After another peaceful night sleeping in Kansas City (shoutout McKenzie & Tanja), it was time to saddle up and drive North to a city and state I’ve always wanted to visit – Minneapolis, Minnesota (well technically Minneapolis-St Paul or the “Twin Cities” as their commonly known as).
The drive was relatively easy, taking me from the intense heat of Kansas City through rainy Iowa, and eventually into Minnesota where the temperature was literally 10 degrees Celsius lower sitting at a beautiful 25.
I would also have my second car service and oil change and I’m happy to report that we’re still in business with no issues cosmetically or to the engine – onwards we go!
I arrived to my house for the next few nights and was warmly welcomed by my friend Michele’s mother Sheila (shoutout Michele).
As soon as I opened the door Sheila sprung into life, sitting me down at the counter, feeding me different meats, cheeses, crackers and drinks – basically the whole nine yards – as we exchanged war stories and a whirlwind get to know you session. I offered Sheila tickets for the game that night, and as soon as she accepted I had my date and was pumped and ready for game 14/30 at Target Field (aka the home of the Twins).
Upon arriving at the stadium, I was instantly taken aback by a number of things:
Firstly, the parking lots were unique in that they were stacked and huge. I guess this comes with the territory of being a “downtown stadium” but I hadn’t really seen this at any other cities so far.
Secondly, all of the parking lots and stadiums are interconnected through “skyways”. These are interconnected platforms from different buildings in the downtown Minneapolis area that allow people to move without having to brave the freezing cold elements in the wintertime.
For Sydney people, think of them as the old monorail that went from building to building except a LOT more of them and obviously no monorail vehicle moving through.
Lastly, the stadium (built in 2010), felt huge despite being ranked 24 in overall capacity. This was likely due to the compact nature and steepness of the higher seats (don’t worry, Sheila and I sat in the lower section by third base line – it was literally raining foul balls). The stadium also had awesome signage and one of the coolest logos in baseball with the two players representing the “Twin Cities” (Minneapolis and St Paul), shaking hands over the Mississippi river (see pic above).
With drinks flowing and Sheila & I enjoying the sights and sounds of a tight game, Josh from Iowa who was sitting in the adjacent seat joined us and we had an awesome crew for the evening.
Josh was an absolute champ (shoutout Josh), who had a similar mindset and wanted to hear about my travels. This is because each year Josh and one of his mates from Iowa also do a similar trip whereby they pick 5 or so stadiums and jump on their Harleys to check them out on a mini road trip (not everyone takes 3.5 months off apparently).
The game itself was another beauty, with the local Twins welcoming the always high drawing Boston Red Sox (my second time seeing these guys after the Houston game).
The Sox were favoured for the game, but despite this the scores were tied 0-0 heading into the sixth inning. In the top of the sixth, the Red Sox would finally put a run on the board with some power hitting, however this would be erased by the Twins getting two in to go up 2-1 by the top of the eighth.
However, with a huge Red Sox home run to tie it up at the top of the eighth, the home fans felt the collapse was imminent, before some power hitting and base running (combined with some Red Sox errors), allowed the Twins to put four runs on to take a 6-2 lead which they would eventually hold on to allowing everyone to go home stoked that their boys had taken down the Sox against all odds. Truly a memorable experience!
Following the game, more hysterics arose when Sheila and I got lost in the maze of “skyways” being unable to find our car for almost an hour. Eventually after receiving help from two security guards, we found the car and made it home by about 11:30pm where I met Sheila’s husband Mark who’s a College sports expert and all round great guy with a dry sense of humour (right up my ally).
The next day, I was excited to drive downtown and check out the sights of Minneapolis.
First stop was of course, the Minnesota Vikings new stadium and host of the most recent Superbowl in February this year. I can’t really remember the result of that game or who played, so I won’t go into too much detail there, however what I can tell you is that this stadium (which looks nothing like a stadium), was extremely cool and has been designed to eliminate the brutal winter elements but also make the fans feel as if they’re outside (hence the huge glass panels).
Following this, I took my time checking out downtown, some of the cool bars, a TON of skywalks and also tried my first ever Juicy Lucy (where they cook the cheese directly into the meat for a gooey experience on each bite). I couldn’t do a proper review in the restaurant, so for those playing at home I gave it a 7.9.
Once all the sightseeing was done, I went back Sheila’s place who had prepared me an awesome cocktail called a “sidecar” and also some of the best paella you’ll have this side of the Mississippi. I’m pretty sure I had four servings it was that good!
Thinking my day was done, I was happily mistaken as Mark and Sheila then took me on a driving tour through some of the lakeside suburbs of Minnesota (near the Kenwood area), The “Guthrie Theater” which had the most amazing views of the Mississippi River and surrounding bridges, and finally checking out the “Lake Monster” brewery in St Paul that is run by Mark’s nephew Matt (also a champion, the beer wasn’t bad either).
I have had such an awesome time in Minnesota and cannot thank Sheila and Mark enough for their generous hospitality and incredible times. I’m truly grateful and look forward to you guys coming back out to Sydney to share more laughs.
Finally, there’s been some change to the schedule with my old mate from Santa Monica, Phil Osborne, who currently resides in northern Minneapolis joining me for the next three nights. Together, we’ll be headed South to Milwaukee for the Brewers game, then making the drive direct to Cleveland for the weekend to watch the red hot Indians do their thing. This trip keeps on getting better and I’m pumped for a good mate like Phil to be able to share in the experience!
Anyways, longer post today because so much happened. Today, I’m quickly going to check the “Mall of America” (largest mall in the United States), where I can hopefully grab some new jeans as mine tore in Dallas (and totally not ruined by my recent poor diet).
Have a good one all!
Thirty before 30 