I forgot to mention this on the Thursday post but I went to the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company for dinner. The name was catchy so I made it my first choice for my dinner at the Mall of America. I had a shrimp combination of coconut shrimp, plain shrimp, popcorn shrimp, and tempura shrimp. I think I had a Sex On the Beach for my drink and I got this really cool souvenir cup to show my parents of my trip.
On Friday, I left the Hilton earlier because I wanted to go to the casino Mystic Lake and I had to catch a shuttle to get there. The shuttle departed from the Mall of America so I need two shuttles to get to there I need to go. I had never been in a casino so I was excited, happy, and nervous all at the same time. The shuttle was about a twenty minute ride there so I got in a nap. Upon arrival, I knew that the casino was owned by Native Americans because of the signage. This trip has encouraged me to write a paper in part about the Native Americans and their recent success on gaming (Bingo, casinos) among other topics I have selected in my Race 
And Ethnicity (Sociology/Anthropology) class. Is this a way to support their tribes financially? Is Indian gaming a good way to acquire integration into the mainstream and suburban areas? I do not know the answer but I will research it and try to make a case out of it.
I entered Mystic Lake and the place was huge, filled with all types of slot machines, blackjack stations, and bingo areas. I should have taken pictures but I did not get a chance to get out what the policy was for picture taking in a casino (but you visualize especially if you have been to a casino). Looking at the front of the place upon arrival, I did not think it was going to be as big as it was. Then, I see a Valet Parking sign and I thought to myself, "Wow." The spacial area of Mystic Lake, just by looking at the parking lot and how it extended itself all over, was enormous. Just like the Mall of America, it took me an hour or two to orient myself with the 
casino. There were not that many signs (at least not at first sight in plain view) so I kept getting turned around. Eventually, I found the area where I needed to get my casino card and my points along with machines that you can turn in your receipt from playing slots and get your actual money. Once I figured the casino out enough to locate some areas that looked of interest to me, I started to experience the casino in its entirety (or at least I think I did, the casino was just so huge). I played on a couple of slots and stayed on there for a while, winning some valuable money in the process. I left with a gain so that was a plus that I did not expect. After playing the slots, I ventured out into the hotel area (yeah, Mystic Lake doubled as a casino and a hotel).
From there, I saw a lot of reserved areas in the building for meetings and a huge bingo hall. Across from the bingo hall, I saw places where I could get food. I was starving so I went and ordered a burger and waffle fries. I am realizing that I am falling in love with Mystic Lake and gambling does not seem so bad as long as I control my urges. I think I stayed at Mystic Lake from the noon time until the departure of my shuttle at 5 pm. I immediately wanted to go back in and stayed for another five or six hours but I knew that I had to get back.
I was eyeing the theatres but most of the movies I wanted to see had already started. I ventured around and eventually stopped at the putt-putt area. I needed to kill time before crashing for the night back at the Hilton so I played 18 holes of putt-putt. I am still relatively new with putt-putt (I only tried it twice before) so I struggled with the first couple of holes. I found my groove around hole 5 and it carried me until hole 14. Some of the holes were difficult and have to do it with two or three shots to make par made it even more difficult. I made most of the shots within par or one off. My final 18 hole score was okay and it did kill a ton of time.
I had one last drink (Hynotiq) at the Corona restaurant before boarding the shuttle back to the Hilton. Back at my hotel room, I realized that I had not eaten dinner. I went to the local Sports Bar and had some ribs to finish me off for the day. I was starting to get sad because Saturday was my last day in the area but I went asleep satisfied with how the trip was going.Stayed tuned for the final Saturday and Sunday (combined) portion of my adventure during Mid-Semester Break.
Exploring new things within reach,
Hasani Wheat
Class of '10
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