2004 Baseball

Yankees 13 Twins 10

Thursday Night
Metrodome
With Jamie and Marc

After 1300 miles driven in 48 hours, we finally had a chance to relax and spend some time in one place. And what a place! The Twin Cities are amazing. Great people, great restaurants, fun things to do. Too bad it gets so cold in the winter or I could see moving there.

The scene outside the park was a festive one. I downed some caramel and Marc hit on some ladies.

It was a beautiful day. Too bad we had to head inside for the game. The Metrodome isn’t that bad compared to Olympic Stadium or Tropicana Field, but it just didn’t seem as much fun. Maybe a dome is only fun if the crowd is less than 10,000 people?

The Twins looked awful at first as they were going for the sweep. Down 7-1 in the 6th and 9-3 in the 7th, the Twins fought back. 5 runs in the 8th capped by Shannon Stewart’s 2 run 2 out triple in the 8th got the fans to go absolutely crazy. It was the loudest I’ve heard a ballpark get since attending Redskins games at R.F.K. in the late 80’s. Unfortunately, the Yankees plated four in the 9th on Joe Nathan. Sheffield’s homer tied it and then it was all downhill after that. Then Rivera only needed 10 pitches (9 strikes) to end the night for the Twins. Oh well, no sweep for the Twins.

After the game, we went bar hopping and Stone Arch bridge walking. Balgavy was on a quest for a good time and deemed himself ‘The Balginator” on this momentous evening.

Marc writes:

After Thursday night's Twins game, Dan, Jamie and I tried to make the most of our time in Minneapolis and St. Paul. One of the things suggested on the internet was a 3am drunken trip across the Stone Arch Bridge. After a drink at Grumpy's (where the doorman was very friendly and helpful) and a stop for cash at a gas station, we headed toward the bridge around 11:30pm.

As we weren't exactly sure where we were going, we realized that maybe the ATM visit before a trip into a dark, underpopulated section of town wasn't the best idea in the world. At one point the sidewalk split with one part following the road and the other section going down into the trees with no apparent exit. We tried the downhill trek first. After a few more jokes about getting mugged, and with me brandishing my tiny pocketknife, we turned around and folllowed the sidewalk next to the road. That took us directly past a few old mills and right to the entrance of the bridge. And then more walking. Oh, and I was saying "hello" to everyone we passed. I think that bothered Jamie and Dan, but I was trying to figure out how to be Midwestern and whatnot. After crossing the bridge we took a right and eventually crossed through Dinkytown. One guy we passed even said hello to us first. I felt vindicated. This late night walk eventually served as a warm-up for the bicycle ride we'd take the following afternoon.

The next day, it was time for some artist designed mini-golf and a bike ride. God Bless the Twin Cities!

Posted by dan at August 19, 2004 10:58 PM