Twin Cities Shopping

Those of you who know me, know I am a shopper. My favorite districts in Minneapolis are the Mall of America and the Maple Grove Crossing. The Maple Grove Crossing is a strip mall located next to Cub Foods and features well-known stores such as Kohl's, Barnes and Noble Booksellers, Gander Mountain, Old Navy, Petco, Michaels, Bed, Bath, and Beyond, and Pier 1 Imports. Other nearby stores include JcPenney, Best Buy, Thomasville Furniture, Office Depot, Linens N Things, Babies "r" Us, Borders Books, Party America, Blockbuster Video, Hollywood Video, Starbucks Coffee, Byerlys, World Market, Ultimate Electronics, Sportmart, The Shoppes at Arbor Lakes. Nearby restaurants include Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Houlihan's, Buca di Beppo, California Pizza Kitchen, Don Pablos, Famous Daves, Granite City, Green Mill, Timberlodge Steakhouse, PF Changs China Bistro. If you need a break from shopping, catch a movie at the AMC Arbor Lakes 16 movie theater with stadium seating. The Mall of America in Bloomington is the largest enclosed shopping center is the United States and features stores such as Bloomingdale's, Macy's, Nordstrom, and Sears and is home to Camp Snoopy, it also features a 14-screen movie theater, Underwater Adventures, specialty shops, and over 525 stores. The only not-so-good thing is the annoying people at the kiosks who want to lather you with lotion.

A typical day for me at Mall of America:

1. Enter the mall for a fun-filled day of shopping
2. Check out what movies are playing, if I have time to go to a movie. The last movie I ever saw there was "The Others" and that was a really good movie
3. Get a couple doughnuts at Krispy Kreme for breakfast
4. I hit Barnes and Noble, Hot Topic, Suncoast, Sam Goody, and Spencer's Gifts and so many more to count
5. I have lunch at one of the many restaurants in the mall. My favorites are Ruby Tuesday, Rainforest Cafe, Tony Roma's, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., Famous Dave's
6. Walk around Camp Snoopy
7. Go to the tourist shops -- Mall of America Store and Camp Snoopy Shop
8. Go to Godiva or Rocky Mountain Chocolate for a caramel dipped in milk chocolate or a chocolate-coverd pretzel
9. Hit the stores and much more
10. Meet the family to go back to the hotel or to my aunt and uncle's house in Burnsville