one fish, two fish

I have two small problems with the Mall of America.
1. It's a mall.
2. It's the biggest mall OF AMERICA!!!!!!

As such, I try to avoid it at all costs, only to make very targeted trips there -- ones where I consult the online store floorplan to devise my parking strategy before I leave. That way, I can be in and out without much contact with people who actually plan vacations around a mall visit.

Yesterday we had this idea that we would take Elian to Underwater Adventures, a big aquarium at the lower level of the mall. Since we're normally up at the crack of dawn, we thought we'd avoid the crowds and get there right when it opened. Silly fools. When we got there, the line was already about 10 fathoms deep. Apparently people like to start their nautical adventures early.

But had the whole adventure consisted only of the koi pond at the very beginning, it would've been well worth the wait and the hefty $14.95 entry fee. The little guy smiled and kicked with delight as he chucked a handful of koi food into (or near) the pond. I overheard a woman comment, "Look at all the koi food you get for 25 cents!" Clearly she's shopping at the wrong koi food store. I was curious to know how much koi food she thought she should get for a quarter.

The excitement slowly began to wane as we passed the endless turtles and a taxidermy beaver exhibit. But then the tunnel. Oh, the tunnel. If you ever want to impress a one year-old, send him through a huge glass tunnel with giant fish swimming over the top. He was so excited. That was cool.

Afterwards, we took a shortcut through Camp Snoopy and sat down to some mediocre mall crepes. Despite the fact that we missed the Super 8 bed-making championship, all in all, it was a perfect morning at the mall. And never before have I used the words "perfect" and "mall" in the same sentence.