When I was still in middle school, my parents took the family up to the Mall of America to go check it out and see what it was all about. That was the first time I had ever been to the Mall of America. It would also be the first and last time I was at the Mall of America with my family. After that, I’ve been there a few times in high school with friends and a few times in the late 2000s. It’s been about 6 years since I last visited the place until last weekend.
So why the importance of the Mall of America? Well, to me it’s not just any kind of adventure. The Mall of America is a prime example of American consumerism. It has a vast variety of entertainment venues, attractions, restaurants, and stores upon stores contained inside this multi-storied complex. To me, it’s not just about the adventure of us spending the day here and seeing what has changed; but also about the adventure of how far we’ve come in life, which I’ll explain in a bit. It hits right in the feelings when you reminisce with friends about the days when you could barely even afford to go on the rides or buy anything at the Mall of America.
My first time at the Mall of America, I wanted to play all the arcade games and go on the rides, but unfortunately, my parents thought otherwise. I remember them telling me first that we didn’t have a lot of money and that it’s not worth spending the money for the rides and the games. Instead we walked around as I stared in awe at the thrill rides and the games that looked to be so much fun. We didn’t spend any money there that day, because my parents just wanted to check out the complex and see what it was all about. Ever since then, the times that I’ve been back during high school and in the late 2000s were similar to the first time I was there. I didn’t spend much money because I didn’t have much to spend. I would grab food from McDonald’s or Burger King instead of eating at a pricier food court restaurant.
Fast forward to the present time. I asked the guys who were with me that day, “Remember those times when you were a kid, coming up to the Mall of America, and not being able to get on the rides or buy anything because you didn’t have any money?” Everyone shook their heads “yes” and talked a little bit about their similar experience. That day was different. Money was no issue anymore. We all now had a source of income. McDonald’s for lunch? Nah, let’s grab an extra large tray of fries loaded with cheese and sour cream along with a Philly cheese steak sandwich. $13? Add a large drink to that too, please! $15? Didn’t feel a dent in the wallet at all. After we finished eating, we decided to go walk around for a bit. Then one of the guys decided we should go ride one of the roller coasters.
As we approached the ticket booth to get a wristband for the rides, we noticed that it was going to be $30 for all 5 of us to get on only one roller coaster. Did we back down? No we did not. $30? My treat. We walked around to try to get to the one roller coaster that a few of the guys wanted to go on until we came upon Sponge Bob’s Rock Bottom Plunge. We figured this one would be more thrilling and the line wasn’t long, so Rock Bottom Plunge it was for that hairpin climb and drop.
After the ride, we decided it was probably time to head to Treasure Island casino and get to gambling, because that really was the whole point of us all heading to the Twin Cities that weekend. Until next time, maybe.