Minneapolis

 Day 66: July 28, 2021

We begin with a big thunderstorm that knocks out power, then Twins game!

Lazy us, we slept in, one of us more than the other and then there was a big storm with rain, thunder and lightning. Hello, Midwest Weather! Once the power was knocked out, the RoadHouse seemed to get stuffy and “close” rather quickly. So we headed to Target Field, a bit over an hour away in the big city.

It was a game with a total of 31 runs and a football final score: 17-14 (Detroit won). I’d say we got our money’s worth. And I made a mental note that everyone from the ticket agent to the lady from whom I bought my coffee (couldn’t heat the water this morning—no coffee for me!) and the beer vendor were all really nice—like Canadians!

It was baseball card day and dollar dog day; I got two of each (I swiped Dan’s baseball card and bought two dogs…I mean, it IS the TWINS, right? So you can’t have just ONE Twins’ dog, right?). Twins. (I know you’re wondering: Cleveland hot dogs are hot, not barely warm, so they have a flavor edge due to a higher temperature. Cleveland no longer dispenses pickle relish or onions, so Target Field has the edge there. But there’s no better mustard than Ballpark mustard, so the dollar dog challenge has to go to CLE!)

First ballgame of our trip and our first time to Target Field. Loved seeing both. First time in many years that I did not keep score at a game. Come to think of it, NO ONE was seen keeping score at this game. It was a mostly empty ballpark, what with a 12:10 start time and all. 

Most frequently seen jerseys: Kepler. Sano, Cruz. And, Polanco. Oh, and Buxton. Even saw ONE THOME Twins jersey!

Like Progressive Field and Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Target Field and  Target Center are both a stone’s throw from each other. Lots of clever integration of the Target logo in various places. Unlike in CLE, if you come out of the parking garage from the wrong exit, it puts you directly onto the freeway. (Don’t ask, but it added 25 minutes to our drive back to the RoadHouse!). You don’t know what you don’t know until you find out you should’ve known that!

My favorite photo from today—because of that sweet lady on the left!

The vast majority of fans had some sort of team jersey on. Fun story about Max Kepler, besides the fact that he was a dancer in his early life and he attributed dance with helping him with lots of the physical aspects of baseball. His little league coach in Berlin, GDR, was Chad Felt. I babysat for Chad and his sister Christy for many years when they were quite young. Chad grew up (why do I still think of him as a kid?!?) and married a Japanese woman and lived for a time in Japan before moving to Germany where he now teaches literature and English…and coaches Little League (Or at least he did at one time!). Kepler played DH today…and in one of the two Twins’ 6-run innings, he lead off with a home run. That was fun!

Minnie and Paul shake animated hands over the Minnesota River when the Twins win a game. And the state outline sparkles. We saw it sparkle today when the Twins hit one of their many HRs, but didn’t notice any handshakes. The original cartoon, drawn in 1961 by Ray Barton (he was paid $15), was, Barton presumed, to be used on cups and ballpark memorabilia, but it survives to this day, looking out over center field. 

Convergence on the mound…we saw this a LOT today. Each team made several pitching changes.

I put the thermometer/hygrometer outside when we got home. The car said it was 89…this said 84 and the humidity went down to 82% from 83% just in the time it took me to get my camera. We had the AC on in the RoadHouse, so the temp was re-adjusting too. Where I come from, this is Sauna Weather!

Tomorrow: we head to Prairie du Chien to camp along the Mississippi River, meet Hollis and his mistress, Dr Donna Anne Higgins, and meet Donna Anne’s MOM! Stay tuned!