Hypothermic Half Marathon Packet Pick Up

Welcome to Minnesota!   We are currently in Shakopee Minnesota having survived the trip, the packet pick up, and IKEA all in one day!   Currently, I'm enjoying the "slow" free internet from the Hotel...  I have so many things to download in one day...  Game updates mostly.   But  before I get sidetracked...let's talk about today.

Well,  not much really happened.   The Sun was out!    The Roads were clear.   And traffic was pretty tame for a Saturday.   PRetty much the only "excitement" that happened was trying to find a parking spot at the Mall Of America!   It was a zoo!

We visited this place once before... while attending Michigan State  (1997 or '98, I think) There were not many people there and the upper floors were almost totally empty of stores.   We rode the rollercoaster and visited the aquarium... all the usual tourist things.  It was fun...  and kinda boring.  But there were not even half as many people there as there was today. 


We ended up parking in the IKEA parking lot and walking over to the Mall.   It was not a big deal as they are only about 400 yards apart!    We quickly found the store for the packet pick up on the map,  headed straight for it, go the packet and made a bee line straight out again.   No point in shopping...  that was not why we were there.

At IKEA, we enjoyed some dinner and bought a couple of items for the livingroom.   We have had our eye on them for a while and decided to pick them up now.   Even then, it was still pretty crowded in IKEA.   Cheryl was happy to get out of there as well. 

For now.   I'm going to chill and try to recover a little bit of my sanity back.   Tomorrow the temps are supposed to be in the 20's.   Hopefully,  it will be wind-free and the temps will keep Cheryl from freezing...  or overheating.    It is pretty much a gamble either way on what might happen.    So....  that is why we play the game:   To find out where we stand.

Thanks for stopping in and  wish us luck!