turtle they had quarantined. I remember he kept snapping at us because he thought we would  feed him.

All in all, it was a fun trip. Will I ever go back to MOA? Probably not, but not because I disliked it. It's just that it has pretty much the same stuff as you have anywhere else. It was fun to see and experience though.