Long drive to Minnesota

Glad to hear some of you find my recent blog entry amusing. Now that I’m warm and dry, I thought my experience was rather hilarious. Who knows, I might try Amtrak again. I do get some periods of insanity.

More “unluckiness”

Long driving to shop!

If you thought my “unlucky” streak was over, think again.

My sister’s place is a four-bedroom house in one of the quiet subdivisions in Monee, Illinois. Their area is surrounded by forest preserves and vast tracks of land used for planting soya or corn. Rabbits and deer are a common sight in the area, especially in the morning and afternoon.

I did make it to my nephew’s 5^th birthday. Because I missed my stop, I didn’t get a chance to freshen up before visitors started arriving. So, imagine me meeting new people in my disheveled glory. Hindi pa nakahilamos, hindi pa nakasuklay, hindi pa naka-brush, at wala pang matinong tulog. Buti na lang pinanganak akong magaling magdala ng bangag-look. And the lack of rest probably contributed to my little kitchen accident: cut my thumb while washing the dishes… felt every centimeter of the little knife that cut through my skin. I thought, what more could go wrong in this vacation?

Unlucky or not, I was glad I made the trip. I finally saw Mom and Dad after almost two years of separation. As usual, mom cried. She always cries. When I left home, she cried. When she left Philippines, she cried. When she saw me again, she cried. Mga nanay talaga…

Driving to the Twin Cities

The following day, after church, we drove to Bloomington, Minnesota, which is about eight hours away from Monee, Illinois – that is, if you’re going at 65-75m/h. It was a lovely day for driving. We had sunshine all the way and we were treated to a lovely view of Wisconsin’s countryside. Acres upon acres of land stretched on both sides of I-94, with occasional sightings of hay rolls that look a lot like Combos (you know, that cylindrical snack filled with cheddar cheese).

I was aching to stop and take some pictures, but my practical and paranoid sister – who is constantly afraid of being arrested for anything in the highway – said it’s not allowed to stop along the interstate, which was a shame, because there were a lot of postcard quality scenes of farmhouses and barn buildings that would look good in my webshots or travel blog album.

We also passed by resorts and billboard signs of campsites. I realized that Wisconsin is one of the camping destinations in the country. Their tourist centres provide an array of materials for various information activities such as fishing, hiking, and hunting, to name a few.

Of course, with my unlucky streak, we missed a turn on our way back to I-94 when we stopped for washroom break. I think by this time my brother-in-law, who was driving with the help of a GPS (I’m starting to doubt the reliability of this technology), was convinced I indeed have a “balat sa puwet”. Since then, we decided to lay off with the fish crackers (they’re good when dipped in vinegar with crushed garlic and ground black pepper) because it makes us thirsty and drink a lot. And drinking means going for a washroom break again. As it was, we were behind 15 minutes in travel time. We couldn’t afford to miss another turn.

We arrived in Bloomington, Minnesota at around 9:00pm. This city is home to the country’s largest shopping complex, the Mall of America. MOA was actually the reason why we drove all the way from Monee, Illinois. Friends who’ve been to MOA boasted of its aquarium and theme park, among other attractions. But MOA had to wait until morning; we drove straight to Fairfield Inn-Marriott. By then, everybody wanted to crash and stay catatonic on bed until the following day.

Mall of America

MOA happened to be a couple of blocks away from the hotel. We can walk from the hotel to get there, but we didn’t want to. We wanted to save our energy for the whole-day trip in the mall. Besides, we would like to take advantage of the hotel’s free shuttle service, which leaves every hour.

Did I mention that MOA is the largest indoor shopping mall in the country? It has a total area of 4.2 million square feet (or 390,000 square metres) that house boutiques, shops, and restaurants, a miniature golf course, theme park, and aquarium.

My personal favourite is the Underwater Adventures, which features different sea creatures, including sharks of various kinds and stingrays. Adults can get in for $18.00, and this pass is good for the whole day.

Young kids, and kids at heart will also enjoy the Nickelodeon Universe, a theme park built at the centre of the mall. There are rides for adventurous spirits of all ages. I wanted to try some of the challenging rides, but I chose to save my money for shopping. Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body were just around the corner.

Checking out the new Tangers Outlet Mall

We cut our stay short to check out this new Tangers Outlet Mall that we passed by on our way to Bloomington. MOA is a great place for shopping, but we’re Ilokanos who prefer a shopping place where we can buy more for our dollars.

And Tangers Mall was the place to go. Sobrang mura ang mga bilihin dun. They got stores for Gap, The Children’s Place, Van Heusen, Guess, Old Navy, Banana Republic, etc. Clothes and other items are so affordable (like $1.99 for children’s clothes – how’s that for affordable?). We literally took our time, went into each store and bought what we liked or needed.

At some point, I was seriously considering the possibility that my vacation was jinxed, as my credit and debit cards were being declined in some stores.

We had lunch at 4:00pm (Yes, we were thatfocused on shopping) at Buffalo Phil’s Grille located right across the outlet mall.

Buffalo Phil’s reminds me of a hunter’s cabin. Upon entering the restaurant, one would see stuffed animals everywhere. Chandeliers were made of sticks and deer antlers, and the reception booth was covered with some sort of animal hide. The ambience has that country, western feel, making me wonder if there would be a cowboy shooting match in the course of our meal. We probably wouldn’t notice anyway, because the food was so good! My mom and I had the cedar planked salmon, which tasted like no other. The mashed potato was just the right consistency. Either it was so good or we were just hungry, we couldn’t tell. All we know was that we had the best meal in the last three days.

They also provided excellent service. Not only did our server deliver orders promptly, she also didn’t comment on our eating desserts first before the main course. I’m sure our server thinks we’re a bunch of weirdoes, but we didn’t hear anything.

After lunch, we resumed shopping. At the end of the day, the back of our SUV was loaded with shopping bags. We were several hundred dollars poorer, but nonetheless satisfied. My most satisfying purchase? A new pair of Nike running shoes, bought for half the original price at the Nike Factory. I’m picky when it comes to running shoes, so I am happy to find a new pair that suits my taste – and my feet – perfectly. It was a match made in Tangers Outlet Mall heaven.

Driving around Frankfort Village

Chicago and the outlying suburban areas may not be as cold as Toronto, but it’s windy most of the time. But we got a respite from the wind and cold the middle of the week, which made it a perfect day to go driving.

We went to Frankfort Village, an old German community about 30 minutes away from my sister’s place. My sister worked at a nursing home in Frankfort during her first few years in the US. She mentioned that the best way to get around the village was bike riding. Everything was a bike ride away – the grocery store, the town plaza, and the Creamery, which is a popular hangout in the area.

Frankfort Village, named after a town in Germany, Frankfurt-Am-Main, was founded in 1855. Despite the advancements in our world the past century, this small, quiet village was able to preserve its heritage and history as seen in the establishments and homes in the area. During the summer, this village welcomes visitors who flock to the area to participate in yearly events such as car shows spearheaded by the Frankfort Car Club, Fishing Derby and Fine Arts Fair.

We wish we could’ve stayed longer, but the wind was picking up again. We concluded our visit with a trip to the Creamery.

Flying back to Toronto

I took Northwest this time when I flew back to Toronto. I usually took Continental, with stopover at Cleveland, OH. But on this trip, I decided to try another airline, and a different stopover, which was Detroit, MI. I am now able to compare airlines and I must say that I like Northwest better.

Blame it on my “jinxed” state, I was “chosen” by the airline to undergo a special search. This entails going through a more strict entry, which requires having my carry on bag searched thoroughly. It was the sort of thing that I went through the first time I flew from Chicago. No biggie. I now know the drill. Take off shoes. Take off coat. Drop bag at the x-ray conveyor. Step inside the puffer machine. Step out. Put on your shoes. Wait while your bag is searched. I wasn’t as nervous as the first time. This time, while waiting for my stuff, I chit-chatted with the airport security, asking questions and learning about their procedures. They were a friendly bunch; strict but friendly.

I left Midway Airport at 6:05pm, and arrived in Detroit after an hour. I had an hour layover, which allowed me to explore the Detroit Airport. There was nothing much to see, so I decided to spend the rest of the time reading the last of my Randy Singer books, Self Incrimination. However, after several minutes, I lost concentration and looked around instead. People watching.

I was getting bored, and starting to feel lonely, already missing my family, when I saw a familiar face. I half expected her to be there, knowing that Detroit is her usual stop when working. But I thought that it would be impossible, knowing how big the airport was and how busy she would be when on duty. Besides, the world is not that small. Or so I thought.

It was amazing, seeing a familiar face in an unfamiliar place and crowd. So many strangers around me, coming from different parts of the world, yet I saw one that I know. How cool is that?

Christina is a commercial pilot, flying for Northwest airlines. I met her through a friend from church. She was the first pilot – a lady pilot – that I know. She may have brains and a good job, but she’s one of the most down-to-earth people I’ve come across. We were surprised to see each other at the airport, and it turned out that we were to be on board the same plane. She was officially off-duty (after flying since 6:00am that day going back and forth to Mexico) and heading back to Toronto to be with her sweet 3-year-old son.

I got a ride home that night, which I was grateful for. I wasn't looking forward to the hour-long bus ride to my place. Another treat for me that night was seeing areas of Lester B Pearson International Airport that many people don't get the chance to see, unless they’re going with a commercial pilot who knows the ins and outs of the building.

All in all, it was a satisfying trip, even though it was assailed with many unfortunate events. Good thing I don’t believe in bad luck. Looking back, I think they added spice to my recent adventure.