Hampton Inn Eagan

... room and a kichenette. After check-in we went to the mall and had a great time.

The next morning we went to IKEA by the mall and then to the local casinos. No luck on winning but it was fun. After the casinos we started to head back to Milwaukee.

... we had to weave through the other drivers. We met Aleen for dinner at Trieu Chau, a local Vietnamese restaurant in St. Paul. I ate Bun Rieu while Susan had Bun Bo Hue and Aleen ate the vegetable soup. We made it to Hung and Lien's at 8:30 PM exhausted but ready to see what Minneapolis has to offer since this is our first time to go sightseeing here.

We will be seeing the Mall of America...

... a mosquito net because it was the rainy season and there were so many mosquitoes. Since mosquitoes carry malaria, it's best to try to stay safe from them. Sleeping under a mosquito net is fun though, it is a lot like camping!

I'm frantically trying to work through my 3 page list of things to do before I go. Setting up a travel blog was one of the things on my list. Hopefully this will work as a great way to share stories and photos will all our friends and family back home. This seems pretty easy so far. My next task is a little more complicated...buying another swim suit. Why did I wait until 48 hours before departure to tackle this monumental task?

Off to MOA!

Mary

Here are links to over 800 photos I took on the trip. They are in chronological order.

1st set

http://www.facebook.com/albu m.php?aid=2743654&id=13903381&l =6484cf32ac

2nd set

http://www.facebook.com/albu m.php?aid=2743677&id=13903381&l =21fa01c9dc

3rd set

http://www.facebook.com/albu m.php?aid=2743705&id=13903381&l =8604f37db0

4th set

http://www.facebook.com/albu m.php?aid=2743712&id=13903381&l =1612875889

... week needs time to get in shape for this trip -not. =Travel Plans= Europe Paul ordered the Eurail passes and pinned Karen down enough to decide we need about 8 days of travel in Benelux-France and is now spending quality time with the train schedules and reservations booklets. We're chatting online via Facebook with Sylvia. It's hard to believe she's 25 and it's been 7 years since she was here with us as an exchange student ...

Hello, all, I'm sorry that I haven't written in a terrible amount of
time, nor did I post the photos I promised I would.

BUT,
now I have gotten it together and made two albums. It's hard to try and
distill 1245 photos into 120, but I think I did ok, if you have any
questions or want to see a different photo, email me at ...

That is what greeted me as I entered the gate area, where everyone was preparing for the first non-stop flight to Paris on Northwest Airlines. I admired the ice replica, and noticed that they had every facet and detail chiseled into the ice perfectly. Northwest airlines went all out for this one. All the news channel were there to cover the ribbon ...

... built by Lloyd Smith, grandson of the founder of A.O. Smith Corporation. It could have been really interesting but it wasn't - a major disappointment. Most of the house was closed off, the decorative arts were minimal and the gardens lackluster. Even the view was so-so since you looked right down onto Lake Parkway. This place needs help. Sprecher Brewery - Good tour and good beer. They make a Russian Imperial Stout that's great! I also liked their Bavarian Dark. Note ...