Devils Tower

Monday, May 3, 2010 - Day 6

What a day....  We spent the night in the Comfort Inn in Albert Lea, MN.  Our only plan for the day was to visit the Mall of America.  We were not sure how long we would stay there, but we figured we would just wing it.

The day started with the continental breakfast at the motel.  It wasn't the greatest, but it did fill our stomachs.  We had about an 80 mile drive to the mall, and it went by fairly quickly.  We arrived at the mall at 9:50 AM, and we were able to get a parking spot right by the front door.  At least I think it was the front door.  The damn place is so big, I really don't know where the main entrance is.

We entered the mall just as the stores were opening.  We walked and walked, and walked until we got tired of walking.  When we were tired of walking we walked some more.  In the end we didn't even cover a 10th of the mall.

This place is impressive.  It is four stories high and the layout is basically a big square.  We eventually ended up back at a food court where we had lunch.  One thing I can say is even if you are not a shopper, you can easily spend a day here.  If you are a shopper you will never leave.  This mall has a roll-a-coaster in the middle of it.  I tried to get a picture of it, but everything is so bunched together it was difficult to get one that showed anything.

The above picture is about a quarter of what is actually there.

After lunch, and of course the mandatory pretzel, we headed west.  We were not sure how far we would drive, but our next stop is the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD, so we just headed in that direction.  The Minnesota country side is beautiful, but like Iowa you better like corn fields, there are a bunch of them.

We ended up stopping for the night in Marshall, MN at the local Ramada Inn, which used to be the local Best Western.  They have an attached restaurant, which made it an easy decision for dinner.  We were all surprised by the portions of the meals.  The food was good, and of course the vegetable of the day was CORN.

Tomorrow we head to the Corn  Palace and then continue on to Wall, SD where we plan to spend the night.  Wall is where the famous drug store is located, so we will spend a few minutes and dollars visiting the place.