Traci and I had decided that we weren't going to go to the Mall of America (MOA),
but we read that there was an amusement park there. So we looked at maps and
figured out exactly where to park and decided to be there exactly when it opened and there WOULDN'T be any shopping!
We got there a little after it opened and were surprised that there weren't many people there.
The park is right in the middle of the mall and I have to admit, pretty cool. It was so clean and
uncrowded. We were talking to someone and they said it wasn't crowded because the weather outside
was so nice and people were glad to be out...so why stay in.
Lauren was just getting a feel for the rides...
a log ride
one of many roller coasters
she just wasn't sure about the "Sponge Bob" roller coaster because
you went up-side-down twice. Traci went on it first and Lauren was excited
to see what her mom thought of it.
a whole store of Peeps!!!!
On one side of the park was a Lego store...
every Lego you could ever imagine
even this super cool VW camper...if I could have fit it in my bag I would have.
A guy took it out and showed me the inside of it. It has the table, bed, curtains, everything!
I laughed at the age...16+
Lauren finally got the courage to go on this ride. She and Traci went a few times
and then she started going by herself...
yup, that's "Miss Adventurous "
pretty proud of herself.
She begged to go back, but we wanted to get to Stillwater.
the one store we went into was Nordstrom's since it's one of Traci's accounts.
Traci took photos of the display and spoke to the mgr while Lauren and
I hung out. We never even went into the American Girl store...places to go, more places to see.
Our first real meal in Iowa was at Whole Foods. We knew that we'd be able to get food for Lauren there.
at MOA we ate at a great sushi place (sushi is always a good option for Lauren) called
CRAVE. I had the poke and must admit it was some of the best I've ever had.
Traci had read about a cafe called "French Meadow". The actually have their GF baked
goods in stores out here. So we were anxious to try it. Love it when places "get" the GF thing.
a little GF muffin for Lauren
my sprouted wheat quesidilla with spinach and egg...delicious
Lauren's GF cornmeal waffle with bananas, nut and real maple syrup from Vermont.
the syrup was so thick it was like honey.
Traci and her healthy hot cereal with almond milk and apples
To find places to eat, we'd ask Siri for the nearest GF restaurant . In the Summit area of
St. Paul, she directed us to a great place called "Brasa". Really good simple, wholesome food.
They even had a GF poundcake!
Since our hotels had a breakfast included it was easy to eat there.
The wedding food was great (ham so tender, Lauren cut it with a fork) so that
was so easy.
Traci had packed lots of snacks and one night we went to dinner at Chipole or Chee-pot-lay
as Siri called it.
After our meal at French Meadow Traci and I didn't really eat again...it was that filling.
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