Thursday, August 19, 2010

Minneapolis, MN

We knew that every once in a while we were going to have one of those days that refuse to go according to plan…




Today was one of them.



We woke up this morning in the little town of Hayward, Wisconsin. Got up early so that we’d hopefully roll into the Twin Cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis, MN by about 10am. Instead, when we stopped at the gas station to fill up, I noticed a green liquid dripping from under the engine… That’s coolant. That’s not good… Now don’t think bad of me, but we have been riding around for the last few days knowing that we had a leak in our fuel intake as well. But that only leaked when gassing up and wasn’t leaking from the tank, so no immediate threat. Coolant is a whole other story.



I asked the folks at the cash register if there was anywhere we could go. They said, “Oh yeah, got talk to Darrell. He’s down the road a couple miles. Real busy, but he may be able to help you out…



So we went to find Darrell.



Darrell’s Automotive in Hayward, WI. Run by Darrell and Bonnie Salzman. Great People! And the accents are amazing as well. So we got there and waited for them to open. Then met Darrell, who agreed that he was really busy, but said he would take a look for us. First he checked out the radiator… He peered in with his flashlight and proceeded to pull out some random foam, a pencil, and the top of a large cardboard pizza box!!! Um, what?! He said we were lucky the thing didn’t over heat with the box blocking half of the radiator. Phew, dodged a bullet there…



In the end it was just a few damaged and cracked hoses for both the coolant and fuel intake. Apparently the new gas with Ethanol will actually eat away at the rubber hoses, as well as react with our old galvanized gas tank to gum up the engine… So a nice little car lesson for the day and our crisis of the week averted. Maybe we’ll get through next week without any problems??



Back in business, we started south for real. Our destination? The Mall of America! Free RV parking = awesomeness. Access to the light rail into Minneapolis, MN? Bonus!!! We drove through St. Paul, MN since there isn’t a ton there and we no longer would have time to get there…



Getting in around 1pm, we ate some lunch quick and then headed into the famed Mall of America…



It is pretty ridiculous. There really is an amusement park inside the mall. 3 different roller coasters, a log flume, and plenty of other rides and games. Also, ridiculously expensive. So we thought it best to just enjoy by passing through to the train…







But first we had to check out the Lego Imagination Center!! Even though it was under construction, got to peek in and get a few pictures…







Brett Favre was back in town today too…



And then we were on our way to Minneapolis!



Granted we probably ended up on the most pedestrian part of the city, Nicolet Mall, but it was pretty nice…






And the skyways that Minneapolis is known for as well. They are pretty sweet but in order to use them you really need to know what you are doing. They are a maze once you get into each of the buildings. If I had my druthers, I would have designed them to be a kind of second sidewalk that continued straight through the buildings, parallel to the streets. But as it is they are a really cool idea. Plus they open up a ton more storefront opportunities for retail, since the interiors of buildings can now be used as well as the exterior.



So we walked down Nicolet Mall until we got to the “Loring Greenway” and Loring park…





Through the park and over the highway on a metal frame & wood bridge that made Megs a little queasy…



And into a neat sculpture garden, home to a sculpture you might recognize…





Then it was back up to downtown. With not much else that we wanted to see, we hopped the train back to the mall.



Where we found there was a Native American dance exhibition going on…



Had some dinner and relaxed in the RV for a bit. It was really hot and humid today…



But then.



The moment everyone has been waiting for.



Step Up 3D!!!!



It was…



About what you’d expect it to be…



Afterwards we were still a bit jazzed up so we decided to knock out an hour of the next day’s drive to Madison, WI. Got into Red Wing, MN and promptly passed out.



Next up is a scenic drive down the Mississippi River and then Madison, WI.

4 comments:

  1. OMG YOU SAW BRETT FAVRE. Just kidding. Glad you were able to see the Mall of America, since I refuse to ever go there.
    The skywalks and sculpture garden looks cool! Hope you are having a good day in... Madison? Haha... wherever you are :-)

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  2. You could have seen my brother Frank and his family at the Mall of America. They just returned from there during this past week. That would have been too funny...

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  3. Mall of American looks cool, but you were in Minneapolis, MN the same weekend as Nats, and didn't stop by to play some magic or get some free cards?!

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  4. Oh man, I am so out of the loop Kyle!

    There has probably been like three or four sets out since I last even looked at cards...

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