Mall of America

Well, I am happy to report that I have finished the first 435 miles of the drive so far. On Friday, I drove from Chicago to Galena to go to Lauryn's brother's wedding. It was a really nice wedding, and I enjoyed the chance to see Galena and spend some time with her family. This is the first time I've seen Lauryn wear a dress, and I have to say she looked beautiful!

Finishing this leg of the drive wasn't without its hiccups... the first one being Chicago traffic on Friday at 2:30pm:


I was driving between 0 and 20 mph all the way to the airport, about 30-50 until Huntley, IL, and then the road finally opened up after that.

After visiting Galena, I have to say I wouldn't mind going back sometime in the near future. I liked that it felt like a small town from the 1800's, and the Civil War history with Ulysses S. Grant being from there is interesting too. This isn't my photo, but this is what Main Street looks like (too bad they don't pedestrianize it):


The drive from Galena to Minneapolis, while surprisingly quick, was not what I expected. I took US Route 52 the whole way through Iowa and Minnesota, which was completely different to my experience on the interstate. The road was only two lanes (1 in each direction) almost the whole way, and instead of having exits for nearby towns, we went right through the towns and had to slow to 25 mph. I saw a lot of small towns that looked like they hadn't changed in 50 years, mostly with populations between 150 on the small end and 3000 on the large end. While I didn't expect to see this, I saw a child who couldn't have been older than 12 riding a motorcycle on his family's long driveway.

I got a bit nervous about finding gas because most of the stations (and everything else) was shut because it's Sunday. It worked out in the end, though. As the towns got larger, the gas stations were more likely to be open. Besides a few horse & carriages, some picturesque views of the Mississippi, and enduring some Sunday drivers going 35 in a 55, I think my favorite part of the drive was Fountain, Minnesota. Apparently it's the sinkhole capital of the USA. Now I thought that was a title reserved for someplace in Kentucky near Mammoth Cave, but I guess I was mistaken. For a town of only 343 people, I guess they're lucky to have any claim to fame at all:


I think they should add more to the sign: "Elevation: 1,306 ft above sea level, and sinking"


Anyway, now I am writing from the Mall of America, near the Minneapolis/St Paul airport. Kristin's flight gets in at about 7:30, and then we'll be on the road again for Fargo, ND. It feels strange writing from in the mall, near numerous stories of shops, screaming kids, the smell of mall pretzels, and some indoor carnival rides. The mall is certainly huge and worth a look, but it is the antithesis of what I am looking to experience on this trip. But I guess there is plenty of time to witness some unspoiled natural beauty and escape from excessive consumerism over the next month... so in the meantime I guess I'll go ride the roller coaster and buy a Cinnabon.



View Larger Map