Mall of America

Yes, we had to visit the Mall of America. John had never seen it, and I had some shopping to do. Also, I thought that it is one piece of America which I should cover in this blog. For those of you who may never, or will never,  visit this place,  I will simply say that it is our nation's largest combined retail and entertainment center.  Anchor stores include Bloomingdale's,  Macy's,  Nordstrom and Sears. There are also around 500 specialty stores, and a wide variety of chocolate, cookie,  popcorn and ice cream shops. I at first had a wild idea of eating only junk food for the day!  However, reason did take over when I saw the list of over 20 dining options which are available at the mall.  The mall also includes Nickelodeon Universe, which features seven acres of numerous rides and attractions.

Entertainment at the mall also includes the Minnesota Sea Life Aquarium. a miniature golf course,  Leggo Imagination Center as well as a 14-theater theater movie complex.

After shopping and walking all over four floors of the mall,  I choose to spend the rest of my time looking at the Diana Exhibition-  it has been at the mall since February and will be leaving soon on June 10. John choose to pass it up and instead read the newspaper. The exhibition came direct from England and has nine galleries with over 500 objects including home movies, Diana's childhood toys, letters and diaries. It has all been compiled by the Spencer family, so there is some emphasis on the family royal bloodlines. And I was not aware that the first time Diana met Prince Charles was at a Spencer family dinner given for Her Majesty the Duchess of Denmark. The family also had a Polish artist come yearly to sketch the children, so there are a couple of Diana's childhood portraits. There is also on display Diana's wedding dress as well as a video of the wedding. Around 28 of her dresses are on exhibit,  which she wore to various official functions after she was married. It is noted that she preferred to be a workhorse rather than a dress horse. She has been respected for her activities relating to at least one hundred charity organizations.  On display is a prayer book given to her by Mother Theresa. It is also noted that she was the first high profiled person to shake the hands of someone having Aids. On display is also a letter to a friend she had visited apologizing for her distressed mental state during that visit- the only reference in the exhibition to that sad part of her life when her life was spiraling downward.  Overall, I thought it was a wonderful exhibition honoring a woman who was the mother of two fine boys, one of whom may well sit on England's throne someday. She was also a legend in her own right in regard to her humanitarian work. Below is a replica of her wedding cake.