Vacation

[Hurry, the game is starting]
By tie we got to Minneapolis, parked, checked into the hotel and to our room, it was nearing 5pm. We took quick bano breaks, changed the baby and headed towards the Metrodome for a 530 game. I get turned around easy enough on the street and it was even worse being in the skywalk. Hubby did a great job of getting us where we needed to go. We got to the dome and were headed to get our tickets when we heard over the loud speaker that the game started at 730. I had checked the schedule again Friday morning and noticed the time of the game was pushed back 20 minutes to 530. It must have been pushed back another two hours. This allowed us the chance to catch our breath but to also realize that we were hungry. While stuffing our faces with dry chicken strips and tough fries, hubby realized that when looking at the Mariners schedule, it shows in Pacific time, 2 hours later than our time. So, the game hadn’t been pushed back another two hours. Instead, I was checking the wrong time zone. Oops.

[game #1]
Thanks to Jake for getting us tickets to the game. We had nice seats – just past first base and 34 rows up. It was fun to be at a baseball game and I patiently waiting to see my buddy in the bull pen warming up. In the mean time, I watched most the game and played with my small fry. Being at the ball park, it would only make sense to have a hot dog. And since, they were free to the first so many people, Ryan, Scott and I enjoyed hot dogs and pop. Jake never pitched and the Mariners lost game 1. Too bad. Heading back to the hotel, we walked on the sidewalk – 12 blocks down and 5 blocks over.

[Saturday noon]
It’s so interesting to have a friend playing major league baseball. And at the same time, it’s a bit weird. He’s the same Jake that he was before he was in the pro’s and that’s so good to see. We met my childhood buddy at his hotel and then walked a bit through the ghetto to get to our lunch spot. We had a nice lunch, a superb waiter and some good conversation. It takes a little more effort to converse with a quiet childhood friend and include a husband who is unfamiliar with childhood memories and stories. So, we talked babies (his wife is due in October) and baseball. When your entire career is based on your athletic performance, things can be rough. After lunch, we walked back the hotel. But, because Jake is a friend, I didn’t think to take a picture with him, have him sign a baseball or anything like that. As we got back to the hotel, I had him sign a baseball for Scott and a few more for friends. Later, we passed back by the hotel after a little shopping and I didn’t stop. I didn’t want to gawk at him and his team mate he was talking to. I didn’t want to make a big deal about the situation at all. I don’t want to be the annoying fan. So, we greeted each other and kept going.

[game #2]
He sucks! Yup, I don’t like that player. The Mariners clean up hitter didn’t do jack again. You would think he could bat since he’s in the #4 position but he didn’t do dittly-squat. He struck out several times again. Again, while we watched the game, Scott entertained himself and others around us with his sweet personality. I asked Jake if I could get a picture of him and Scott in his uniform and he told me what to do. So, just before the end of the game, I headed down to the bottom between the dugout and the bullpen to wait for Jake to walk by. Only Jake didn’t stop when I shouted his name. Maybe I wasn’t loud enough, maybe he was told to go directly to the dugout since they lost again, who knows. It was sad though, I didn’t get a picture of Scott and Jake together. It was nice however, that another relief pitcher, Jamie Moyer, walked over to the stands and handed Scott a baseball.

[Sunday morning heathens]
Now that we have the game times figured out, we could have made it to church, somewhere. Typically I’m wide awake by 6. But Sunday morning was not a typical morning. I woke up and checked out the clock; it was 820. Holy cow! Scott was sleeping soundly and so was Ryan. We got ready and headed out on the town again. First stop, Target AGAIN. I loved having a Target 2 blocks away. Next stop a little Irish place for brunch before heading to the game. We met the sweetest server there. She loved the kiddo and played with him and shared all about her twins, etc. It was fun talking to her. By time I ate my breakfast, it had started to get cold.

[game #3]
We got to the stadium plenty early and sat and played with the kiddo. He did not want to go to take a nap. This was actually a baseball game where both teams gave some effort. It even went extra innings when in the bottom of the 11th, the first Twins guy up hit one over the fence ending the game. I rushed down 35 rows to catch Jake before he made it to the dug out with no luck. It all happened too fast. Now, standing at the bottom of the stadium, I knew I’d be waiting a while to make it back to the top while everyone else piled out. Instead, I headed down the row a bit and started climbing my way up over the seats. With a 22 pound kid in my arm, I made it up 32 of the rows before giving in. I was HOT and TIRED!
[post baseball games]
It was nice to check out a few games in the cities thanks to a buddy supplying us with tickets. After the last game, we headed once more the mile or so walk back to the hotel. My legs and hips were killing me – a little more walking than I’m used to. We made another pit stop at Target and got a few more snacks for our afternoon. It was hot outside and we were tired and not eager to head back outside. It was nap time! And we laid around and watched some TV.

[Minneapolis zoo]
Monday morning we left the hotel and headed to the suberbs to catch the zoo for me small fry. Did I mention earlier that it was HOT. Yeah, like 90+ hot. I know that back in CA, that’s not bad but this was 95 plus humidity. And it has been so cool lately that 90, whether humid or not, is warm. We ventured through the zoo anyway. To start, I peered at the zoo map and was disappointed in the number of animals. I thought there would be more. We saw some fun things though: prairie dogs, giraffes, dolphins, sharks, a puma, otters, tiger, wolf, caribou, camels, lemurs and tree kangaroos. This zoo has a “farm” so we even had to check that out. Being married to a veterinarian, living in a rural community, educated in agriculture, I wasn’t too excited about this “farm” experience. But, it wasn’t too bad and I made sure to learn something new. I learned about these “things” that hang over the cow that help encourage the cow to not hunch her back when she poops. This helps assure that the cow poop goes in the gutter and her stall stays clean. Scott had a blast, of course. I knew he’d love the animals. Only, he didn’t care so much about the zebra that was 100 feet away, he was entertained by the grasses right next to the fence. And when he wasn’t checking out the weeds, he was jabbering and waving to everyone we walked passed. It was hot but fun.

[on the road again]
We jumped in the car sweaty and stinky and headed home. Of course, it was no simple trip. We had to stop to eat. Later stopped again to feed Scott and change a poopy diaper. Had a few construction areas and closed roads and adventurous moments guessing which county road to take to get to the highway we wanted. It was a good trip. We stopped close to home for Chinese (well as close as you can get to a Chinese restaurant) before arriving at our sauna of a house. It was warm in there too. One of these days we might have air conditioning.