Day 1: Minneapolis

Let the adventure begin ... we flew on Sun Country airlines (never heard of them? neither had we...) to Minneapolis on Friday morning. I'm not going to lie, it wasn't the best experience on an airplane. Somehow they managed to not know that the plane needed to be evenly weighted, so they made about 30 people move to the front of the plane after we'd all boarded, and then we were off. Halfway through the flight, they served our snack - cheeseburgers. That's right, you read that correctly, cheeseburgers. Before you get too excited, let me dispell any thought of mouth-watering cheeseburgers you may have ... these left much to be desired. I think I took one bite and that was it. But, good for them for trying something different, I suppose!

We made it to Minneapolis only a few minutes late, and headed off to rent our car - or should I say - our Minivan. A silver Dodge Caravan. For some reason, that was the cheapest rental car we could find - but it actually turned out to be pretty nice. We laid the middle seat down, so the backseat had a nice footrest to lounge on. We left the airport and headed straight for, where else, but the Mall of America! No trip to Minneapolis could be complete without a stop there. Its only a few minutes from the airport, so it worked out nicely. I'd heard about the roller coaster in the middle of the mall. Knowing that I don't have the strongest stomach when it comes to roller coasters, I was prepared with my leftover dramamine from skydiving. So as soon as we walked into the mall, I dutifully popped 2 into my mouth at the drinking fountatin. We'd decided to go on the roller coaster before eating lunch, for obvious reasons. I'd pictured in my head what I thought this roller coaster would be like, but I was not prepared for real thing - not actually one roller coaster, but an entire amusement park inside of the mall. Wow. Now I'm not the biggest proponent of amusement parks, but we were there, and I'd decided that I would go on the roller coaster - that now meant we had to choose which roller coaster we wanted to go on. We chose the Pepsi Ripsaw Roller Coaster because its the one that goes all the way around the park, and we got a good view of everything else at the same time. Granted it wasn't the fastest or scariest one in the park (just the sight of those that tear from left to right, up and down and in circles makes me sick!), but we went on it anyway. I think the next oldest person on it was 12. ha ha There was one time that I actually felt kind of that roller coaster feeling, but for the most part, it was very tame. Roller coaster, check.Off to lunch. We decided to eat at a little Italian restaurant called Tucci Benucch. It was delicious. We shared entrees so we could try it all. I drank like 4 glasses of water. I had a slight headache but didn't think much of it. Oh yes, and as the waiter came to our table, I spilled my glass of water all over the table ... nice. Never a dull moment ... and that wasn't the only one, unfortunately for me.

We finished lunch, and got up to walk around the mall. I had not walked 20 feet when I said "you guys I have to stop" - I grabbed the chair next to me and sat down and put my head down on the table, and thought that for sure I was going to pass out. It was the strangest feeling. I haven't ever actually caught myself before its happened, since it comes on so suddenly, but somehow this time, I did. I sat there for a few minutes and then thought that it might be a good idea to walk to the Select Comfort bed store across the walkway to lay down on a bed. After standing up and taking a half of a step, I decided that wasn't such a good idea. I needed to lay down there, and elevate my feet. Sharyn went to talk to Mall Security, and Jenny helped push 2 wrought iron chairs together while I mangled myself onto them - head coming out the side of one of them, and feet dangling over the top of the other - and yes, I was wearing a skirt, so I am pretty sure that I flashed the entire Mall of America. I had more things on my mind than that. I was really thirsty, so Jenny got me a drink of water and I turned my head enough to sip it through the straw. The cute little security guard (she couldn't have been over 21) waited with us, asking me how I felt, etc. They didn't have any medical people on staff, and I wasn't about to have the paramedics come - been there, done that, don't need to do that one again!

I called my doctor's office and talked to the nurse. I explained to her what happened, where I was, and that I'd had this perforated eardrum and wondered if there was any way that the dramamine had a weird reaction to the antibiotic my ENT put me on for my ear. She said she didn't think so. She asked if I'd taken dramamine before - yes, when I went skydiving. However, I think I only took one that time, and this time I took two (not really sure why - trying to be precautious I think)! She said she was 99% sure that the dramamine was the problem. Apparently dramamine lowers your blood pressure. Um, that isn't good for me, someone who already has low blood pressure to begin with! That's definitely something that would have been nice to know that before taking it! I felt really weird, was still lightheaded, and had no color in my face for quite awhile. Since every other time this had happened I'd actually passed out, I wasn't sure what to do this time. The nurse told me to drink as much fluids as I could to flush the dramamine out of my system, so I drank a bottle of orange juice and 2 bottles of water. Of course by that time I had to go to the bathroom - no small feat for someone who is now in a wheelchair. Yup, that's right, the security guard brought a wheelchair with her...

After laying there for a good 20 or 30 minutes, I carefully - and very slowly - sat up, sat on the floor for a minute, and then got up and into the wheelchair, which Jenny pushed me around in (again, very slowly so I wouldn't get lightheaded again) to the family bathroom - nice since it was extra large and I had a lot of manuevering space. I succeeded there, and then sat back into the wheelchair to get a handicapped view of the Mall of America. We came across a store called "Field of Dreams" and decided that since it was only fitting, we should take a picture. I got a lot of funny looks as we wheeled through the mall, and after a half hour or so, we headed back to the car so I could lay down - enter the glory of the minivan. I could sprawl out over the whole backseat with plenty of room - and continue reading the book that I'd started on the airplane and was now completely engrossed in (more on that later). So much for going to the Minnesota State Fair that we'd wanted to check out ... oh well, we'll never know what we missed out on!

After hanging out in the minivan for awhile, we headed over to the Metrodome for the Twins-Royals game. Luckily, the ballpark is the exit before the bridge on I-35, so we didn't have any detours due to last month's bridge collapse. We bought the $7 cheap seats, and then snuck passed a security guard to sit up high behind home plate. We were afraid of this lady yelling at us to go back to our own seats - though I am not sure if we were more afraid of moving or of seeing her hair-do up close ;)The game was fine - kind of boring as far as baseball games are concerned, and the Metrodome certainly leaves something to be desired. I think that's why they're opening a new stadium in Minneapolis in 2010 (which can be my next attempt at the Mall of America, this time wheelchair-less). The game was uneventful, which I guess can be a good thing. We were definitely glad that we started in Minneapolis and didn't end there - it would have been quite the anti-climatic ending for the baseball trip! But all in all, we had a good time, and its all part of the goal - Minneapolis Metrodome, check!