Lina Shah
Amid the pandemic, we were in the dilemma of going on a vacation. Since the majority is now vaccinated, we were feeling a bit safe and decided to venture 6 hours from Chicago in early August to explore and enjoy what Minnesota has to offer.
Minnesota is one of the most unique destinations where we discovered the indoor fun of leisure shopping, thrilling rides and variety of food at Mall of America (MOA), Bloomington, MN and explored the outdoor and downtown fun in Minneapolis, MN. This twin city is the most underrated in the US by Ranker, a polling site. We spent two days in MOA and 2 days for outdoor fun at very family-friendly attractions and went home with wonderful experiences and memories. 
It seems that in summer or winter, any time of the year MOA would be just fine for a great escape enjoying the largest shopping and entertainment complex in North America with more than 520 world-class retail stores and restaurants, the largest indoor theme park, and more. MOA is also entertaining with FlyOver America, Adventure Golf, SeaLife at Minnesota Aquarium, Crayola Experience, the Escape Game & B&B 13 theatres.
Located in Bloomington, Minn., minutes from downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul and adjacent to the MSP International Airport, this mall is attracting about 40 million visitors a year. Shopping is attractive as no sales tax on clothing and shoes. We show Metropolitan Stadium home plate near Nickelodeon Universe and a red chair commemorating Harmon Killebrew’s 522-foot home run. It is wonderful to know that, 30,000+ live plants are keeping more than 5 million square feet of the mall with very fresh air. This time we were not able to enjoy the longest indoor ziplinein USA in MOA.
I found it very useful to explore the Minnesota wall on the North entrance, where information is available with geographic destinations. MOA’s north entrance is decorated with handmade kaleidoscope – a majestic 30-foot Monarch butterfly surrounded by more than 300 smaller butterflies, created using materials pulled from the waste stream like plastic spoons and other items making it beautiful.
We also learned about Governor of Minnesota, Rudy Perpich, a man with a big heart and big ideas without whom, MOA could be just a dream. For information on retail, dining and attractions at Mall of America,www.mallofamerica.com and www.bloomingtonmn.org sites are very useful. With an abundant choice of more than 40 hotels around MOA, we stayed at the famous Radisson Blu, elegant and ultimate in style and very conveniently located on the Mall of America walk across the skyway to the mall.
Radisson Blu has very modern design and nice sized rooms with plenty of amenities and great services. Great value and cool décor. We enjoyed the indoor saline pool and fitness center.
MOA is very well equipped with sanitizers and safety tips to avoid spreading the virus. We took a full day Nickelodeon Universe pass and enjoyed all the thrilling and fun rides, FlyOver America and Hawaii ride, the experience at Crayola and 18-hole Adventure golf. In the nighttime, it was very nice to have a movie break at B&B theatre 13, inside the mall.
Also, the Escape Game was open till midnight and we had fun breaking the prison. Nickelodeon Universe is the largest indoor theme park featuring many rides for all ages. MOA is commemorating Super Bowl 52 with a huge wall Display. MOA also had an event featuring artists in the main center area called TCF Rotunda.
Some of the amazing areas to check out are luxury and fashion shopping, stage events, LEGO store, stingray adventure, M&M’s store, restaurants- Crave, Moose Mountain, mystic lake casino, Rainforest café, etc. We found this place as great for a family outing, adventure travel, shopping budget or upscale, long weekend family gateway or spa vacation.
We found MOA very vegan and vegetarian friendly and tried Masu Sushi & Robata, Japanese eatery (menu), Hot Indian, Jamba Juice, Qdoba and NafNaf Grill.
Last two nights we stayed at historic W Minneapolis – The Foshay, hotel in downtown Minneapolis. Enjoyed the small museum on the top floor and the amazing view of downtown from the observatory on the 30th floor of the hotel. The new suite was very special with tons of space, a uniquely furnished entertaining area with a beautiful two-bedroom suite. In a historic 1920s tower half a mile from Target Center stadium, this slick hotel has modern rooms and suites with rainfall showers, soaking tubs, living rooms and fireplaces. Had a wonderful morning breakfast at the long-running café chain, Keys at the Foshay.
One day we took an unforgettable, most popular, Human On A Stick Magical History Segway Tour by the Segway company (tcsegway.com/tours/minneapolis-history-tour/), in downtown exploring Minneapolis past. This is an amazing way to learn about the history of the Mississippi riverfront from 10,000 BC with six miles of spectacular scenery with a fun ride accompanied by a professional Segway tour guide. We learned about Pillsbury mill and its building architecture, St. Anthony Falls, Guthrie Theatre, The Stone arch bridge, Upper and Lower lock and dam, Mill city museum, Hennepin Bridge, etc. It was also nice to see a young Mayor of Minneapolis exercising and running on the street.
We went to see iconic sculpture garden where we took memorable pictures with Cherry on the spoon and other iconic sculptures. Spoonbridge and Cherry is a sculptural fountain designed by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen. The spoon weighs 5,000 pounds, the cherry weighs 1,200 pounds.
Downtown buildings are uniquely built with the Minneapolis Skyway System is an interlinked collection of enclosed pedestrian footbridges that connect various buildings in 80 full city blocks over 9.5 miles to enabling people to walk in climate-controlled comfort year-round. One afternoon we spent at Minnehaha falls. One of Minneapolis’ oldest and most popular parks features a majestic 53-foot waterfall, limestone bluffs, and river overlooks, attracting more than 850,000 visitors annually. A beautiful place where we had nice hiking and bicycle rides.
The Chief Little Crow Mask by Ed Archie Noisecat is located near Minnehaha Falls. We show the sky through the eyes of Taoyeteduta or Little Crow. The chief was killed in the year following the 1862 Dakota conflict. The area is considered sacred to Native Americans. Great family fun with unique bicycles available from Wheel Fun Rentals, for group rides of 2-6 people and also for individual riders. We had fun riding 3-wheeler and 4-wheeler bicycles around the falls area.
The downtown eatery offers African, Asian, European, Vegan, Mediterranean, North American, South American varieties. We had a delicious vegetarian and vegan lunch at French Meadow Café – www.frenchmeadowcafe.com/. I chose an Organic healing plate- marinated grilled organic tempeh with organic brown rice, coconut red beans, sautéed seasonal greens, scallion’s firecracker coleslaw, sweet potato and blood orange vinaigrette.
Besides other outdoor activities for family fun, I also show that you can do a self-kayak excursion from Paddle Share or you can go to the BdeMaka Ska (lake) boat rentals for Wheel Fun Rentals and rent a boat inexpensively there.
Otherwise, I believe the museums, riverfront, parks and lakes are great for spending time in Minneapolis. The North Loop neighborhood is another spot if you enjoy browsing boutique shops and fun restaurants. For events happening – the Minneapolis calendar is available at: minneapolis.org/calendar/.
We spent time at Russian Art Museum and American Swedish Institute In the evening we took a relaxing and sightseeing Minneapolis
Queen Riverboat Dinner Cruise in Mississippi River offered by Twin Cities Cruises.
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