Wallking at the Mall of America

Saturday, October 6 the temperatures were only in the high 30s (about 1-2 C for those of you in Europe) and the sky was cloudy blue gray, looking like rain any minute. That didn't seem like weather for an outdoors stroll.

After taking my older daughter for a hair cut and then lunch, I decided to try the indoor walk at the Mall of America. The directions for the walk said one lap around the hallways equals 1 K. So I did 5 times around Level 1, 3 times around Level 2 and 2 times around Level 3, with a stop for coffee after 6 K.

One of the first things I saw on Level 1 was Canstruction. This is a benefit to fight hunger organized by the American Institute of Architects and the Society of Design Administrators. Visitors got to vote for their favorite canstruction, and I assume all the food will be donated to food shelves after the competition.

Here is the ENDeavor WORLD HUNGER.

It is made from 168 cans of whole kernel corn, 168 cans of cream corn, 506 cans of potato slices, 31 cans of Amy's organic soup, 242 cans of sliced black olives, 1000 cans of tuna, 100 cans of chicken, 500 cans of beef ravioli, and 250 cans of salmon. (Sorry I chopped of the top. Walked around this multiple times and if I had noticed in the camera LCD screen my mistake, I surely could have fixed it!)

Another that I liked is the box of crayons.

This canstruction required 1634 cans of green beans, 1110 cans of tomato sauce, 170 cans of chicken with rice soup, 83 cans of pinto beans, 21 cans of coffee, 30 cans of black beans, 15 cans of black olives, 15 cans pumpkin, 15 cans of whole potatoes, 15 cans of whole kernel corn, and 15 cans of garbanzo beans.


When I got to the 2nd Level South I had a good view of the amusement park that occupies the center of the mall.

The second level south also gives one a a good view of the Lego Store. Here's the construction there:

On the west side there is a European gift store. I always like to look at these places to see what is there and what the prices are compared to what the same objects cost in Europe.

Found the Polish pottery. Oh my! Each coffee cup on the top shelf was marked at $34.00. Today's currency exchange puts that at 104 PLN! Much better to shop at the Cepalia shop at Manufacturka in Lodz!

On the southeast corner of the mall one can find the wedding chapel.

This walk was good exercise, but it's very hard to walk in a Saturday afternoon crowd, many of whom didn't seem to know where they were going! Or would just suddenly stop and have a conversation with each other right in the middle of a crowded hallway, expecting others to somehow walk around.

I don't wish to belittle anyone who is having a difficult time with finding work, but I sometimes wonder if this issue is being overdone for political reasons. Every time I get on a plane, every seat is full. We seem always to find the money to build athletic stadiums! The mall was and is always very crowded, I had to park on the very top level and it took me a good 15 minutes of driving through the parking ramp to get there!

That said, on the top, I found a great view just at sunset.

The sun caught the glass in a office building in a very interesting way. On the far left in the horizon there is small white object. That is a water tower in the Highland area of St. Paul. This water tower is located about 6 blocks from where I lived when I had a house in the Highland neighborhood. The view is quite spectacular from the top level of the parking ramp. (and I guess the rest of the United States calls these structures a parking garage, but here it is a ramp.)

Hope you enjoyed seeing what's happening at the Mall on a Saturday afternoon.