A Conference Weekend

I just got back from a YSA Conference in Rochester, MN. It was good, and I’m glad I went, even though it wasn’t great.
Friday, Colette and I left early in the morning. We both wanted to stop at the Mall of America (see Right) because we had never been there before. We found our way there (though it was a lot more difficult than anyone let on) and went inside. I was shocked and amazed to see a Ferris Wheel inside the mall. I had no idea that there was an amusement park in the center. We walked around, went into some stores . . . were tempted by cute shoes, but restrained from buying anything. Then we went to walk around the Nikelodeon Universe (apparently it used to be Camp Snoopy, but not anymore). We found out that we could get a ticket just to ride one of the roller coasters, so we decided to do that. We chose Spongebob Squarepants Rock Bottom Drop. It was a good choice. It was quite thrilling, especially for a roller coaster inside a mall. (Left - Colette in front of the ferris wheel, to the right, the bluish green track is the roller coaster we went on, obviously you can only see part of it) I think the girl sitting next to us had a lot of fun because of it. I was a little surprised that people were so quiet on the roller coaster. For some reason, screaming makes it so much more exhilarating . . .
When we got off the roller coaster, I felt something slipping out of my pocket. I tried to grab it, but I couldn’t and dropped my phone. To my surprise and great disdain, it broke! I guess it must have hit in just the right spot to break like that. The girl directing us off the ride said that if I went into the Verizon store, they would fix it for free. Since I was in a mall, I decided to check. Well, they didn’t.
Colette and I walked around a little more. We went to the Lego store, which was pretty cool. (Right - traveling with our torches) We also traveled all the way to the top, and as far down as we could go without going into the Aquarium. Then we left.
We made it to Rochester early, so we decided to get some food. We saw a Fazoli’s right off the interstate and since it had been several years since either of us had eaten at a Fazoli’s, we decided to stop. It was pretty good.
Next we went to the church where the conference was to begin. We were a little early still, so we sat in the grass and laughed (yes, we really did laugh pretty much the whole time, but I guess we were a little tired and easily amused). Finally it came time to register.
First on the conference agenda was get to know you games. (Left - me with my torch) We used a combination of a fruit basket game and conversation circles to get people to talk to someone new. We had pie, and then went out to a different location for a bonfire. That was pretty cool because we all carried torches. If we would have had pitchforks, we could have been in an angry mob, storming a castle. Or, as someone else suggest, just been going through a dungeon in the Lord of the Rings.
Saturday, we had workshops right after breakfast. They were really enlightening. Then, following lunch we had one last speaker who talked about service. I guess that was fitting since we had our service project directly after. We actually had three service projects going on: writing letters to soldiers overseas, quilts, & puzzle blocks. I wrote a couple letters and then worked on a puzzle block. (Above - me, Heather, Amanda, Chris, and Jacob in front of the wall) That was pretty cool.
After service, we had free time before dinner. I wanted to do something in town, so I asked a new friend, Amanda, what there was to do. She suggested we could go to the nature center if it wasn’t raining. We checked, and even though it was cloudy, it wasn’t raining. We got a few other people (Chris, Heather, and Jacob) to go with us. As we were leaving the church, it was sprinkling. We decided to go anyway. I’m glad we did. There was a little building there that we went in to at first, but we only had 15 minutes before they closed. For what it was, it was good.
We went outside, and it was only misty, so we walked around a little. It was really pretty, and they had limestone walls that were used as retaining walls when the area was a quarry. (Left - me climbing the rock wall . . . in sandles . . . yes, I AM that good) Now they are used for students to practice rock climbing. So, naturally, we climbed them ourselves.
After dinner, we had a dance. The dance was alright, but definitely not great. The music selection wasn't very good, and the guys only danced with girls that they already knew. Still, I had fun because I like to dance.
Today, after church, Colette and I ended up meeting a friend at Cabella's. Those two are both in to guns, so I got a short lesson on guns & ammo. We also looked at the animals that had been stuffed and placed around the store. We had lunch at Famous Dave's before heading back to Bismarck. It was a good weekend, and I don't regret going.