A GRAND FINALE TO OUR TWIN CITY VISIT

Howdy!

A perfect day for baseball. Mild temps, no rain. We drove to Luke & Andie's house where we left together for the short 10 minute ride to the train station. Minneapolis/St.Paul (MSP) has a light rail system which extends 20+ miles north of city. Another line is being added going south but as yet, is uncompleted. The train tracks parallel the main line used for freight trains. As seniors we paid $2.50 each for RT train tickets to the stadium! The commuter trains are modern double-deckers and while our train was a non-stop filled with Twins fans, ordinarily there are stops at stations along the way. Interestingly, at each station are micro-communities which have sprung up with condos and apartments along with shopping centers for commuters who work downtown. The city planners have created this transportation system which keeps the downtown vibrant while providing rail service to the outlying areas for housing, thus relieving some congestion on the numerous automotive beltways surrounding the metro area. Our train took us right to Target Field, home of the Twins in downtown Minneapolis. During the week commuters can connect with the light rail system downtown which criss-crosses the urban area. Glass walkways connect buildings above the streets on every block which is great for inclement weather and Minnesota winters.

Target Field has 39,500+ paid seats with the Twins-Rangers game drawing 36,500+ screaming fans. The Twins got off to an early start with 5 runs then by the 7th inning the Rangers had advanced with 4 runs so it became an exciting ballgame with the score 5-4. The Twins managed to add another 2 runs in the last 2 innings holding off the Rangers so the final score was Twins 7, Rangers 4, resulting in a perfect ending for the local fans. We arrived at the ballpark shortly after 11:00 am and watched the pre-game activities. Gametime was 1:10 pm but the carnival atmosphere of the pre-game was fun to watch. There are dozens of food/beverage vendors on the mezannine surrounding the field and also Twins-related souvenier shops selling t-shirts, caps, baseballs, etc., etc.
After the ballgame we walked a couple of blocks past dozens of cafe's, bars, restaurants to a favorite seafood eatery for dinner. Afterwards we caught the 7:00 train back to the car and were home within 35-40 minutes. It was a great day and a wonderful way to end our stay in MSP for Monday morning we leave by mh for WI, MI, & NY.