Hubble 3D IMAX

Yesterday evening we got to Jonathan's sister Becky's apartment in time for supper.  She knew we were coming and had made really great chili and rice for us to eat.  We parked behind the building and then crowded into the living room of Becky's and her husband Kent's apartment.  After Jonathan introduced us all and we had a tour of their place, we ate supper and then headed a few minutes away to get ice cream from Cold Stone's for dessert.  We got there just before they locked the doors so that was good timing on our part.  I got the best thing in the store, a mint chocolate chip shake.  Yum, mint is so great!  After we got back to Becky and Kent's place, we lounged around in their living room on their really comfy bean bags and I found my sister-in-law, Terrie, and her sisters in Kent's elementary year books.  It was super amusing.  Then it was getting late and we were getting tired so us Q's left to go settle down in the fifth-wheel and Jonathan stayed to sleep on one of the two bean bags that made into queen-sized beds.  Yeah, they were pretty cool.

This morning we ate breakfast in the apartment before heading into to Minneapolis and managing a whirlwind stop at the Mall of America.  We had about 45 minutes there before we had to leave for our next appointment.  Bryn left the group to look at stores and my mum and I bought tickets for the rides that we soon found.  I texted the guys who had gone to Radio Shack or Best Buy or something like that and they soon met us at the rides.  Ty and I and my dad went on this awesome ride that looked like a giant skateboard and spun us around.  Then Jonathan and I went on one of those huge swings while Ty went on the skateboard ride again.  We met up with Bryn and raced to a rollercoaster to use up the final tickets.

With our time at the mall over, we briskly walking back to our parked cars and drove into St. Paul to the IMAX theater at the zoo.  We got tickets for the 12 p.m. showing of Hubble 3D and Becky managed to get there before it started after she finished working.  It was an awesome IMAX.  My dad said it was the best one he's ever seen and my mum and Bryn kept saying how much it made them think about God.  I'm so glad Dr. Nash told us about it in our last Literary Journalism class.  I loved it.  After the movie was over, we browsed the gift store and bought a couple older IMAX's that we hadn't seen before on DVD.  Then we all went back to the area that Becky and Kent live in and were going to go to this one place for lunch, but then found out it wasn't there anymore, so we walked down the street to a burrito place that was amazing.  After that, my mum went with Becky to a bread store and a grocery store, while the rest of us went back to the apartment to load up the fifth-wheel and we all met back at a gas station before saying good-bye to Becky and continuing on our drive.

We made it to Fargo, ND before finally stopping for the night.  We were actually on our way traveling north to Grand Forks, but the winds were really bad and it was raining too, so my dad turned our parade of cars around and we drove back to Fargo.  We tried to find the KOA campsite our GPS found, but when we got to the address, there was nothing there, so finally my parents decided to stay at a hotel.  We drove across the street to a La Quinta and my dad made arrangements for a room and also for a place to park the fifth-wheel for the night.  Now we're all in the hotel, about to start Friday night worship, so I'd better sign off for tonight. Adios.

Opry Mills Mall

What an interesting day I had today. I woke up just after 9 a.m. and texted Jonathan to find out when we were going to head to Nashville. He had to get some stuff done before leaving so he told me to just stay in bed as long as I wanted to and he would let me know when I should get up and ready to go. Then he said that I should unlock the door though. That got me a little skeptical and I remembered Jonathan texting a lot during the night before. A little later he called me and said he was outside the door and that I really should let him in. I wasn't completely convinced I should, but finally I dragged myself out of bed, threw on a sweatshirt, opened the door and trudged back to my room. Mysterious noises drifted into the room under the door. Awhile later there was a knock at the door and when I said he could come in, he opened the door, turned on the light and then there was some laughing and whispering going on right outside the door. The door was shut and more mysterious noises sounded outside the room. I was pretty sure by then what was going on. Then the knock came again, I gave a second all-clear and the door re-opened. Jonathan and Josh brought in a slab of board wrapped in our table cloth laden with breakfast food, including eggs! So they made Bryn and I breakfast in bed and it was delicious. I ate a whole bunch of eggs, a veggie sausage piece and a piece of French toast. Then I was stuffed and convinced Jonathan and Josh to eat breakfast, too. We got a few pictures and then they cleaned up (which was super nice of them) and then left so we could all get ready for our Nashville day trip.

We left the campus after finally locating one of our travel-members around 1 p.m. and drove to the Opry Mills Mall. Then we walked around looking at all the awesome stuff, mainly the Rainforest Cafe, where the gorillas and other jungle animals woke up every now and then to put on a show of their strength and skill. Then we ate lunch and Cinnebon's for dessert before finding the Glow-in-the-Dark mini-golf place and playing a round of 18-hole mini-golf. I think I was second last or something unimpressive like that. Either Jonathan or Bryn won if my memory serves me correct. Then we looked at a guitar store for a bit before Bryn and I branched off to run to another store. We rejoined the group on the other side of the mall and looked around the Aquarium restaurant. I watched the sharks for while, which was awesome. The only bad thing about the aquarium adventure was that there was this poor red fish swimming tail-up-head-down near the top of the tank. His eyes were all bugged out and he would have looked comical if he hadn't looked so near death. After that we browsed through Barnes & Noble (and I didn't buy one thing...yay for self-control!) and then some people bought Marble Slab ice cream before we loaded into Jonathan's van for the drive back to school. Jonathan drove super fast the whole way back so that his cousin and his cousin's girlfriend could get back to the dorm in time for curfew. We made it with a few minutes to spare and without getting pulled over by a cop, so that was good. Then Jonathan dropped Bryn and I off at our place and went home to sleep. Now that I'm done writing this post I think I'll maybe read a little bit before going to bed myself.