Monday, January 15, 2007

Minnesota. Brr.

I got to Minneapolis on time.  I arrived at the Avis counter at 4pm, just as we had agreed. . . then I checked my voice mail.  My coworkers were stuck in Chicago.  Well, I knew I had an hour to kill, so I started looking for a restaurant.  Well, at MSP, they are all in the gate area, and you can't get in there without a ticket.  So, I asked the fellow at the information table what I should do.  He recommended taking the Hiawatha line, a shiny blue train, to the Great Mall of America.  For the price of $3.50, I did.  I crammed my carry on stuff into my checked bag, which handily converts in to a backpack. . . I love The North Face!  I arrived at the mall, then I grabbed some kind of double decker meat pizza at Villa Pizza on level three of five.  I got a voice mail indicator. . . I had missed a call while I was in the train tunnel.  It was the stranded ones.  The airline was still locating a plane to avoid canceling their flight.  I knew I had at least 90 minutes to kill.  So, I proceeded to explore the mall.  The MOA monstrosity has carnival rides, including two pretty cool roller coasters.  Encumbered by luggage and deterred by the long line, I skipped the rides.  I think you could very easily burn a thousand calories if you walked this mall and hit every level.  I hiked til my feet hurt.  I bought some bath products.  I went to Bloomingdales, then back to the train station.  Enough of that!  After you've been amazed by the size and added features, it starts to look like every other mall in the world.  Now, I'm back in the airport.  I've waited 45 minutes at the Avis counter.  I'm mooching some internet from Hertz.  I checked their flight status, and it just landed!  And they just called.  That's over 3 hours of wait.  And after all that hiking, the pizza kinda wore off.  I hope they're as hungry as I am.  I saw a Chevy's Tex Mex by the mall.  I will be suggesting it.

2 comments:

  1. It could have been worse...your flight could have been the one held up by weather.....nothing like having to sit in a terminal not knowing when you might get out and afraid to go very far (like a bathroom) for fear of missing the announcement.  Just glad you made it and are safe.  Have a great week!

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  2. Hope you're enjoying Minnasooooota.

    Weighed in at 261 tonight.  That's a 10 pound drop since December 4th and a 7 pound drop since January 1st.

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