When you’re at a Frozen Four, Fridays are your free skate days, sandwiched between the Semi-Finals and the Championship. You have a day and a half to wander the city, exploring whatever it has to offer. Just remember to don your team colors and flaunt your swag from the night before.
That way, when you bump into fellow fans out in the wild and you will, you have provided them the opportunity to let you know how much they know about hockey, why their team won/lost, and/or who they know is going to win the championship, and why. This makes standing in those lines less awkward and more enjoyable.
We chose to start the day’s journey with breakfast and some retail therapy.
The Mall of America
Having been here several years earlier I was much more conservative in my purchasing, mainly because my packing was much more robust this time around. Besides I had done all my purchasing for the trip. Still, coming with my son and his wife, there was much more shopping done this time. Which was ok with me, I was in it for the steps anyway. And an Orange Julius.
Prince’s Paisley Park
Having been here also in 2018 with The Ultimate Experience my son Devyn was interested in going so we added it to our agenda. We didn’t go with the Ultimate Experience, but the simpler Paisley Experience as it fit better into our day. No back studio areas nor were we served a meal but they enjoyed it nonetheless as did I.
One difference this time around was we were allowed to unlock our phones at a certain part of the tour and allowed to take pictures. Something I was forbidden to do the last time and with the more expensive tour.
Mystic Lake Casino
To end the evening, we found our way to the Mystic Lake Casino for a light dinner and several hours of gambling. I was happy to find a couple of my favorite old-school slot machines which made my day. I hadn’t seen them for several years.
Back at the hotel at midnight, 8 miles later.
