Travels with Children

Thinking of heading to Mall of America, but not sure if you should take the kids? See my post at Uptake.com for some tips.

I’m going to make a confession.  I don’t go to Mall of America to shop!  In fact, quite often when I go there the only money I spend is on food.  That was the case with our most recent trip to MOA.

We first stopped at the mall to eat lunch.  If you’re eating food-court style with kids at Mall of America, I’ll give you a hint:  Choose the south food court, which overlooks the amusement park.  It will keep the young ones entertained watching the roller coasters, and it’s where McDonald’s is located.  We found a table along the railing, and the kids mindlessly (meaning quietly) ate their lunch while ooohing and aaahing at the rides.

After lunch, we walked through Legoland, and then wandered through the Nickelodeon Universe theme park.  Most of the rides are revamped and repainted from the park’s Camp Snoopy days, but it appears that they are adding some new rides as well.

When we got through the park, we headed to the transit station to ride downtown on the light rail train.  When we returned, we walked through the park again and saw the character meet-and-greet area, where a freakishly large Diego was greeting fans who were ushered one at a time to his fenced-in area.  My kids were scared to go anywhere near him.  So much for meet-and-greet excitement.

We headed back upstairs to eat supper at Famous Dave’s.  We did stop in a store or two on the way out. (The kids’ clothing stores are conveniently grouped near each other), and headed out into rush hour traffic that was surprisingly manageable heading south on Hwy. 77.

Someday I’ll have the luxury of going to Mall of America without children so I can do some actual shopping.

Read more of our adventures to Mall of America .

Mall of America

• Hwys 494 and 77, Bloomington, MN.
• 952-883-8800.
• www.mallofamerica.com.
• Free (except for shopping, eating, and rides in the amusement park!)
• Stroller accessible.
• Restrooms and family restrooms available.

Only when you live in Minnesota can you run into the country’s largest mall just for a few errands. Of course, the four places I needed to go were on each of the four different sides of the mall, so we got a workout just getting things done.

On this February Monday afternoon, the MOA was very, very quiet, which is a dream-come-true for me. I’ve lived all my life in rural areas and I don’t like crowds, so an uncrowded Mall of America is perfect. On the downside, I only had my five-year-old with me, so I didn’t have an excuse to bring in the stroller. That meant I actually had to carry my bags myself. (This has been a rare occurrence in the last seven years of my life.) We left our coats in the car, which is a benefit of the parking ramps at the mall, and headed North, South, East, and West to get what we needed.

We stopped at Legoland to get brick separators (I wish I’d have known about those tools when I was a kid! Much better than breaking fingernails and teeth in prying the Legos apart) but didn’t stay to play. The Lego play area has changed slightly since the last time we were there; now there’s one Lego table with a race track built in, and a Duplo area for the younger tots.

My son talked me into just one ride at the amusement park, and he chose the roller coaster. It wasn’t until we were seated in the cars that I remembered how much I dislike roller coasters. He had a great time, however, yelling “INERTIA….” as we rounded the bends. Some of the rides in the park were closed as it is transformed to a Nickoledeon theme. Walking through the park, I spotted new or remodeled rides featuring the Backyardigans, Blue’s Clues, Dora the Explorer, Rugrats, and other Nick and Nick Jr. characters.

We sat down for an early supper at Rainforest Cafe. It’s not my top choice because it’s expensive (the kids’ meals are $5.99), but it’s one of two restaurants at MOA that we consider to be allergy-friendly. (Famous Dave’s is my first choice, but we’d eaten there recently and needed a change of pace.) The entertainment at Rainforest is a factor, and we were seated right next to a fish tank, but the jungle “storm” no longer holds the interest of this five-year-old.

On the way out, we stopped in a few more stores before heading back to the car. I have a love/hate relationship with Mall of America. On the one hand, it’s just another mall, except bigger and usually more crowded. On the other hand, they do have some unique stores, and the kids love seeing the amusement park and begging for rides.

13th Annual Hutchinson Model Railroad Show

McLeod County Fairgrounds, Hutchinson, MN . http://luceline.tripod.com/
$3 adults, children free . Free parking . Stroller accessible . Easy restroom access . Concessions on-site.

We arrived shortly after the doors opened at 9 a.m. Although the kids’ admissions were free, we each received a ticket for the half-hourly door prize drawing. There were several model railroad setups for the kids to watch. Some were complete and some were still works-in-progress. Anna could see a few of the trains from her stroller, but many were higher so that she and the kids had a hard time seeing. Vendors selling model train sets, pieces, and memorabilia rounded out the show, billed as “one of the best in Minnesota.” The railroad operators were happy to talk to the kids and answer questions from Mom about getting started with a model railroad. We stayed long enough to have a snack and have one of our numbers drawn for the second door prize, which was our selection from a table of various items. The kids chose “Oh, No!,” a DVD of toy train bloopers, and were excited to have won a prize.

From the train show, we headed into the Twin Cities. Warning: there is no McDonald’s on Highway 7 between Hutchinson and Lake Street. (There is one in Excelsior but it required a few left turns that I was unwilling to make, thinking we’d find more convenient golden arches along the way.) We had a quick lunch at Subway, and then headed around Lakes Calhoun and Harriet to our next destination.

Minnesota Streetcar Museum

West shore of Lake Harriet at West 42nd St., Minneapolis, MN . http://www.trolleyride.org
$2 ages 4 and up; 3 and under free . Free street parking or $.50 pay lot adjacent to depot . Platform and depot/museum/store are stroller accessible but stroller had to be folded to board the streetcar . Restrooms and concessions may be available at nearby Lake Harriet bandshell area.

The kids were really excited to ride the streetcar. We paid our fare and boarded the antique streetcar, complete with vintage advertisements and uniformed personnel. Although the trip was only about 15 minutes long, we were given a brief history of streetcars in the Twin Cities and had some beautiful views of Lake Harriet. The kids enjoyed riding a real train, even if the trip was short.

From there, we headed around Lake Harriet and back to Lake Street, then across to Marshall Avenue in St. Paul for our next stop.

Choo Choo Bob’s Train Store

2050 Marshall Ave., St. Paul, MN . 651-646-5252 . http://www.choochoobobs.com/
Free . Free street parking; additional parking behind store. Stroller accessible. Restroom with changing table available in store.

We had read about Choo Choo Bob’s and its seven train tables for kids to play on in the store, but with a model setup running and one available for children to run plus ride-ons for the toddler set, we almost didn’t make it to the back of the store where the train tables were. Once there, however, it was a Thomas-loving kid’s dream. Train tables with plenty of trains to go around, benches for parents to sit and watch, and shelves lined with all things Thomas the Tank Engine, Brio, and other train brands for kids plus model railroad supplies. A birthday party room is also available. I almost felt guilty that we didn’t buy anything since the kids had so much fun in the store, but we’ll go back again and remember Choo Choo Bob’s when we need future train gifts.

Since we were in St. Paul, the kids asked to go to the State Capitol.

Minnesota State Capitol

75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, St. Paul, MN . 651-296-2881 . http://www.mnhs.org/places/sites/msc/
Free admission. Metered parking. We had the stroller so had to be buzzed into the handicapped entrance under the main stairs. Restrooms available.

Our trip to the Capitol was short since arrived at 2:45 and didn’t realize it closed at 3:00 on Saturdays. We were there just long enough to admire the painted ceilings and elegant staircases and to look up at the rotunda. We’ll return for a longer visit another time.

Then to our last stop of the day . . .

Ikea

8000 Ikea Way, Bloomington, MN . 952-858-8088 . www.ikea.com
Free. Free parking. Stroller accessible; carts with one child seat available. Family restrooms available. Restaurant on-site.

Usually I don’t consider a trip to the store to be part of an adventure, but a few places are unique enough to be added to the list. What makes Ikea special for our family is Smaaland, a supervised children’s play area, where I just happened to have three children who fit the size guidelines. So, while I shopped with just one child in the cart, the other three were playing, coloring, and watching movies in Smaaland. It was the perfect setup for them and for me, and not a bad way for them to run off the last of their energy before the ride home.

I really liked when we played with the Thomas trains and I liked looking around and watching the big model go around in a circle at Choo Choo Bob’s. I really liked it when we won our prize at the Railroad Show and it was “Oh No!” I think that’s what’s going to happen to my trains when I start collecting them.

I really liked the Hutchinson Model Railroad Show. I liked it when it went through the tunnel. I liked the streetcar when it went both ways and we parked by another streetcar.

I really liked watching the trains.  It was fun.