target field: part one

one of kyle's all time favorite activities to do is to visit a major league ballpark and catch a great game...preferably one in which the home team wins. it was icing on the cake to be able to spend the evening with my brother, marc, and my best friend, laurie, in honor of their birthdays. in case you are not a mn twins fan, let me fill you in. target field opened this season and it would be the understatement of the year to say that it was a great improvement to the old metrodome. to watch the twins play outside is a treat and we soaked it all in. it didn't matter that we chose the longest route possible to get there or that when we did get there we sat in the second to last row in the entire place. it was awesome! the stadium is impressive and we did it up right - hot dogs, italian sausages, beef sandwiches, nachos, beer (and that's just round one!). here are a few shots from our seats. how can you complain with the view of the minneapolis skyline and the most picturesque weather to come our way all summer long.

it was round about the end of third inning when we decided that the first round of snacks had worn off and we were officially famished...again. we strapped on our hiking boots and made our way to ground level. the cool thing about target field is that they sell standing room only tickets, so you are welcome to belly up to the counters that are at the back of each section to watch the game. the metrodome was just one big, loud, crowded hallway that nearly caused panic to ensue each time you stepped foot in it. don't miss that one. bit. I was also impressed with the way that you enter the ballpark from the street level and can literally see right in. oh, but don't think someone didn't engineer it perfectly so that you can't actually see the field unless you buy a ticket. no freebies here.

I recently edumacated myself on how to better use our camera. poor marc and laurie frequently stood in to help me "test" the lighting, settings, etc. here they are poking fun at me and asking for a picture in front of this exceptional background.

after darkness set in, we convinced kyle to head back up to our seats, but not before getting more food and one more brew to enjoy from the nose-bleed section. by the way, it was $7 a beer. how do these people sleep at night?

I'm a huge fan of give-aways, so you can imagine my delight when I heard that it was free tote night! I don't think kyle, marc, or laurie could've cared less about this little addition to our twins experience, but I was thrilled. unfortunately for marc, it meant that he now had to carry around a murse.

and in case you were staring at marc's footwear and wondering, "what the, what the?"...here's a close-up. these dopie sandals are often the topic of conversation and random stares from strangers. when kyle's lime green kermit-the-frog sandals arrived, I about flipped. ok, so I did. but they are wearing on me and I don't notice them much anymore. but let's just say that I'm not about to order myself a pair anytime soon.

the game was over at 10:30 and after one last trip around the stadium to shake kirby pucket's hand, we headed back to rochester. we had such a great time. I'm looking forward to our next game at the end of july. nose-bleed section or front row...I'm not picky.

it was fun, but who wouldn't miss this face?