Source: Meg Picard’s Flickr – http://farm3.static.flickr.com/
Month: May 2009
My Dad Caught a Nice Salmon Today
Segway Tour: Downtown Minneapolis Along Mississippi River
Dozer Day
My mom, dad, and sister took my nephew Evan to Dozer Day in Vancouver, WA today. There were about 75 different dozers, back hoes, etc that the kids could ‘help’ operate. As www.djcoregon.com describes it: “The Nutter Foundation will put kids in the driver’s seat of bulldozers, dump trucks and other heavy construction equipment this month as part of its annual Dozer Day fundraiser. Dozer Day, which benefits the Clark County Parks Foundation, allows children to ride on construction equipment next to a professional operator. Event organizers are looking for several hundred volunteers to aid in operating the heavy equipment, unloading and reloading kids, monitoring lines and drive times, and helping with various other event activities.” Source: http://www.djcoregon.com/
The event will be held on May 16 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Fisher’s Quarry, 19201 S.E. 34th St., in Vancouver, Wash.
Mall of America Facts
- Cost to build – $650 million
- Economic impact – Mall of America contributes more than $1.8 billion in economic impact activity annually to the state of Minnesota
- Gross leasable space – 2.5 million square feet
- Gross building area – 4.2 million square feet
- Number of stores – More than 520
- Sit-down restaurants – 20
- Fast food restaurants – 30
- Specialty food stores – 36
- Movie screens – 14
- Employees – 11,000 year-round, 13,000 during summers and holidays
- Parking spaces – 12,550 on-site
- Walking distance around one level – .57 miles
- Total store front footage – 4.3 miles
- Key attractions include Nickelodeon Universe®, Underwater Adventures® Aquarium, LEGO® Imagination Center, Dinosaur Walk Museum, A.C.E.S. Flight Simulation, NASCAR Silicon Motor Speedway, Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s, Nordstrom and Sears.
Did you know?
- 258 Statues of Liberty could lie inside the Mall
- If Mount Rushmore was divided into individual monuments, a president could reside in each of the Mall’s four courts
- Mall of America is big enough to hold 32 Boeing 747s
- Seven Yankee Stadiums can fit inside Mall of America
- If a shopper spent 10 minutes browsing at every store, it would take them more than 86 hours to complete their visit to Mall of America
- There is no sales tax on clothing in Minnesota
Source: http://www.mallofamerica.com/about_moa_facts.aspx
Mall of America Amusement Park
Mall of America Roller Coaster
Mall of America Pictures
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- View from 4th Floor
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- Amusement Park
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- Amusement Park
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- Amusement Park
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- Amusement Park
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- View of Amusement Park
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- View from 4th Floor
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- Crazy Roller Coaster
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- Ferris Wheel
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- Lego Store
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- Best Buy in the Mall
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- Amusement Park
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- Amusement Park
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- Amusement Park
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- Amusement Park
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- Amusement Park
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- Amusement Park
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- If I have a girl some day we are going here
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- Amusement Park
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- Amusement Park
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- Amusement Park
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- Amusement Park
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- Amusement Park
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- Undersea Adventures
Made it to Minneapolis
I made it to my hotel a few minutes ago and wanted to upload the pictures I took today. They aren’t anything spectacular but I like to take pictures so bare with me. I actually ended up getting on the flight I was scheduled to be on in Salt Lake City but my bag didn’t. The flight doesn’t get in for another 3 hours so I’m doubting I’ll see it tonight but hopefully it will get here in the morning. Off to go find some food and explore the city…
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- Downtown Minneapolis
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- Bay Bridge
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- Salt Lake City Airport
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- Rush hour traffic into Minneapolis
Some Random Thoughts About Society
I am flying to Minneapolis, MN this morning. I arrived to the airport on time and learned my flight is delayed. The airport has free Wi-Fi, so I’m just hanging out being an electrical outlet hog, charging all of my devices before the flight. I got a Starbucks, and I am people watching.
A Few Observations
A lady with a young daughter was yelling at a ticketing agent because our flight was delayed. Further down at another gate, a mom is yelling at her husband because he can’t control the kids while she watches the overhead television. Earlier, a TSA agent yelled, “make sure and check your pockets and take off your belts…you are going through a metal detector, so it will detect metal.”
Every time I fly, I am reminded by how much society has changed. It sometimes feels like we have let our fears control us. Society has also become more complacent to previously unacceptable social norms. People don’t seem as patient as they used to be. If we had a time machine and could go back 20 years to tell people in the future you can’t get through airport security with ChapStick in your pocket, people would laugh, right? Despite these things often being everyday norms, why are most of us complacent to them?
Summary & Takeaway
In 1984 Twisted Sister sang, “We’re Not Gonna Take It”. More than 20 years later, not only are we taking it, we seem happy to be happy to do so. Long live the 80s.
