This is the fourth in a series of posts that starts
here.
Let's back up for just a moment, I would like to catch you up with a few pictures.This is the incredible view from the airplane over New York. This went on for what seemed like an eternity.
This is the beautiful view we had from our hotel room. I remembered there being more palm trees. I do remember being out on the balcony one day with some guys from Philly (more on them later) and watching a woman back into another moving truck shortly after we had all predicted it would happen. We didn't care about the view from the hotel, nothing was going to bring us down.
Although the photo doesn't quite do it justice, this is the outdoor bar at Stevie Tomato's. We spent a lot of time and money there. I remember it being quite a bit bigger than this, but things get distorted through time and booze.
Possibly our first or second night. You may notice me flashing the camera in the background. A trend of mine on this vacation.
Did I think I had a cigarette in my mouth? I have no idea. This is a great example of the condition you could find me in at any time day or night. Not just on this vacation, but in my life.
Now, on to the good stuff.
Day four was going to be the first time we got to do what we actually came to do: Go to a Twins game. We got directions, loaded up the bicycles, and headed out on a beautiful day. The temperature was the same every day, 71 and sunny.
When we approached the stadium for the first time, I think we were a little surprised at how small it was, but it was beautiful nonetheless. We chained up our bikes and headed in.
Surrounding the stadium are the features you might see anywhere else in baseball. People selling programs, snow-cones, and trinkets. We were drawn to two things: A speed pitch game, and a Corona stand. The goal of the pitching game was simple, throw the ball, and it tells you how fast it went. I went first and got up to 69 mph, not bad for not having thrown a ball since high school. Then there was Seth. He wound up, and fired a 50 mile per hour rocket that missed the target entirely and bounced under the back stop, and under a fence, maintaining full speed as it headed toward the crowd of people waiting to buy tickets for the game. Ball one. Fortunately for us, nobody was injured, and we moved on to the Corona stand where, at 8:30 in the morning, you can buy a 24oz can of Corona with a fresh cut lime. Delicious! I assure you these were not the first beers of the day, but they may have been the most refreshing.
Now, imagine a place where men get to go to play a game they've loved since childhood. A place where the grass is always green, the air somehow fresher than other air, and signs of Spring are all around you. I have wanted to see these guys play here for as long as I can remember, and I was finally here. And we could get up close. I was nervous. We got to within 20 feet of our three most famous guys, Mauer, Morneau, and Thome, and all I could do was just stare. We could have asked for autographs, but we just stared.
After staring at the players, and getting another beer, we made our way to the grassy knoll that would be our seats for the first two games we went to see. I wouldn't want to sit anywhere else. It was a perfect view, and we were nearly hit several times by balls (that's what she said).
Somehow, T.C. had much better balancing abilities than I did. Quite frankly, I didn't like his attitude, and he didn't say anything at all. He just stared. Maybe he was in awe of the players, too.
Jason Kubel at bat versus the Orioles. As far as I remember, he was the only player with a home-run during our trip. He was one of my favorites, too.
OK, that's all for now, I will continue this post in a day or so, it's 7am and I need to get ready for work. I've been off of my restriction now for a week and I'm loving it. The weather helps a lot. I have also been getting back into running over the past week, something I've slacked on for four months.
To be continued...
