Mall of America - With 2 Men In Tow!!

My girlfriend and I are planning a trip specifically for Mall of America shopping, for our 30-year Friendship Anniversary in September 2009. However, our husbands have decided to tag-along! I%26#39;ve looked around online some, but wondered if anyone has first-hand knowledge of things that would keep them busy while we shop? They like cars, animals, site-seeing. Are there any cat-related shops in the area? (We are all cat fanciers) Also, we love to go to unique diners.

Another question - Any suggestions on places to stay that are near Mall of America? We will have a car - is parking there crazy? We will be 2 couples, so 2 rooms will be needed, either with kings or queens. We would probably want to spend under $125 - 150 per night - is it possible to get a nice clean room for that?

I truly appreciate any ';insider'; information that you can provide! TripAdvisor has NEVER steered us wrong in the past!

Mall of America - With 2 Men In Tow!!

If they%26#39;re lucky the Twins, Vikings, and/or Gopher football teams will have home games. :)

Mall of America - With 2 Men In Tow!!

KatMom,

Here%26#39;s some thoughts...

Yes, like Sully mentioned the guys will hopefully get to see the Twins and perhaps Vikings. The Twins schedule is currently available on their website (www.twinsbaseball.com). From the MOA, the guys could take the Light Rail Train to the Metrodome in about 1/2 hour one-way if they don%26#39;t want to drive (or leave the ladies with the car).

Cars - maybe an classic car show? Quick check online shows has http://www.oldride.com/events/minnesota.html. Note the Sept shows in Hugo and Cambridge are very healthy drives from MOA area, but something to check out.

If you%26#39;re coming the first week of Sept, check out the Minnesota State Fair. It%26#39;s one of the largest! You%26#39;ll get plenty of animals to see, plus plenty of food, people-watching, things to see, rides to ride, and more. Averages 150,000 people a day for it%26#39;s 12 day run. I%26#39;d say it%26#39;s also not entirely farm tractors, lots of events including concerts in the Grandstand. Otherwise, you can also check out www.exploreminnesota.com or www.minneapolis.org for the official visitors associations. You can look to events there and if there%26#39;s one that strikes your fancy, you can repost to find out whatever I might know about them.

Can%26#39;t help much on cat shops, though.

Parking...The Mall has a lot of parking with two huge ramps on either side of the Mall, not to mention Ikea has there own huge ramp. You may have to drive a little bit and/or walk some, but you shouldn%26#39;t have too much trouble finding a spot.

Hotels...almost all the chains are there and I haven%26#39;t heard anything too bad about any of them, with a few exceptions. Within a block (or so) of the MOA I%26#39;d check out Homewood Suites (Hilton associated), the new Hampton Inn (be sure it%26#39;s the one on Metro Boulevard, there%26#39;s a few. This is the new one as of a year or so). Cambria Suites always has looked nice, though probably on the very high end of your requested range). There is also the Sheraton hotel in Bloomington, though about a 5-10 minute drive down the freeway from the MOA. This Sheraton seemed to have some deals in a quick look.

Let me know of further questions.

I would echo the comments on hotels. As long as you are staying within the first tier of hotels close to the Mall, why drive - walk over. I%26#39;ve been staying at the Marriott for between $79 and $99 on weekends.

Also, if there is something going on downtown, you can always shuffle the guys onto the lightrail, too, and send them on their way.

To answer the question about unique diners. These two are in St. Paul (across the river from Mpls.)

Go to Mickey%26#39;s and The Nook...both have been featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.

Casper %26amp; Runyon%26#39;s Nook

492 Hamline Ave S

St Paul, MN 55116

http://mickeysdiningcar.com/index.html

Mickey%26#39;s

36 W. 7th Street, St. Paul MN

There are lots of convenient and affordable places to stay near the MOA (Mall of America) and usually have free parking, so no worries there for your budget.

If you get a warm day (20 degrees +), it might be a great time of year to check out the zoo. They have a new exhibit called the Grizzly Coast. It gets great reviews and are supposed to be pretty active in the winter. I hear the otters are reason enough to go.

I think there are plenty of sports bars or events if the guys are interested, but they%26#39;re probably closer to the downtowns (St Paul %26amp; Mpls) or the university.

If you%26#39;d like to roadtrip for a day or spend an evening or 2 elsewhere, head down to Wabasha. It has a cute little main street and is right on the river. I really liked the Irish pub, and the Harbor View Cafe in nearby Pepin is supposed to be outstanding. Check out the impressive Eagle Center, I think this is a heavy time of year for eagle spotting, and the presentation is very cool, esp if they feed the eagle. Also, there is an historic B%26amp;B where you can have a cat in your room: www.historicandersonhouse.com. They have an excellent Sunday brunch.

Thanks for the diner tips and the info on the cat B %26amp; B - we%26#39;ll check into these!!! I appreciate everyone%26#39;s input!

There are several specialty shops at MOA that are geared towards animal lover. As others have said there are several hotels right by the mall, sept weather should be pretty nice yet. Parking is never an issue there unless some star or somethign is there.

The zoo is down the highway about 10 min. There are also some very unique restaurants right in the mall as well. Another mall that has a very interesting area for eating is Southdale it is only about 15 min away %26amp; they have Cheesecake factory, Maggiano%26#39;s, PF Changs, %26amp; some other interesting restaurants.

Hello! I would like second the thought that parking at MOA is plentiful. It is a huge mall so there will be walking everywhere but we have never had a problem finding a spot.

Also, I don%26#39;t think you will have a hard time finding a nice room for that price at all.

Have a great time!

KatMom-

I can attest that you won%26#39;t have any issues with parking unless you will be traveling to downtown Minneapolis or St.Paul. As you will be staying near the MOA you will be pretty close to the Minnesota Zoo so that might be an option as mentioned by an earlier post. Another great area to check out is the Nokomis Area of Minneapolis. It will be relitively warm of in September and just north of MOA off of HWY 77 is a great little neighborhood with beautiful Lake Nokomis. Great Breakfast at Hot Plate on 52nd and Bloomington Ave, Great Pizza at Fat Lorenzo%26#39;s, Juciy Lucy%26#39;s (a cheeburger with the cheese inside)at the 5-8 Club and Matt%26#39;s Bar (I prefer Matt%26#39;s).

I don%26#39;t know of too many Cat stores but I like to get my Great Dane some items at Chuck and Don%26#39;s in Bloomington. Here is the link to what they have for kitties...

chuckanddons.com/pages/鈥ats.html

Quick question, what is the weather like in Sept? My wife and I were thinking about driving up there from Dallas in Sept too (Our anniversary and she is a huge shopper!). Thanks