Thanksgiving - Day 5

Woke up ready for some fun! I had been mulling over the idea of going downtown (for the Holidazzle Parade) all week but no one else seemed to be interested. Nicky left early for the Mall of America with Erin and Brenna but Mollie was visiting with Kathy and didn't go. When I asked her if she wanted to go with me, she seemed genuinely excited. I got her all bundled up, since I knew it would be close to -15 degrees C today. To make sure she would be warm enough, I walked with her across the street from our hotel to the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Preserve. It was pretty - and it also was pretty empty. They had a version of the Junior Ranger called "Junior Naturalist" and Mollie started working on it right away (she loves those!). The lady who worked at the visitor's center had her boy with her - same age as Mollie. They worked together on the project and we even took a short nature walk to an overlook of the Minnesota River. After Mollie got her badge and certificate, we walked down the street to the train station. It was pretty easy to get around with - credit card ticket purchase and regular trains. Mollie was excited to try it and we enjoyed the 20-30 minute ride downtown. Got off at the Nicollet Mall stop and looked around. At first, it was hard to see the "mall" - but we later learned that it was actually the name of a street. Had lunch at a place called D'Amico & Sons (good, healthy food). Later, we discovered that all the stores in the area were connected by a series of second-floor walkways called "the skyway." We walked around, following the posted maps, and eventually found the Macy's Chrismas Village ("A Day in the Life of an Elf"). Mollie and I walked through it twice. We also explored Macy's and looked at the pretty displays. I bought her a Christmas Smurf... We continued to walk and actually got hot (temps were high in the Skyway!). I'll admit we got a little lost - but we found the World Headquarters of Target. We decided to go outside for a bit and then found a pretty place to sit and rest - the Crystal Court. There was a pretty Christmas Tree and some benches for resting. Did some souvenir shopping nearby and then walked over to the Barnes & Noble. While there, we discovered some of the Little Miss books (by Roger Hargreaves) that go with the Arby's toys (see Day 2). After looking through a bunch of them, we bought one for Nicky... Mollie was getting hungry - and we still had a few hours before the parade - so we looked for a place to sit and eat. The only place we could find near the parade route was the M&S Grill (which we didn't know was a bar until we got inside). Stayed anyway - and I got a kick out of Mollie's pride in being able to have appetizers at "happy hour" with Daddy! Watched some football and rested until around 1800, when we walked back over to D'Amico & Sons to get some hot chocolate. The parade started at 1930L - about the time that it really started to feel cold (-15 C, after all!). Mollie was a real trooper - her excitement over-rode the temperatures, I guess. We sat on frigid granite (brrr...) with a nice mom and son - they were locals who knew what was going to happen. It made the event all the more fun - lighted parade floats, nursery-rhyme characters, marching bands and fireworks. Most people watched from the Skyways over the street, but I think we had the "real experience"... Got some more hot chocolate afterwards, made a bathroom break, and then tried to get on the train. The lines were so long we actually got on a train going in the opposite direction and then switched at the next station - making sure we had a seat while going home (this was all because we watched what our parade friends did). Got off near our hotel and walked through the snow back to the lobby - slippery, cold but in good spirits. What a day! Mollie did great and we gave some special memories. Visited with all the family again (this time we were all trying to finish up the alcohol) until very late...